Anious and worried. Glaucoma and migraine aura

[Lancashirelass07]

I have had glaucoma for nearly three years taking drops and doing ok untill today , I am still panicky and anxious At lunch time I had a migraine with aura, which lasted about half an hour. I don't know why I am so anxious ,as I have had this before ,but for some reason today I feel awful . Any one else have aura with migraine and glaucoma . How do you cope

[Lancashirelass07]

Thanks I did have an MRI a few years ago ,all ok. It's just today for some reason I feel panicky ,it's August, when I last had one . I will have to pull myself together again. Thanks for replying.

[Positiveannie in reply to Lancashirelass07]

HelloI have latanaprost eye drops and started with regular silent migraine 6 years ago

Often wandered that myself

[Sufitzy]

Hi Yes I do and sometimes it worries me and others I don’t get so worried. So I go with my gut and if I feel worried I book at the opticians to have a check. At spec savers it costs £25 and if the pressure is up or they see anything else then they can immediately refer me back to the eye clinic and then I can call the clinic and arrange appointment because of the referral.

If all is ok then I go home with peace of mind.

Sx

[Amandeep_GlaucomaUK]

Hi Lancashirelass07,

Migraines and headaches as I am sure you are aware can be due to a number of different reasons, stress, excessive screen time, and dehydration just to name a few. If you have a history of migraines and feel they are increasing in frequency or are becoming more severe as Sufitzy mentioned below it may be worth booking in for an eye test at your local Opticians if you are not due soon for a glaucoma follow up with your Ophthalmologist. The eye test will rule out high eye pressures and make sure your optic nerve appears healthy. Once this is ruled out it is worth keeping a journal to track the migraines, if a pattern arises it can be investigated further by your GP.

Some studies have been done which investigate if there is a link between glaucoma eye drops and migraines. However it does depend on the eye drop being used, as each eye drop has a different mechanism and each person responds differently to them. I have attached a study below which talks about a possible link between headaches and Latanoprost in those with Primary open angle glaucoma which you may find useful, however there is no confirmed direct correlation. There is limited reasearch on this topic, however if you believe the migraines are getting worse and your eye test is normal it is worth speaking to your GP to be referred for further investigation. Hope this helps!

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/336...

Amandeep

Glaucoma UK Advisor

[Lancashirelass07 in reply to Amandeep_GlaucomaUK]

I have just been to the opticians a month ago,. And the consultant in August ,everything was satisfactory then. It's just being by myself now ,that made me panic more,

And the attacks are so random. I do spend a lot of time on the computer though,. Maybe that's the reason. Thank you for replying.

[Wales99]

Hi. It is really scary. I think once you are diagnosed with Glaucoma anything eye related makes you panic. Well it does me anyway! I very rarely get the “Silent migraines” but occasionally I do and last time I had a complete meltdown & was clinging onto my husband begging him not to let me go blind 😂🙄. I get daily (chronic) migraine without aura and I’m currently taking Candasartan to combat them. I asked my consultant about the aura and he assured me that it’s definitely a migraine symptom and nothing to do with Glaucoma. However, a lot of people seem to get migraines who also have Glaucoma. I don’t think there’s been any scientific studies but it wouldn’t surprise me if they are related somehow. Hope you start to feel better soon. Migraines are the worst. 😊.

[Lancashirelass07 in reply to Wales99]

Thanks for the reply,. I think I feel worse because I am now on my own. My consultant was please when I last saw him in August,. It was the migrain aura that made me panic,. They are so random. But I am sure there is a link. . thanks again

[Wales99 in reply to Lancashirelass07]

Yes that aura is really frightening, when I get them part of my vision completely disappears which is worse when I get them in my glaucoma eye as I already have vision loss in that eye. It must be so horrible if you are on your own. You can always talk to someone on here. 😊.

[Lancashirelass07]

Thanks it reassuring to know I am not alone . I don't think I will ever get used to it. Trouble is when it's happening you can't see to ring or contact anyone , that's when you need someone.

[Silverglades]

I had my first migraine aura the same year as my eye pressures started to rise. I had my 2nd two years later when officially diagnosed with ocular hypertension (pre-glaucoma) and was prescribed two different eye drops. Since then the frequency of my migraine auras has varied between every 2 weeks to 5 months. I’ve always been certain the auras are connected to my pre-glaucoma but the glaucoma consultants have always denied this, saying it’s a coincidence. Yet I’m sure that forgetting my eye drops is one of my triggers.

[Nikul]

Well, I have had migraines all my life, so can’t connect them to glaucoma which I’ve had past 4/5 yrs, now 74 yrs! Mostly just auras nowadays, sit back and enjoy the unique light show. Some times low ebb and meltdown before with brain fog next day. No predictions or POSs explanation after all these yrs, remain a mystery! But not caused by glaucoma!