Hi Kathy

I have been having some of the problems you mentioned but I find it difficult to know whether something is a distinct symptom or if it is merely a consequence of the pain and lack of sleep.

1. Sleep problems
I do have difficulty falling asleep due to the pain. The pain also wakes me up in the night. As I result, I don’t feel very rested when I wake up and am often tired during the day. Fortunately, I haven’t fallen asleep at work yet but there are days when I would kill for a quick nap at my desk.

2. Vertigo and fainting
I have been experiencing vertigo. I’m not sure why. Is it the lack of sleep? I find that when I am going up the stairs and jus reach the landing, I often have a wave of vertigo and feel as though I am going to fall backwards down the stairs. So far, this hasn’t happened. I have not fainted though I do sometimes feel a bit faint. I can also relate to that separated/distanced feeling. I also get that with migraines.

3. Memory/cognitive issues
Okay. This one scares me the most. I worked hard earning my law degree and I really don’t want to lose it all! Concentration is sometimes a struggle but so far I have been managing at work. If I lose that, I won’t be able to work and that terrifies me. I have migraines with aura and one of my symptoms is language disturbance but so far I’ve only really had that with a migraine. Fingers crossed (well, the fingers on my left hand anyway).

4. Panic attacks
I have never had one. I have seen others have them though. It looks bloody awful. I can understand wanting to leap up and move during flares though. It’s as if you want to run away from the pain.

I haven’t discussed these symptoms with my doctors so I am afraid I can’t offer any advice regarding treatments. I used to take pizotifen for my migraines and I found that helpful. It didn’t prevent migraines entirely but while I was taking it my migraines were less frequent and less severe.