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S is for Status Migrainosus

Apr 22, 2024 | 0 comments

  1. Asked – Mental health and your memory loss #MondayBlogs
  2. D is for ‘Don’t know what to say?’
  3. S is for Status Migrainosus

I’ve been talking about my headaches, and mentioned that I’m currently looking at probably having something called ‘Status Migrainosus’.  But what is that?

I’m going to go a bit clinical here, but here’s what I’ve learned and what I know to be true about status Migrainosus.

Status migrainosus is a severe and prolonged migraine attack that lasts for an extended period, typically lasting more than 72 hours (3 days) despite treatment efforts. It is considered a complication of migraine and can be debilitating for those experiencing it.

The stats themselves on Status Migrainosus has been eye opening. There’s a whole field of information about it, but it seems as if those that have Status Migraniosus are about 1% of the people that have migraines. I’ve talked about the stats before, but I’m still quite startled by all of it.

What can you expect from Status Migrainosus

Severe and Prolonged Symptoms :Status migrainosus involves intense migraine symptoms that persist for days without relief. This includes severe head pain, often throbbing or pulsating, along with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light (photophobia), and sensitivity to sound (phonophobia).  In my case, I can confirm all of this.  When it started, I had all of this AND memory loss.  While I’ve recovered a lot of memories, I’m still not all the way there.

Resistant to Standard Treatments: The condition is challenging to manage because it doesn’t respond to typical migraine treatments, such as over-the-counter pain relievers (like ibuprofen or acetaminophen) or even prescription migraine medications (like triptans).

Again, this has been my experience.  I was given a pile of medications in the end – and was told 11 days after, I shouldn’t be taking them, that actually the headache could now be a rebound headache. It turned out it wasn’t, but this is another thing with migraines, and prolonged migraines, or status migrainosus is that those of us that get caught in that web have to walk a fine line of having our meds, without causing a rebound headache or create an issue with that.

Increased Risk of Complications: Prolonged migraine attacks can lead to dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and significant disruption of daily life, affecting work, school, and social activities.

Again in my case, from loss of memory to all of the other stuff we had to deal with, I refused to be kept in hospital, but I’ve been working on a new meds regimen, and trying to work out whether I’m going to be ok with some of my plans going forward.  That includes whether we will be able to extend our family.  It’s complicated by the fact that I’m getting towards the age where I probably can’t have children in the next six years, max on average.

Status Migrainosus is one of those things that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

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