Auras

[Mavary]

Hi guys. I don’t post on here often. I used to get really bad migraines when I was a bit younger. I had them from three four years old. I would be in terrific pain, couldn’t stand the light or any noise and have been known to be sick. The went about ten years ago. I have now found the last few years I’ve been getting aura migraines about two a year. I’m a bit worried though because I’ve had four aura migraines in a couple of weeks. Should I be worried as I understand if you have aura migraines without pain you are more likely to have a stroke or heart attack. Has anyone else got the same problem and have you got any more info on it.

[tieaknot]

I’m sorry you’re dealing with this! I had just the headaches as a young g kid for a year or 2 and then they got better and when I was in my later 30s, after a surgery for something else, I started with visual auras. I have had various auras now for over 10 years (most with other migraine symptoms like headaches and nausea, vertigo, aphasia, cognitive issues etc, and a few without) and sometimes have them 6-20 times a month and sometimes multiple in a day, Migraines can change over time and my Neuro is great about getting an MRI if my symptoms change significantly. Latest MRI looked fine despite some really rough months! So I’m going to say not to worry but also discuss any changes with your doctor and they might want to get a brain imaging just to be sure everything is okay. Feel better!

[Mavary in reply to tieaknot]

Mine has definitely changed over the years. It went from the typical pain couldn’t stand the light or sound. I really feel for those who get the really bad migraines. Mine has changed with age. It has now changed from one or two a year to four aura migraines in a week. I’m pretty sure stress plays a part in mine. I’ve also got that when I’m in a darker room I get an oblong shape of little lights that all twist round. It’s actually very hard to explain. I did show the optician what I had drawn out and she poo hooed me. So I’m no further on. I’ve only had these aura migraines a couple of years maybe three years. I remember my first one was while filling out a form. I think I was a bit stressed about getting it right when the aura started. It’s funny but I had an idea that’s what it was. I went up to the surgery and the receptionist recommended I see the optician so I booked that evening and they booked me in for the morning. The first one is a bit worrying though.

[Mavary]

just to say I had five aura migraines in two and a half weeks. Seeing as I’ve only had about two a year I never worried much about it but when it came to the five I thought I should seek information so I rang my Dr this morning. Apparently he’s not too worried about it but has told me to take my Naramig for a few days. Or when I get the aura migraine. So it’s a case of just carry on and ignore them. The last one I had changed sides. They were happening on the left side but now the last one was on the right.

[Winterbells22]

I used to get migraine as a young teenager, which were quite bad (aura, which was a loss of vision wherever I was actually focussing, but I could see everything around it, pain above one eye, vomitting, etc) which meant I'd have to be collected from school. My sister also suffered from migraine, as well as my grandmother. I only had a few episodes at school and then perhaps half a dozen maximum over the next 30 years, which were never as bad as the teenage version.

In my 50's I had a migraine attack, whilst driving home a short distance, having had a stressful interaction with someone on the street before getting in the car, which was different from any before. The aura was different, (a bright black and white zig zag semi circular shape in my field of vision) and when I got home, I realised I couldn't find the words when I was trying to speak. I thought I was having a stroke, but felt I was more or less 'normal' in every other way, and the intense desire to just go to sleep in a darkened room over-rode everything and sure enough, when I woke up a couple of hours later, I was back to normal.

Googling told me all about aphasia and how common it is for migraine sufferers, so that was reassuring. However, now, 10 years on, I'm getting yet another version, which is aura only migraines. I will be just getting on with life, when suddenly I get the bright black and white zig zag semi circular shape in my field of vision, which expands and spreads outwards over the next half an hour or so, making it possible to see well enough to read again and then, within 40 mins, it's gone. I don't get any pain, but my speech is affected, and my ability to type coherently or make sense of what I'm reading. Afterwards I feel a bit weird, but I can just carry on.

What's concerning me is that I've had these episodes frequently over the past year or two - sometimes two in the same day, or daily for over 4 or 5 days. I associate it with stress as well as a sudden change in lighting, like moving from a daylight situation to sitting in front of my laptop, or watching tv in a dimly lit room having been in different lighting, but I really don't know what, if anything, is triggering it.

I've read that it's common for migraine symptoms to change as we age, and aura-only migraines are not unusual in older sufferers, but it's certainly inconvenient and unpleasant. I haven't done much research but you've said "I understand if you have aura migraines without pain you are more likely to have a stroke or heart attack" so I'm interested to know where you've read this info?

So sorry to hear you're experiencing this and do keep us updated.

[Mavary]

Hi you can ask the question to Google.I had a lady tell me about it a few years ago. She was on another site but I don't remember which. When I looked it up it said a slight chance it could cause strokes or heart attacks. My aura migraines are a bit different than yours. I could be reading something and the middle of what I’m reading is spinning and blurry. That opens out to a C shape of crystals that zigzag. It’s always been on the left side till the last one and that was on the right side. My very first aura migraine was zig zags all over. They are pretty colours plus shiny crystals. My Daughter in Law was like you and would lose her vision and speech. Have you checked in with the Drs about your aura migraines. I understood that a typical migraine lasts for twenty minutes which mine does. I don’t know much about migraines only the snippets I’ve read. So don’t let me worry you. I only started getting mine about three or four years ago. I lost my full blown really bad head migraines about ten twelve years ago thank goodness. I wouldn't like to get them back. I always worry at first when I have an aura migraine that I’m going to lose my sight because I can’t see the writing I’m looking at. But then I think aura migraine and I’m ok. I’ve got age related macular disease which I could lose my sight with so that’s always worrying especially when I can’t see the writing. It worried me when I had five aura migraines in two and a half weeks but the Dr wasn’t worried about it. If they had them they would worry. With us we don’t know enough about them really to not worry. Like you though. I think mine was caused by stress.