1.2.2 Migraine with brainstem aura

A 37-year-old primary school teacher reports she has had two such episodes in her life, both deeply unsettling. Each time, sensations built up gradually over roughly ten minutes before the head pain set in, so she considers these attacks rather than a single event. During the aura she developed slurred speech that her husband could barely follow, and separately double vision lasting several minutes; she also had trouble finding the right words, which felt distinct from the slurring. She describes a spinning sensation, buzzing in both ears, and briefly a marked reduction in hearing on one side. Her family noticed she seemed strangely drowsy and slow to respond for a minute or two, and she was unsteady walking to the sofa, though there was no numbness or loss of sensation to account for the poor balance. She insists there was no weakness in either arm or leg during the spells, and no visual field loss in either eye. She is adamant these features came on one after another rather than all together, confined to the right side of her head, with sensations added on rather than any loss of feeling. In total the aura lasted about 32.5 minutes, and the headache began within the hour that followed, while the aura was still resolving.