Friday, November 14, 2008

Holy crap...I think I had a stroke

Let me start off by saying that I am an annoyingly healthy person. I haven't had a doctor for 10 years, because I honestly haven't needed one. I think 2-3 times in 10 years I've needed to go to urgent care for a bladder infection. I don't wear glasses. I live strictly by the code, "Wait a week. If it is still bugging you, go to the doctor." And -so far- nothing has lasted a week.

Yesterday was one of the scariest moments of my life. I was happily whining the day away with a sick almost-5 year old male (we all know that gender distinction makes a difference) and a bipolar 2 year old girl (again...gender) and a happy-go-lucky perfect baby. We were at the grocery by 8 am to stock up on Popsicles and juice and cough syrup and donuts and other sick foods...well maybe not the donuts, but did I mention the bipolar 2 year old? We played house a million and one times, I made dinner in the crock pot, Michael went down for a nap, and I called my friend Annie while I made lunch for the crew. I had a lovely conversation with her, and by the end of it I had noticed this little nagging ear/behind the left eye pain. I got off the phone with her and ate my lunch, hoping I was just hungry.

15 minutes later, I was reeling. Nauseous, dizzy, the works. I decided this felt like a migraine...I've never had one, but the eye distortion and stabbing head pain made me assume this. I decided to call Jeff to moan to him, but I couldn't remember his phone number. You know, the one that I call numerous times a day. Then I almost threw up. I didn't, for some reason, but now I was feeling tingly numbness in my extremities. I literally thought maybe I was having a stroke. I couldn't get full sentences out when speaking to the children. Lily's nap time came and I said something like, "Lily say goodbye goodnight good to you Mi to your And to go to bed" and stumbled upstairs with her, seeing spots the whole time. I grabbed the phone again and literally had to punch in the numbers while using my other finger to follow along Jeff's business card. I left some kind of rambling message, because, again, I wasn't able to complete sentences. I corralled Andrew upstairs for his sick-day nap. Thank God the children went down without a fuss. Michael had just woken from his nap, so I put him in the swing and sat in front of the toilet. Jeff came home, I went upstairs, threw up my lunch and tried to will the pain away. While I "slept", Jeff apparently looked up my symptoms and decided it was weird for me to have a migraine, since I've never had one before...perhaps I had meningitis. I must have freaked him out good, since he came home from work without question and then was ready to take me to the emergency room.

I did fall asleep for a little while and got out of bed after a few hours to feed Michael (boy's still got to eat!). My head and ear ached all the rest of the day, but I never felt that tingly feeling or the disorientation again. Thank heavens. Unpleasant. Scary. This morning I have a haunting ache threatening behind my ear and eye. It doesn't even really hurt...it's just threatening to.

Ugh. So I think this was a migraine. I was shocked at the speed it hit me and the complete body collapse it caused. I cannot imagine how people with chronic migraines function in normal society. I was not able to take care of my children. What would I do if this happened frequently. Which makes me worry why this has happened now. What if that last pregnancy just through my hormones into a place where THIS is my new PMS symptom. I still haven't gotten my period back, but perhaps this is the sign it is coming.

AAAACCCCHHHH! Maybe I should be putting in a call to my primary care physician. ;)

8 comments:

Erin said...

CALL YOU DOCTOR.

You're freaking me out.

I really hope you're okay.

Annie said...

uh. ditto. soon.

I've had "migraines" and they weren't like that. Not that everyone has them the same way. Maybe it was talking to me that did it. :)

Heather said...

Let me be the third to say - CALL YOUR DOCTOR. I don't care how healthy you normally are, what happened was not normal!

d e v a n said...

That doesn't really sound like a migraine to me. Call your Dr. For real.

CARRIE said...

I 5th that!

bluedaisy said...

As someone who suffers migraines, I can't say I've ever had the tingling sensation you described but the pain on one side of the head, eye stuff and nausea sound right. Sometimes my jaw hurts too. And that "threatening" pain thing- I call that the migraine hangover. Migraine symptoms can vary for different people...either way, get to a doctor because even if it is migraines and they are going to be a problem for you (I'll pray that they aren't!), there are very good prescription remedies that help SO much. Kids and migraines are not a good combo.

Anonymous said...

ditto, ditto, ditto. Just so your mother can sleep at night. Jeff send her to the doctor. Do I have to drive to your house? Do us all a favor and go to the doctor. We love you. Mom

Joanne said...

Oh, girly! That sounds so scary! I hope you really do call your doctor and find out what happened. I also PRAY that it doesn't happen again. Do your mom a favor (and all of us!) and call!