“I’ve never felt so energized!”
For years, Lisa Lewtan, 56, suffered from daily episodes of dizziness, panic attacks and fatigue. Then she discovered the silent culprit and the tweaks that changed everything
Maybe I could close my eyes for just a few minutes, Lisa Lewtan thought as she sat at her desk, struggling to keep her head from toppling. “I had a meeting to go to, but my keyboard was looking more and more like a soft, fluffy pillow. I dragged myself to the meeting, hoping I didn’t look as exhausted as I felt. Putting on a face like I had everything under control took all of my energy.
Barely getting by
“My first episode happened the day of my brother-in-law’s wedding. I was getting dressed, when my arm started tingling, my peripheral vision got hazy and I began to feel dizzy. Certain I was having a stroke, I rushed to the hospital, where they ran a slew of neurological tests. Thankfully, it wasn’t a stroke, but the doctors didn’t know what was going on. They told me my symptoms had probably been caused by stress, and they sent me home. I was frustrated and embarrassed and felt like I wasn’t being taken seriously. I knew something else was going on, but I had no idea what.
“Over the next two years, these episodes of tingling, dizziness and loss of vision became a part of my daily life. They would last for just 1 or 2 minutes, but there were days when I had up to 20 episodes. I returned to the doctor a few times, but he just kept prescribing anti-anxiety medication that I didn’t fill.
“In the meantime, everything went downhill. The episodes—and the constant uncertainty of when they would happen next—were incredibly draining and kept me from sleeping soundly. What little energy I had, I put toward putting on a brave face at home and at the office, but behind closed doors, I was barely functioning. Some days. I would close the door to my office and just sit at my desk and sob. Then I would get up, sleepwalk through my to-do’s and collapse on the couch like a zombie until I had to get up and do it all again.
“In addition to these exhausting episodes, I was having panic attacks and tension headaches. Fear and worry continued to build as well— fear that no one believed what I was going through, and worry that it would never end. At one point, the neurologist agreed to run an MRI on my brain, and I was actually praying
for them to find something, even a brain tumor. I was that desperate for answers—but I got none.
Relief at last!
“One day, after about 2 years, I was in a yoga class, when I started sobbing. I knew I couldn’t keep waiting for someone else to figure out what was wrong with me.
“So I went straight to the library. I racked my brain for possibilities that the doctors hadn’t considered, and I remembered someone mentioning ocular or ‘silent’ migraines close to my first episode. I didn’t have any head pain, so I had forgotten about it, but I decided to look into it. I took out a book on migraines and came across a section on ocular migraines, which explained that they don’t always involve headaches, and instead, can have symptoms like loss of vision and dizziness. Then came the breakthrough that drove it home: People who have silent migraines often experience volcanic stomachaches and vomiting as teenagers…which I had too! Finally, I felt like
I knew what was wrong.
“Instead of bringing my findings to a doctor, I read more about silent migraines and what I could do to stop them, then started experimenting. I learned caffeine was a potential remedy, so even though I’d been off it for years, I began sipping coffee. I read that my fear and worry were making the episodes more intense, so I started meditating and exercising more to manage them. I also read that reducing sugar could ease anxiety, so I started cutting back.
“Slowly, the frequency of my episodes decreased. I would go a few days without one, then have one, which helped me identify triggers and adjust what I was doing and eating. Within six months, the episodes were gone, my worries abated and my energy returned. I was so inspired by my ability to take control of my health that I changed careers to become a healthy lifestyle coach and wrote a book about my experience: Busy, Stressed and Food Obsessed. Before I knew about my silent migraines, I felt terrified and alone. Now, I try to show women that they aren’t alone and that they have the tools to be healthier and happier!” —As told to Alyssa Sybertz