A 25-year-old woman who has not experienced a single day without a headache or migraine since she was a child has spoken out about her debilitating condition. Rhianna Rahman, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, has been battling stroke-like symptoms, including slurred speech, numbness and dizziness, for over a decade.
Speaking to NeedToKnow, Rhianna revealed: "It's become my 'normal' now to be in agony." She recalled the onset of her symptoms at a young age. "I first began to get headaches while I was in my last year of primary school. It did not progress into migraines until I reached high school.
"Then, I experienced my first severe migraine attack and since I cannot remember a day where I haven't had a headache or migraine," said Rhianna, who works in health and social care.
"I have a painful headache every day," she continued. "If it progresses, then I can't get out of bed. I lose my vision completely and my jaw can lock - preventing me from talking, and can even get slurred speech. I get very frustrated with myself as there is nothing that helps. I can't have one day or one moment where I can do an activity without pain."
Despite numerous visits to doctors throughout her youth, Rhianna's condition remained undiagnosed. "I went to the doctors every time the headaches got worse. I would tell them I have stroke-like symptoms and I still didn't get a diagnosis," she recalled.
Rhianna was prescribed medication and made changes to her lifestyle, such as cutting out caffeine. She also underwent MRI and CT scans but unfortunately, her symptoms persisted, reports the Mirror.
She explained: "After trying everything they could prescribe I was referred to the migraine clinic run by the NHS, where I was to be tested to see what type of migraines I get. While at the clinic I was placed on two medications. However, they started to not work as well as they did in the beginning. So my GP began the process of a referral to neurology. This referral took over a year."
At 23, Rhianna was diagnosed with Chronic Migraine Syndrome. To this day, Rhianna experiences a range of debilitating symptoms. "I lose vision in both eyes, I get numbness and a pins and needle type feeling in the left side of my face. Sometimes, I vomit. I am very sensitive to light and sound, I have no appetite and I feel very sickly all the time – the smell of food makes me feel nauseous," Rhianna shared. "I have now been referred back to neurology and I am awaiting another appointment."
Rhianna's distressing ordeal has also taken a toll on her mental health. She said: "Even to this day it affects me but no one understands what it takes for me to go through my day. I get depressed and become angry. All I want is one day or even one hour where I have no pain."
