Basilar-type Migraine – Strangest Migraine on the Block?
It’s one of the strangest types of migraine around: Basilar type migraine.
People with this type of migraine can be misdiagnosed very easily. They might be diagnosed with epilepsy. Or, they might even appear to be drunk, or under the influence of drugs!
Since it’s first diagnosis in 1961, we’ve learnt a lot about basilar type migraine. For one thing, we know that a spasm of the basilar artery is not the root of the problem (hence the name change from basilar artery migraine to basilar type migraine (BTM)).
Unlike many migraine attacks, attacks from BTM are often two-sided. The throbbing headache is at the back of the head.
Unlike hemiplegic migraine, BTM doesn’t involve motor weakness. But the symptoms can be pretty severe.
The visual aura can be severe enough to cause temporary blindness. Then there can be problems with coordination, dizziness, double vision, jerky eye movements, trouble hearing, slurred speech, nausea, pins and needles. Usually the attacks are short (lasting less than an hour), but they have been known to go on for days. Sometimes the strange symptoms come in succession, one after another. Some patients even lose consciousness!
Special concerns about basilar type migraine? The symptoms can be confused with other serious conditions, for one thing, so your doctor may call for more tests than would be normal with migraine. Also, there’s concern that those with BTM may have a greatly increased chance of stroke.
Basilar type migraine is treated in similar ways to other types of migraine. However, some doctors avoid triptans, ergotamines and beta-blockers. Because of the rarity of BTM, fewer studies have been done (I do have at least one friend who has it, though!).
See the National Headache Foundation’s brief article on basilar type migraine.
12 April 2009 @ 11:12 am
I had BTM twice and was horribly misdiagnosed. I had confusion, visual aura including temp blindness and double vision (once while driving), and I couldn’t walk for 2 days after each time. First I was told that i was faking and later that I wasn’t faking but it was psychosomatic.
Finally I was properly diagnosed. The cause was discovered to be a prescription med. I stopped taking that med and have not had BTM since. It is very scary.
17 April 2009 @ 2:59 am
My 13 year old daughter was diagnosed with Basilar Type Migraine in September – she is dizzy 24/7 and has 4 or 5 very frightening episodes daily of slurred or loss of speech, confusion, pain in back of her neck and general shaking – attacks go on for about 15 mins. We have tried everything but have found no way of helping her. Her triggers are bright lights, flashing lights, tvs, computers etc. Very difficult for her, and also extremely scary – hope we come across a medication or something which works soon!
21 April 2009 @ 1:46 pm
Hi there Michelle. I am an adult who has just been diagnosed with basilar migraine. It started after a minor car accident 7 months ago. In the ER, the doctor ordered an injection of Toridal. Once it hit, I was fine. Nobody picked up that I could be experiencing basilar migraine and so I have experienced exactly what you have described above and have had many medical responses and assessments all coming to the same conclusion, I need psychological intervention. When I finally pointed out to my family dr. that she has previously diagnosed me with silent migraine and shared the research I had done on this with her, she condescended to prescribing me toridal to take on an as needed basis. I had no idea for a week later, that it is a normal treatment protocol for this condition. I began the treatment on a Holy Thursday and took one tablet every 6 hours for 18 hours. Then I went down to one tablet every 12 hours, then down to one tablet a day and now, I have been as long as 4 days without a tablet. I am extremely careful about any warning signs and absolutely do not push any limits. I am also hyper vigilent about keeping hydrated. I am living normally for the first time in 7 months. I have lost my whole academic year in university because of this condition. I couldn’t read, study, remember, sit in class ~ anything! Between Holy Thursday and Easter Monday I completed a 10 page research paper for the first time since the accident. I am not only normal, I realized now that I have had symptoms of this for a very long time and I am living in a state of health I have never had. Try the toridal. I needed people to not make a fuss and let me work things through when I went into an episode. I need quiet, soothing comfort. Keep me posted on how your daughter is doing.
21 April 2009 @ 6:02 pm
Regarding Toradol, I no longer experience BTM but I still have migraine without aura and I also take toradol as needed. However, I inject myself. Toradol tablets do not seem to be as effective as the shots. I had to be taught to give myself injections but you can get toradol injection by prescription to be taken at home.
24 April 2009 @ 1:02 am
Wendy, thank you so much for replying, it is really great to hear from you and so interesting to hear about Toradol – we are seeing the neurologist next week and I will ask him about it. You sound like you have had such a terrible time too and thank goodness you have found something that helps – you sound like you are doing so well, I honestly hope that things continue to improve for you. It is also so helpful to hear about how you like people to act around you when you are having an eposide. Do keep in touch and I will of course keep you posted about my daughter.
24 April 2009 @ 4:12 am
Good Morning Michelle,
Thanks for your response and I pray that what I have shared will be helpful in finding the key for your daughter’s relief as well. I will keep you both in my heart as you prepare for the appt. this week. In my research regarding this problem, I have also come across studies that tested the effectiveness of different modalities on various migraine conditions. They did find that the most effective support was the inclusion of regular massage therapy alongside drug intervention. I know that I had been receiving massage for muscle related issues right after the accident, but since they sorted themselves out, the insurance company discontinued coverage. Once that happened, I went downhill fast and didn’t understand why. They have now been reinstated but it is still the early stages of discovery as to how it will affect on the long term. Just throwing out ideas. I’d love to hear that your princess is able to level out and reach the awesome potential she has been created with.
3 June 2009 @ 12:32 pm
Hi all,
I have just fell on this web site as i search through all the info sites on basilar artery migraine.
I have suffered with this B.A.M for 14 years nearly and am still trying to understand this condition and as much as i try to gain controll over it it still worries me alot . I was 7 months pregnant when i suffered my first “attack” as i call them,and my husband and doctor were convinced i was suffering a stroke but after a hour or so i fully recovered.I was misdiagnoised with epilepsy and took cabamazapine for 4 years and walked round like a zombie basically and hey still suffered the terrible attacks which were actually being made worse by the wrong drugs i was pumping into myself every day then at a routine appointment with my neurologist i met a fresh newly qualified consultant who told me you dont have epilepsy you have basilar artery migraine. well you could imagine my horror when he said migraine,i thought no way does a headache do this to you but i believe he was right . I started to take betablockers for a short time and gradually weaned myself of them.I would love to tell you that im all better now and it all gone but i still suffer from them but have learnt how to cope with them and react to the warning signs. I am awaiting my mri scan on 3rd july as they have changed slightly and are interfiering with my everyday aura.
I would like to talk to any fellow sufferers.
Kindest regards
vicky x
3 June 2009 @ 9:23 pm
Vicky, What so your scans show? Mine were completely normal. You have aura every day?
Helen
4 June 2009 @ 3:50 am
Good Morning Vicky,
Welcome to the site. Your story is incredible. Thank you for sharing. Could you tell me what symptoms you present with? What course of treatment are you on? How do you cope now?
4 June 2009 @ 3:52 am
Good Morning Michelle,
Any update on your daughter’s doctor’s visit? You have run through my heart quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, but I have been buried in writing an academic paper, so life gets put on hold while doing that.
18 December 2009 @ 9:26 pm
Hi Vicky,
I was diagnosed with vestibular migraines about 10 years ago after suffering for about 10 years. I went from doctor to doctor and they tested me for everything from Meniere’s disease, seizures, to multiple sclerosis. At the time, I was in college and I could barely function. I would have “attacks” where I would space out. I would take notes in class and when I went to read them later, they wouldn’t make sense. I would get vertigo attacks so bad I wouldn’t be able to walk. I would also get numbness in my legs, which made walking difficult. Most of the time this stuff would happen without a headache. I would also have problems with my vision where I would see flashing blue lights, and I would temporairly loose my hearing. I honestly thought I was loosing my mind! Finaly my friend heard about a doctor in my area that was referred to as “the dizzy doctor”. He is an otolaryngologist. She thought it was worth a shot for me to try as I was getting nowhere with everyone else. I made an appointment with him and I had high hopes that he would find out what was wrong as I swore it had to do with my inner ear. When I went to see him he had me fill out a five page questionnaire. He walked in the room, read the questionnaire, talked to me for about 10 minutes and then proclaimed I had vestibular migraines. I was furious! I thought…I waited all this time for this? I left there in a rage and cried for the next three days. He referred me to a neurologist and I decided to go and see him because I felt I had nothing left to loose. After a long examination the neurologist agreed with what the other doctor had said and put me on Amytriptaline, a tricyclic antidepressant. At first I was very hesitant to take it because it was used for depression and I didn’t have depression. However, my dad convinced me it was worth a try. It took about a month for it to start to work, but within several months I couldn’t believe how much better I felt! It was like a miracle. The vertigo was almost completely gone with the other symptoms as well! Currently, I am not taking daily meds for my migraines because I haven’t really needed them. However, I am in school again and the stress is enormous so they are beginning again and now I am also experiencing occular migraines where I loose my vision for about 15 minutes. I will be going back on my meds. I have tried many antideppressants for pain relief because some of them have had side effects I didn’t like, but they all worked quite well for the vertigo and migraines. Don’t be afraid to try them…they made a huge difference in my life! Good luck to you.
25 March 2013 @ 5:12 pm
hi my name is kayla, I am 15 years old and have been suffering from basilar type migraines for almost 2 years now, well that’s what were thinking it is now. I have been through every test going on my second time this year. the first time I passed at I was giving blood because I was sick and thought I had a cold. I remember not being able to see and then being able to feel everything but I couldn’t move a thing. The next time I was in class and I felt like I was going to get sick and you could see it in my face so my teacher asked me to go to the office and he had 2 of my friends come with me as we were walking down the hall I fell to the floor faster then you could say catch her luckily they both had their arms around me to catch me and it happened in front of a teachers room she called 911 and they rushed me to the ER. this happened everyday 5 times a day for about 3 months when they finally told me I cant come to school anymore it is to risky for them for me to be there. My dad called a few people and then they let me come back but this time I had to be in a wheel chair and that’s bad being a teenager in a wheel chair kids pushing you into lockers and making fun of you it sucked I went home and cried every night. I lost all my friends I had that year because they were to embraced to be seen with me; that and my math teacher was telling the rest of the kids that I was faking it. Then suddenly it stopped for almost 6 months and we thought my life was good again but then it started this time it started even worse I started shaking like it was a seizure but my teachers were told it was a stress induced fainting spell. This has been going on since I was 13 years old and I wake up every day with a headache I hope they finally got it right this time, the crazy thing is I wouldn’t change it for the world 🙂 my advice to all of you girls and or guys out there hold your head up high and stay strong not only for you but also for this world.
22 March 2017 @ 8:36 pm
I’ve been suffering for nearly 20 years with sever migrains sometimes blasting weeks at a time. Everytime i went to the ER hey would give me a shot of torodol it would numb the pain and send me home calling it a tentuon headache… (I didn’t have much of an ora ) then 2 years ago the head pain stopped and the auras(I called episods eyes rolling in back obhead fully contiousness, numbness and tingling in left extremeties, sudden jerkeyness. After 2 years and being admitted to the hospital for a week after loosing contiousness they finally gave me a diagnosis with slowing in the base of the brain. It’s rare around her so I feel like a guinea pig. Lol