Greetings!

I was just diagnosed with migraine dizziness today by my civilian neuro-otologist. Does it mean I am disqualified from deployments? :-( I am a reservist, do I need to report this right away to the AF medical folks?

Thank you!

Not sure

yes, you need to report it.

Ugh. Migraines.

My sister was medically discharged from basic training because during her second week of training, she started having really bad migraines.

They put her in the 319th and she had to keep going to the emergency room. The entire time she kept being harassed by her former TI. It was probably the worst three months my sister ever experienced in her life.

Thanks! Yes, we had a girl in my flight too who left 3-4 days before graduation. Too bad...

quote:

Originally posted by Giant_Speck:
Ugh. Migraines.

My sister was medically discharged from basic training because during her second week of training, she started having really bad migraines.

They put her in the 319th and she had to keep going to the emergency room. The entire time she kept being harassed by her former TI. It was probably the worst three months my sister ever experienced in her life.

That's terrible.

From what I've heard, migraines can be horrible. Almost to the point that you want to die.

The problem is that they can also be used as an "excuse" for almost anything. I'm sure the TI's have "been there, done that" many times.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think there is any test to show whether someone is actually suffering from migraines or faking it.

From what i have heard from people that get migranes, there is no way to truly fake how horrible they are.

I get migraines and they are evil. You want to rip your own head off because they are that painful. They can also cause (in my case, they do) severe nausea and light/sound sensitivity. The worst part is how long they last. They can put me out of commission for a day and a half at a stretch. I know others that are down for several days with them. I was told that there is no real test for them. The Docs can put together symptoms and assume that is what you have but the problem is that not everyone gets the same symptoms. The Docs can give u medicine that will take the edge off, though (The starnge part is the medicine has side effects that are very similar to the symptoms of the migraine. i.e. one side effect can be nausea. Well, the migraine causes nausea. But the nausea with the meds is definitely better than the nausea without the meds.).

At any rate, to the OP, I would definitely tell your medical people. I know for myself and other members that I know who are active and get them, we are still deployment qualified. They just gave us some meds to use on an as needed basis and there was no profile or anything like that. It can depend on your job, though (I am not a flyer). A buddy of mine was going to be an ABM (flyer) and migraines DQed him from that job. In order to get a waiver and try for a flying job again, he had to have two years without a migraine to apply for a waiver.

Best of luck and I hope you got some stuff that will help (Imitrex, Zolmig, etc)

quote:

Originally posted by vickie_mn:
Greetings!

I was just diagnosed with migraine dizziness today by my civilian neuro-otologist. Does it mean I am disqualified from deployments? :-( I am a reservist, do I need to report this right away to the AF medical folks?

Thank you!

I'm intrigued by the term migraine dizziness. Do headaches always also accompany these for the duration of the dizzy spell? Have other causes of the dizziness been completely ruled out--i.e. Meniere's or something that could be seen on an MRI or PET scan?

and from Calcus:

quote:

The problem is that they can also be used as an "excuse" for almost anything. I'm sure the TI's have "been there, done that" many times.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think there is any test to show whether someone is actually suffering from migraines or faking it.

Diagnostic imagery has come a long way in the last 20 years. A quick PubMed search on "migraine" and "PET scan" yields 67 articles. Even a Google search turns up peer reviewed articles. One such is this, from the journal Brain, "A PET study exploring the laterality of brainstem activation in migraine using glyceryl trinitrate".

In part, the abstract states:
"H215O-labelled PET was used to study 24 migraineurs and eight healthy controls. The migraineurs were divided into three groups according to the site of their headache: right, left or bilateral. In each group, a migraine was induced using a glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) infusion. The subjects were scanned at predefined points: pre-infusion, during GTN, during migraine and post-migraine. SPM99 software was used to analyse the data. Significant brainstem activation was seen in the dorsal lateral pons (P < 0.05 after small volume correction) during the migraine state versus the pain-free state when comparing migraineurs with controls. When each group was analysed separately, to investigate laterality, it was found that the dorsal pontine activation was ipsilateral in the right-sided and left-sided groups and bilateral in the bilateral headache group with a left-sided preponderance. Consistent with previous work, the activation persisted after pain was controlled by sumatriptan. These results suggest that lateralization of pain in migraine is due to lateralized brain dysfunction."

Yep. PET scans can be used in the diagnosis.

*I can't find a way to make a quote box in my text, or I would make it look nicer.

quote:

Originally posted by Calcas:

quote:

Originally posted by Giant_Speck:
Ugh. Migraines.

My sister was medically discharged from basic training because during her second week of training, she started having really bad migraines.

They put her in the 319th and she had to keep going to the emergency room. The entire time she kept being harassed by her former TI. It was probably the worst three months my sister ever experienced in her life.

That's terrible.

From what I've heard, migraines can be horrible. Almost to the point that you want to die.

The problem is that they can also be used as an "excuse" for almost anything. I'm sure the TI's have "been there, done that" many times.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think there is any test to show whether someone is actually suffering from migraines or faking it.

The doctors at Wilford Hall performed a CAT scan, an MRI, and a spinal tap. They didn't find anything. The neurologist basically said that she probably had some sort of neurological disorder that becomes aggravated under conditions of extreme stress.

My sister had never actually had a migraine before basic training. She's had small headaches, but I know I've had more headaches than she has ever had.

When she was on her way to basic training, she ate lunch at a McDonalds at the Dallas airport. She was constantly vomiting during zero week and first week. Because of this, she felt very ostracized from the rest of her flight.

When she started getting the migraines, her TI told her that she was a fraud and that she fraudulently enlisted in the Air Force. He refused to let her have the bed rest that the doctors prescribed her.

Finally, on her third visit to the emergency room, they were going to send her back and put her on bed rest. Knowing her TI wouldn't let her have it, she told them about it and requested to be sent to the 319th.

My mother began an inquiry with an inspector general about the situation with the TI shortly after my sister was transferred to the 319th.

While at the 319th, her former TI came to the squadron and requested from the TIs to see her in order to "give her mail." Instead, he chewed her out in front of all the other trainees and the 319th TIs, telling her again that she was a fraud and how dare she get her mother and an inspector general involved.

quote:

Originally posted by Giant_Speck:

The doctors at Wilford Hall performed a CAT scan, an MRI, and a spinal tap. They didn't find anything. The neurologist basically said that she probably had some sort of neurological disorder that becomes aggravated under conditions of extreme stress.

My sister had never actually had a migraine before basic training. She's had small headaches, but I know I've had more headaches than she has ever had.

When she was on her way to basic training, she ate lunch at a McDonalds at the Dallas airport. She was constantly vomiting during zero week and first week. Because of this, she felt very ostracized from the rest of her flight.

When she started getting the migraines, her TI told her that she was a fraud and that she fraudulently enlisted in the Air Force. He refused to let her have the bed rest that the doctors prescribed her.

Finally, on her third visit to the emergency room, they were going to send her back and put her on bed rest. Knowing her TI wouldn't let her have it, she told them about it and requested to be sent to the 319th.

My mother began an inquiry with an inspector general about the situation with the TI shortly after my sister was transferred to the 319th.

While at the 319th, her former TI came to the squadron and requested from the TIs to see her in order to "give her mail." Instead, he chewed her out in front of all the other trainees and the 319th TIs, telling her again that she was a fraud and how dare she get her mother and an inspector general involved.

I'm no scientist, for sure, but I *think* the MRI would be better suited to find malformations, lesions or tumors. There may be some subtle tissue differences (density, etc.) that could be found on MRI's, but it's possible the Air Force radiologists missed it. The PET scans are probably better at showing non-lesion type migraine activity because PET scans can highlight blood flow and activity in different portions of the brain in a way MRI's simply can't and don't.

If she starts having migraines again, it sounds like PET scans are the way to go.

KansasMom,

I had a head injury when I was 6 (a bad concussion), and all through school I suffered from severe headaches. Later, as I had kids they became a lot less frequent.

When I started seeing doctors my chief complaint was dizziness and vertigo, not headaches. The headaches themselves don't actually fit any of the typical migraine symptoms (nausea, sensitivity to light, etc.).

I was screened for Meniere's Disease but it was eliminated. So that's how the doctor ended up with the diagnosis "migraine dizziness."

The current treatment is Verapamil, Magnesium and Vitamin B-2 plus a pretty strict diet (no alcohol, no ham/bacon, no MSG, little caffeine).

quote:

Originally posted by vickie_mn:
KansasMom,

I had a head injury when I was 6 (a bad concussion), and all through school I suffered from severe headaches. Later, as I had kids they became a lot less frequent.

When I started seeing doctors my chief complaint was dizziness and vertigo, not headaches. The headaches themselves don't actually fit any of the typical migraine symptoms (nausea, sensitivity to light, etc.).

I was screened for Meniere's Disease but it was eliminated. So that's how the doctor ended up with the diagnosis "migraine dizziness."

The current treatment is Verapamil, Magnesium and Vitamin B-2 plus a pretty strict diet (no alcohol, no ham/bacon, no MSG, little caffeine).

Thanks for filling in the blanks. What you originally described sounded different than the normal terminology for migraines. I have a great respect for neuro otologists, but s/he did do at least an MRI or something to rule out tumor or lesions, right?

Sorry to hear about your migraines. I know everyone's condition is different but have you ever been prescribed Topamax as a daily treatment as a preventative and Zomig for the break throughs?

Just thought I share some info. Good Luck! I know what your feeling. Sometimes I don't know if I want to take my head off or the first person who says it's just a headache what's the big deal?

quote:

Originally posted by KansasMom:

quote:

Originally posted by Giant_Speck:

The doctors at Wilford Hall performed a CAT scan, an MRI, and a spinal tap. They didn't find anything. The neurologist basically said that she probably had some sort of neurological disorder that becomes aggravated under conditions of extreme stress.

My sister had never actually had a migraine before basic training. She's had small headaches, but I know I've had more headaches than she has ever had.

When she was on her way to basic training, she ate lunch at a McDonalds at the Dallas airport. She was constantly vomiting during zero week and first week. Because of this, she felt very ostracized from the rest of her flight.

When she started getting the migraines, her TI told her that she was a fraud and that she fraudulently enlisted in the Air Force. He refused to let her have the bed rest that the doctors prescribed her.

Finally, on her third visit to the emergency room, they were going to send her back and put her on bed rest. Knowing her TI wouldn't let her have it, she told them about it and requested to be sent to the 319th.

My mother began an inquiry with an inspector general about the situation with the TI shortly after my sister was transferred to the 319th.

While at the 319th, her former TI came to the squadron and requested from the TIs to see her in order to "give her mail." Instead, he chewed her out in front of all the other trainees and the 319th TIs, telling her again that she was a fraud and how dare she get her mother and an inspector general involved.

I'm no scientist, for sure, but I *think* the MRI would be better suited to find malformations, lesions or tumors. There may be some subtle tissue differences (density, etc.) that could be found on MRI's, but it's possible the Air Force radiologists missed it. The PET scans are probably better at showing non-lesion type migraine activity because PET scans can highlight blood flow and activity in different portions of the brain in a way MRI's simply can't and don't.

If she starts having migraines again, it sounds like PET scans are the way to go.

That's the thing. She stopped having migraines after being home for a few weeks.

I know she wasn't faking it. She's not stupid and she's not a fraud.

She really wanted to be in the Air Force. She wanted to be in a lot more than I did. And she put Security Forces as her first choice!

That's the thing. She stopped having migraines after being home for a few weeks.

I know she wasn't faking it. She's not stupid and she's not a fraud.

She really wanted to be in the Air Force. She wanted to be in a lot more than I did. And she put Security Forces as her first choice![/QUOTE]

Wow...thats really too bad about your sister. Her whole dream just gone in a poof! And how horrible to have to go through that!

Wow, I was thinking about making a post about migraines yesterday while I was having a rather painful one.

Before you deploy you have to go through a big to-do about your physical health. Just make sure to mention that you get migraine dizzyness and a doctor will have to clear you before you go.

In my case, I made sure they gave me about 3 bottles of midrin to last through my deployment.

Just friendly advice for everyone... especially those currently serving... If your profile lists your name and current unit, and a photo, be cautious about posting things on public forums that you aren't sure about your unit knowing. Such as, "Should I report?". Well you sort of just reported it.

Asking on a public website if something should be reported creates a trail. Later, if the condition clears up, and you decide not to report it, someone in the unit listed in your bio can still find out and potentially accuse you of withholding info.

I AM NOT suggesting that critical issues should be kept from your supervisors if the issue might affect your performance. That should be reported for the sake of safety. I'm just throwing out an idea that if you feel that the issue is sensitive, keep it off a public forum.

I know this sounds negative and accusatory, but it's not meant to be. Seriously. I'm just offering friendly advice.

hmm, I get migraines when I work out excessively and don't fill up on gatorade. Anyone have some advise?

quote:

Originally posted by 18050273:
hmm, I get migraines when I work out excessively and don't fill up on gatorade. Anyone have some advise?

Better hydration??

Dental problems can also cause migrianes. Visit a dentist to rule out that cause as a toothache is not a required symptom for a dental cause of a migraine.