Last Friday night I was frightened, very frightened. I couldn’t stand light. It got so bad that I couldn’t even have the ‘light’ from the led on the BT Broadband home hub was too much when I was hiding under the duvet in the spare room of my friend Andrew with a very sore head.
He was very worried about me – and after another fainting in his front room, which had been preceded by me not being able to speak, which was quite awkward when I was attempting to make a ‘honey drink’ (and had fainted – and Andrew was being instructed by me in this art) – he telephoned the Ambulance service.
The very nice Paul and Anne-Marie arrived quite promptly, and took me to the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald. I was very well looked after there – although I was on a trolley in A&E for about 24 hours.
During this time I was sent to CT for a scan – but it came back with no abnormalities – but at least we can confirm that there appears to be a brain in my head.
It was late on Saturday before I was admitted and moved to Ward 19 for observation.
After an extremely hearty breakfast which reminded me of RSCM chorister courses, I had another good meal at lunch time, and then Andrew reappeared as I was being discharged.
And what was wrong?
The diagnosis was that it was a migraine. Good thing that they gave me Sumitriptan 100mg then on Saturday evening. If only I had known, I could have taken one of the tablets that Andrew has in his flat….
HIV Blogger | living positively 
I wouldn’t have given you the Sumitriptan unless I knew it was a migraine. Having said that, I’m VERY glad it was ‘just’ a migraine and not something more scary.
I also get migraine and use the triptan class of drugs. Glare — the usual name for the type of aura you experienced, can be really scary and disabling. I’m glad you got it sorted. You are lucky if sumatriptan worked for you after the attack had been going on for so long. For some people triptans only work at the start of a migraine. I’m one of the lucky ones too. I’m glad too that your symptoms were not of something more serious.
You were absolutely right to call the ambulance. Aversion to light and severe headache are symptoms of meningitis but can often be confused as the symptoms of other things like flu and, indeed, migraine. So you right to play safe and call the ambulance, and I am delighted you were OK in the end.