Prue Leith was recently hospitalized for what she describes as "a migraine attack."
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As PEOPLE reports, the famous chef and former judge on The Great British Baking Show said in a recent edition of her column, titled "Prue's News," that the medical incident occurred while she was in Yorkshire, England. She added that her doctor was so alarmed by the incident that they called an ambulance.
Prue Leith Said She Has a History of Migraines
Leith's doctor worried she might be having a stroke. However, Leith told him that she has had migraines since she was nine. Sometimes, they were so severe that they affected her speech.
She remembered a time when, instead of saying she wanted to be sick, she said, "I want fish." At other times, she could only see half of her field of vision, and sometimes she saw a bright circle of lights in the upper right corner.
To treat her intense headaches, she would have to quickly take a medication regimen consisting of paracetamol, ibuprofen and sumatriptan. She refers to this combination as a migraine "bomb."
What Leith experienced is in line with the Mayo Clinic's list of migraine symptoms.
Leith Waited Six Hours at the Hospital
John Playfair, Leith's husband, was also convinced that the TV host was having a stroke.
"I tried to tell him it was just a migraine, but I couldn't string two words together," she wrote.
The doctor examined Leith carefully. She was able to raise her arms and make a fist, and he checked that her face was not drooping on one side. Even so, her doctor called an ambulance. She ended up waiting six hours to see another professional.
"In spite of my assuring [the doctor] (I'd recovered coherent speech by then) that it was a migraine, he decided on a CT scan," she wrote. "Two hours later, I had one, waited another hour for the results, and was released at 2 a.m."
Leith praised her medical team for being thorough during her visit.
"The doctor took the trouble to access my NHS records. He explained why he wanted to refer me for a brain scan, just to be sure (people of my age, 86, are prone to mini-strokes)," she added.
"You may have to wait forever, but when it is your turn, you are treated as if you were the only patient in A&E."
