Migraine aura

[mmchant]

Does anyone here have migraine with aura? I’ve had them for years but recently the auras seem to give me really bad anxiety. I was wondering how you handle them? I’m always afraid I’m about to have a seizure but I’ve never had a seizure before. It’s just something I read about online

[chicolini]

Hi, I was the same until I started taking low dose aspirin in April this year. I have not had any episodes of aura since. I still get migrainy symptoms and some headache, but less frequently, and milder, but NO aura at all. I started on 75mg tabs prescribed by my GP, who was open to the trial of aspirin, but I reduced down to one 75mg every 2nd day. The way it works is all about "cortical spreading depression" and microembolism, thought to cause the aura - the blood thinning action of aspirin prevents the microembolism, and therefore no aura. I only have a very rudimentary understanding of the process, but I know that it works for me. I believe it doesnt work for everyone, but it's worth a trial for you. Aura is horrible, and scary. I hope you can get rid of them, good luck. I have some links to studies I can give you, if you want to read them and maybe print out to take to your doc. Although you can buy low dose enteric coated aspirin over the counter, of course. Some people might have medical reasons why they shouldnt take aspirin, so it's best to discuss with a doctor first.

[Aundrea in reply to chicolini]

Hi I’m going to look into this I’ve been referred back to the consultant. But if I new about this I would of asked about it. I get aura and I’m now suffering from anxiety with it. So if I can stop them that would be great I’ve had 13 attacks in November which has also made me depressed but trying to think of positive things. Thanks for the info.

[Kelli0905 in reply to chicolini]

Thank you for sharing this info. I had bad auras without headache (I have had aura with headache most of my life) but it changed to just auras that are very stroke like. I tried the low dose every other day like you had said and haven’t had one in over a month. Thanks again!

[bamboo89]

Yes, I do, or did. I had to check my calendar for November 2017 recently, and, because I always mark 'VD' for visual disturbance whenever they occur, it's clear I had one every day for a month, and on some bad days, 2 or 3. Three in a day would make me feel very unwell indeed, as well as very 'edgy' and twitchy. I was offered epilepsy drugs, but didn't feel I wanted to take those.

However, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the end of December last year - I had the surgery in late January, 2018. And I've not had an episode since, and nor did I have an episode when I couldn't eat for 10 days after surgery. At first I was very puzzled, what on earth had changed, other than having major surgery ... and then I realised from reading a post on here, I gave up all dairy at the end of February, post surgery, once I could eat properly again. I did this because I decided not to have chemotherapy, and altered my diet instead, chucking out dairy completely, upping my vegetable, pulse/legume and nut intake, and reducing meat, fish and eggs to maybe once a month or every two months, and only either meat or fish or eggs, not all three every month. I also included flax seeds daily to try to compensate for omega 3 loss from oily fish. I've since found out that flax seeds sometimes have an effect on migraine, presumably because, like aspirin, they thin the blood if taken regularly (1-2 tablespoons a day), but it appears the most likely explanation is, its the removal of dairy that has solved the aura migraine problem (not to mention halving my high cholesterol level). I can't know that for sure, without starting to eat dairy again, but that is not something I am willing to do for other reasons.

This story may be no help at all - but if you're eating dairy, try cutting it out for 3-6 months, see if it makes a difference...