Of migraines, dehydration, and rainbow zig-zags...

keycube

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I'll find a way to make what should be a brief (though compelling) story, into something ridiculously monotonous . But bear with me, it could actually be somewhat useful.


So, I'm recovering from a torn ACL and looking into getting back into playing hockey again, and have been going to the Y for my post-PT strength and endurance training (and to lose the 15-20 pounds I put on whilst being on my a$$ for the 4 months prior to my surgery). Been doing well, and I thought I was in pretty good shape going into my first "comeback" scrimmage.

Well, I definitely overdid it. I knew halfway through that I was playing on borrowed time (and energy), and had nothing left in the tank by the time it was over, an hour and a half later. I am prone to sweating a lot, so I wasn't too taken aback when I unpacked my equipment at home, and was able to practically fill my bathtub with my wrung-out T-shirt.

I drank a half a bottle or so of G2, and went to check my cell phone. It was a bit blurry and I thought, no big thing, I'm exhausted, and there's probably a bit of sweat in my eyes as well. As I began looking around though, there were small bright dots off to the right side of my field of vision, that were also blind spots. I could look straight ahead, wave my hand, and the vision was gone in those areas.

After maybe 5 minutes of this, the dots turned into a zig-zag pattern, one line going horizontally towards the top of my field of vision, the other vertically, off to the right. They seemed to be of a rainbow pattern, composed of blue, red, and green, I believe. What really struck me is that they were of perfect geometry, both in the X-Y plane, and of the size of the zig-zags themselves. There was nothing random about it. The blind spots continued to be occupied by this pattern.

I was hit once in the head with a puck (I had a helmet on), but it wasn't major. Nonethless, I figured I had dislodged or disrupted something (I kept repeating to myself, "Rods and cones", like I was Rainman or something), or managed to have a small stroke in the heat of my exhaustion.

So, I was quite scared.

Like a total dimwit however, I left to drive to a friend's house (I admit, I was afraid to be alone). Yes, this was bad judgment. About 5 minutes into my drive however, the patterns started moving to the edges of my field of vision, and then disappeared.

It's too late to make a long story short, but I found out the next morning a'la Google, was that I had a form of migraine that can be brought on by dehydration. Which made perfect sense. What's weird is that I drank a lot of water that day, preparing for the scrimmage. Though, coupled with the anxiety of playing, including the fear of getting hurt again, there were perhaps many mitigating factors.

Mind you, I don't get migraines. I rarely get headaches. So, I didn't see this coming whatsoever. I hate to be Captain Obvious here, but I just want to point out to everyone a potential peril of not being properly hydrated. If you've never experienced what I just described (and many of you who are migraine sufferers probably have, and for that I have a newfound respect/sympathy for you), then trust me, you'd want to do everything in your power to avoid it.

Thanks.
 

crazyforinfo

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I get optical migraines also. Just reading your story made me nauseous cause it it exactly what I see.

I hope you don't get anymore. I believe mine are hormonal related.
 

clixpix

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I get migraines of several types, and optical migraines is one of them. The first time I got one, I had convinced myself that I had detached a retina, and nearly canceled a vacation!
It's a scary sensation the first time! Once you know what they are, then they're not bad, just annoying.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Keycube

Mind you, I don't get migraines. I rarely get headaches.
Because you said this right here, this was abnormal for you - possibly dehydrated or not. Please make an appointment for a check up and some basic blood work, at the very least. You may have an electrolyte imbalance which would make it a lot easier for you to dehydrate.
 

kara_leigh

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Imagine that, plus the whole right side of your body going numb and limp like you had a stroke. Those are one of the types of migraines I get, granted I've only had 3 of them in my life, but I'm not complaining. They are called Hemiplegic Migraines, and they aren't fun. I get the auras like you described with regular migraines also. I'm just recovering from one right now, even missed work today b/c of it.

I agree, if this is the first time this has happened to you, you should probably make an appointment to be checked out anyway. Good luck, and I hope you feel better! My husband snapped his ACL a couple years ago and is still recovering.
 

pookie-poo

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Your description of the optical migraine is classic! I've had several of them over the years. The first one terrified me...I thought that I'd either had a stroke, or accidently looked at the Laser beam during surgery. I'm so glad that I only have one or two a year...the first minute or so always freaks me out...even after 15 years!
 

carolpetunia

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Because you said this right here, this was abnormal for you - possibly dehydrated or not. Please make an appointment for a check up and some basic blood work, at the very least. You may have an electrolyte imbalance which would make it a lot easier for you to dehydrate.
What she said. And thank you for the education! I hope it never happens to you again.
 
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