Coincidence or trend?
Posted , 9 users are following.
OK Ladies, I am now officially paranoid. As many of you know I suffered my first migraine aura at work a little over four months ago. Since that time, I have had 24/7 visual disturbances. Additionally, I have been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. I had not been to work since the incident. While I was out, I learned that my male co-worker (50ish) suffered his first migraine with aura at work exactly 3 weeks after mine. I reluctantly returned to work last week after my work cancelled my health insurance and threatened to terminate me. Guess what I found out when I returned?!?! A third co-worker (female 50ish) had her first migraine with aura two weeks after the second co-worker. Three people who never had a migraine with aura before all suffered one within weeks of each other and all in the same building. I am terrified to go back to work. All this time I thought it was me, maybe it's the building?!?!
0 likes, 21 replies
Guest staci88515
Posted
um, yeah, scary.
Time to call in Erin Brokovich.
Just kidding. But that is very strange. Have you had any since being away from the building?
staci88515 Guest
Posted
No. But, the migraine aura caused persistent migraine status, which I have had for over four months.m
Guest staci88515
Posted
Hi Staci, I know you are probably thinking all kinds of stuff...asbestos, mold in the carpets, etc! I swore that my house must have carbon monoxide and radon! But it doesn't! Most of those things cause respiratory issues and allergic reactions. Sometimes too, people misconstrue their migraines...maybe their experience was not exactly like yours. They may think an aura is just floaters! I have chronic migraine. I get them so bad, I have gone to Urgent Care to be checked for a stroke! Yet, I have friends that will say they get migraines...but theirs do not wreck their week and cause their eye to twitch while walking like a drunk! 😉
Of course though, you could check up on the building codes...you never know! But, like Suzanne said...better consult Ms. Brokovich on that! 😃 😃
staci88515 Guest
Posted
My male co-worker had sudden blurry vision and aphasia. He went home for lunch because he could no longer read the computer screens. He woke up to the worst headache he has ever had. He was hospitalized for two days. My female co-worker was in class when suddenly the faces of her students were distorted (missing noses). She then saw flashing lights. I think it is safe to say they had true migraines with aura. When it first happened to me, my gp told me to think as hard as I could for any changes that may have occurred (medicine, supplements, food, drink, etc.). I thought of exactly three things...1) I was having a heavy menstrual cycle. 2) I hurt my neck in a bizarre and grotesque manner. 3) There was a very strong smell of natural gas in my room.
Guest staci88515
Posted
Seriously Staci, you should have the office investigated, maybe someone from the EPA. I just read that the EPA banned the use of paint stripping product that uses methylene chloride in household use but not commercial use. Were they doing any work like that in your office? Or maybe there is a gas leak or something. Good reason to fight them on the health insurance thing and not returning to work. I'd get those other co-workers together and figure something out. Something is definitely fishy!!
Guest staci88515
Posted
OK! That is weird. I would use that info to rattle their cages...there should never be a natural gas smell in a building! Was the smell present with your co workers too?? Mmm ...I would demand an air quality test!
Guest
Posted
OMG! There are kids in the building too!! WTH!
staci88515 Guest
Posted
I don't believe there was any work being done in any of the rooms. Usually, anything like that is reserved for the summer.
staci88515 Guest
Posted
Lou, the craziest part about all of this is that no one seems to care. The other two people it happened to have worked there for decades. They think it's a coincidence, but because it only happened to them once and they have no lasting effects, they aren't concerned. Maybe that is also why I am so freaked out...because it happened to me and has drastically affected my life. I just can't understand why no one wouldn't immediately investigate. As for the kids, I also received an email from the nurse stating that one of our students is having neurological issues that started 2 months ago and is seeing a neurologist. I think they are less affected because they travel whereas we stay in the same room all day.
Guest staci88515
Posted
Wow, there has got to be a connection. Make sure you have the nurse tell the parents of that child about you and the others. I'm pretty sure it's the EPA you would contact about something like this. Is there gas in the building? If so, a call to the gas company to report the smell and the symptoms is a must as well. Maybe there is an independent company who can do an air quality evaluation?
Could be if your immune system is weaker than others you were affected more. And being in peri we definitely have lower immune systems.
Gypsy014 staci88515
Posted
Hi staci , ask around about the lighting, maybe they just might be using what they call better efficiency bulbs, and they may just not have filters on them ( a real migraine trigger) Wal-Mart uses them, that is why I can't step foot inside a Wal-Mart period.. They're like magnets immediately to my brain and boy do I get a wicked migraine all from the lighting, but before the migraine strikes me after being exposed to the lights I get the auras and the dizziness and the blurted vision wavy lines, all kinds of weird symptoms leading up to the actual migraine..
staci88515 Gypsy014
Posted
There has been no change in lighting. My room and the other rooms where it happened have different light fixtures.
ImagineOneDay staci88515
Posted
I wonder what the lighting is like in.your work place ?!
staci88515 ImagineOneDay
Posted
There has been no change in lighting. My room and the other rooms where it happened have different light fixtures.
Guest staci88515
Posted
wow Staci that does NOT sound like a coincidence! I would not return and speak with a lawyer you will need the help been off work.. Sounds like its something in the building that you all are exposed too! I seriously would contact a free lawyer and explain it to them in fact they may know what it is since they deal with everything. May I ask what kind of job do you do?
staci88515 Guest
Posted
I had a union lawyer because my work refused to approve my FMLA even though I had my neurologist fill out the paperwork and submit letters. The fact that they knew that two other employees were afflicted with the same condition while at work baffles me. Unfortunately, the lawyer was useless. I would love to never set foot in there again, but I am between a rock and a hard place. They threatened to terminate me and they canceled my health insurance. I work in a school and if you get fired, it is very difficult to get hired in a new position. I also can't resign without 60 days notice. I live in a state that can take away your teaching license for job abandonment. The union also mentioned that it is very difficult to prove causation.