Migraine aura

[GingerFish]

I suffer from migraines, maybe a few a year. I usually never get any kind of aura before them.

Today I woke up with a headache, felt just like a tension headache as it was all over my head and I have been stressed lately. Its also been very hot here lately too. The headache mostly went away though.

About 2 hours ago, I was in the car (as a passenger) and I noticed a dark dot in my vision. I thought it was just from looking at something reflective and it was a sun spot but then I noticed it got bigger and I couldn't read half of reg plates or signs and then flashing lights and zig zags appeared. They took over my whole vision. It lasted about 15/20 mins. I was absolutely terrified. I managed to get an emergency GP appointment and he checked my eyes and BP and all is well. He said it was a classic migraine aura and he gets the exact same.

It scared the crap out of me. I still don't feel right. My vision is back to normal but I feel on edge now. Still have no headache really but feel sick.

Do you guys ever have an aura like this? Did it scare the crap out of you too?

[Cariad1]

Hi Gingerfish!

I have suffered with migraines for as many years as i care to remember!

I get an aura before every single one i have, thats how i know one is coming on :(

With me i get more of a zig zag in my vision and like you had i cannot read anything properly, find numbers/letters missing etc. From what i have read and what my GP has told me aura is something that is very common with migraine sufferers but i know that it can be very scary, i would imagine even worse if you are driving!

I also get the sickness with mine too, i find my migraine doesn't lift until i have actually been sick and once i have things start to improve for me.

Hope you get over the attack soon, they really are the pits!

[GingerFish]

I definitely know what you mean about missing letters and numbers when you look at them. That was my first sign. I noticed I could only see the '00' on the clock instead of the full '1:00' then the flashing and zig zags came about 5/10 mins after that.

I still have no pain, maybe a kind of burning and tense feeling in my head and neck. The headache I had this morning was a lot worse.

[Cariad1]

It's horrible isn't it, even when my headache has subsided i get what i call a 'hangover' feeling, i just feel exhausted and still not 100 percent right, it takes me a good day to get over a migraine episode.

[GingerFish]

I have no pain but feel quite sick and dizzy. I have a fear of puking so I'm drained from the anxiety that comes from that :(

[feelthelove]

yep its horrible i had one a month ago and i posted on here about it . Its frightening and even though i have had them since being 25 and im now 50 i still get petrified when i have one . I hate it that i can't see things properly and only see half of people and objects and the horrible zig zags .

Wish there was a cure but i haven't found one yet no matter what i try .

[sputnikmoon]

My wife had a migraine last week when we were on holiday.

She was in a shop and started getting zigzags and couldn't see a lot of peripheral elements in her vision. This led onto a whole evening and following afternoon stuck in the hotel room with her about to vomit and refusing any light...

She's perfectly fine now, though :)

[Davit]

I find since I think they are tied to anxiety that if I focus on them they last longer. Any one else notice this.

[.Poppy.]

I got migraines for years and years before I got my first aura. The first time was just like a sunspot and the headache that followed wasn't too bad. The second was more pronounced blindness and a headache so bad I had to go to the ER. Got it checked by a neurologist and everything was fine, just scary. Thankfully my "usual" migraines aren't this way and these odd ones are few and far between.

I think stress/anxiety can cause them. I find sleeping funny does as well.

Hope you get to feeling better about it :) I know how hard it is not to fret.

[feelthelove]

I find since I think they are tied to anxiety that if I focus on them they last longer. Any one else notice this.

I think you're right because the last one i had wasn't as bad as previous ones simply because i was a lot calmer during it and i think this lessened the symptom .

[MyNameIsTerry]

If you look at the articles on Professor Mark Williams "Frantic World" website for Mindfulness there is one about pain and how Mindfulness can be used for. (CBT is used for cancer symptom management, Mindfulness too and also for things like asthma in studies)

There is one article on there that talks about Primary Pain and Secondary Pain. Primary is the actual damage to the site in your body and it is translated. Secondary Pain is the pain you cause yourself in the reaction. There is a load more than this but its ages since I've read it.

It made sense to me. Besides, what happens if we see our panic attack symptoms or anxiety symptoms? Same deal, in a different sort of way.

[GingerFish]

Woke up today with no headache or nausea but I still feel a bit foggy and drained. Doctor told me to stay indoors for a day or two since the heatwave and bright lights may have caused the migraine. He told me to expect to have more migraine auras in the future as well. Bloody hated it! As much as normal migraines hurt like hell, I would prefer the pain over that aura any day.

[GingerFish]

I managed to get out for a little bit earlier. This may sound silly but I was absolutely dreading going out as my aura started when I was out yesterday and as you know I suffer from panic attacks and just like after having your first panic attack or first really bad one, you get scared to do what you were doing when it happen, e.g go outside. I panicked the entire time. Managed to get a chippy though and just wolved it down. Had nausea for most of the day and all throughout yesterday so it feels good to get a big meal in my stomach now.

Still no pain really other than a tension like pain every so often. The headache I woke up to yesterday morning a few hours before the aura was a lot worse.

[eastofeden]

I get these migraines every couple of months. They usually happen if I've had too much caffeine or are dehydrated. Also my medication causes them occasionally. They came out of the blue, never had a history of migraines before. I get this horrible flashing zig zag in my vision, coupled with extreme nausea, and finally a huge headache that lasts for 3 days sometimes. I absolutely dread them! They are the worst thing ever.

A new 'aura' that has started for me is that my hand/foot will go numb and get pins and needles for like 20 minutes, then I'll see the zig zag, then the massive headache. It's very scary but my Dr said it's normal for a lot of migraine sufferers. They just randomly started one day and I thought I was having a stroke. Nope, apparently it's very common, and nothing too serious.

[Phill2]

I definitely know what you mean about missing letters and numbers when you look at them. That was my first sign. I noticed I could only see the '00' on the clock instead of the full '1:00' then the flashing and zig zags came about 5/10 mins after that.

I still have no pain, maybe a kind of burning and tense feeling in my head and neck. The headache I had this morning was a lot worse.

I get the aura quite often but never get the headache.
I take a couple of Panadol at the onset and it goes in about 20 mins.
Nothing to be scared of - more of an inconvenience when you can't see properly.

[swajj]

I get this too. I am absolutely sure that it is linked to anxiety. If I am at home I just lie down in a dark room until it goes. It lasts about 20 minutes and I hate it.

[cattia]

I got this for the first time when I was pregnant with my daughter and it terrified me! I didn't have a headache with mine, just the aura. It was exactly how you describe. At first I thought it was a blind spot from looking at a light, then I couldn't read the screen on my phone, and then I got the flashing lights and zig zag lines. I thought I was having a stroke but the Dr said it was an optical migraine.

[welsh and proud]

I suffer from migraines since I was 21yrs although they are much better these days I get the aura and very confused and pass out and can sleep on and off for 48 hours, they not nice and very frightening but try if you can placing your feet in a bowl of cold water with a packet of frozen peasvor a cold compress at the back of your neck it really works. Keep well friends x keep relaxed and poitive x

[GingerFish]

Thanks for your replies everyone. You have put my mind at rest. Even though I knew it was just an aura, you feel like you're the only one who ever had it when you experience something that horrible and scary. Hope none of us experience another one for a very long time!

[rsanchez]

I've had migraines like this for years. They started before I had anxiety problems, so they never freaked me out much. They were just super annoying.

What I do is take an excedrin and hope for the best. If it clears up, I try to push through the day. If it's an hour and it still doesn't clear up, I call in sick and try to get myself asleep as soon as I can. If I'm lucky, I sleep through the entire headache phase.

Regardless, I always feel off mentally for around 24 hours after the aura first appears. I just accept that my day will be crap as soon as I see the aura, but I do like that I have my little early warning.

[GingerFish]

I went into town today to see about new glasses and done all the talking in Specsavers. Usually I try and get my mum to do it (yes, I know that is bad at 23) and then I went over to see the cats. I panicked like hell and cried in the car but I done it.

I was like this after I had my first panic attack outside and when I had my first attack of vertigo and fell from it outside so I suppose me having that migraine aura outside last week is the same thing and I had to build myself up from those times and got through it. I suppose this time is no different. I was terrified of having another panic attack/vertigo attack outside and this is the exact same with the aura.

Thanks again everyone for your replies and I wish you all well

[julieannboo]

I suffer from migraines, maybe a few a year. I usually never get any kind of aura before them.

Today I woke up with a headache, felt just like a tension headache as it was all over my head and I have been stressed lately. Its also been very hot here lately too. The headache mostly went away though.

About 2 hours ago, I was in the car (as a passenger) and I noticed a dark dot in my vision. I thought it was just from looking at something reflective and it was a sun spot but then I noticed it got bigger and I couldn't read half of reg plates or signs and then flashing lights and zig zags appeared. They took over my whole vision. It lasted about 15/20 mins. I was absolutely terrified. I managed to get an emergency GP appointment and he checked my eyes and BP and all is well. He said it was a classic migraine aura and he gets the exact same.

It scared the crap out of me. I still don't feel right. My vision is back to normal but I feel on edge now. Still have no headache really but feel sick.

Do you guys ever have an aura like this? Did it scare the crap out of you too?

Yes. Auras are horrible. It like like fishes or flashes in front of your eyes.

Good old fashioned migraine.

Get well soon x

[GingerFish]

Yes. Auras are horrible. It like like fishes or flashes in front of your eyes.

Good old fashioned migraine.

Get well soon x

Yeah its not something I ever want to experience again. The pain of a migraine is horrendous but to me, that aura was worse. Maybe if I wasn't such an anxious person I wouldn't have found it so bad but tbh, it kind of traumatized me. I wasn't right for days after it, panic wise.

[feelthelove]

Yeah its not something I ever want to experience again. The pain of a migraine is horrendous but to me, that aura was worse. Maybe if I wasn't such an anxious person I wouldn't have found it so bad but tbh, it kind of traumatized me. I wasn't right for days after it, panic wise.

The fear of migraine aura has ruined my life because i am terrified of it , i started with it when i was 25 just after my second baby and i have suffered them for 25 years sometimes monthly sometimes going up to 15 months without one , nothing i have tried has ever prevented them and any little sparkle i see in my eyes i am put into a panic because i fear migraine aura and my day is ruined and all i think about is migraine aura .

I have often wished i was dead because of this condition as it scares me so much .

[swajj]

25 years is a long time but it should reassure a bit because nothing has come of them in all that time. Mine are random too. I got my first one 13 years ago a few months after the birth of my son. It was shortly after I first experienced HA. That is why I am certain they are related to anxiety. Mine are random too. I might get 2 in the one week or I might not have one for a couple of years.

[GingerFish]

Every time I get a black spot in my vision now, I keep dreading in case its another aura coming. Tbh, I haven't felt right since that migraine. Felt nothing but anxiety and my HA has went through the roof. I now have heart worries and all that jazz that I have never had before.

[help me 21]

Iv got high intense anxiety. My daughter is in hospital due to being prem I was so anxious going to see her. Anyway I was talking to the nurse and all of a sudden I had this black kind of blob in the corner of my vision I carnt describe in detail. But it scared me I looked again at her and it was still there blinked couple of times then it went. What the hell was it?? I was anxious and had a little tension headache but mild headache. Any one else had this ?

[GingerFish]

Iv got high intense anxiety. My daughter is in hospital due to being prem I was so anxious going to see her. Anyway I was talking to the nurse and all of a sudden I had this black kind of blob in the corner of my vision I carnt describe in detail. But it scared me I looked again at her and it was still there blinked couple of times then it went. What the hell was it?? I was anxious and had a little tension headache but mild headache. Any one else had this ?

Sounds like how my aura started except it got worse and then zig zags appeared. It didn't go away after blinking a few times. I've had black dots in my vision before though that go away in a few seconds or after blinking. I've always just put them down to being floaters in my vision or sun spots.

[swajj]

I had one today. I was in class reading a book to my students. Mine start with a blind spot. I'm reading the text and then it will become less clear, not blurry but like parts of the letters are missing. I know immediately that it is coming on. After about 5 minutes the letters become even less clear. Then I get the zig zag - broken glass effect. It starts in my central vision and slowly ebbs sideways until it goes away. Today's one lasted about 20 minutes. I had one last week as well. Again it was in class but it lasted only about 10 minutes. Prior to that one I hadn't had one for months. I hate them because my anxiety jumps on it and I start to think "what if it doesn't go away". Even though it always does. I'm convinced its caused by anxiety. Then more anxiety gets added when it occurs. Its that vicious cycle.

[GingerFish]

I had one today. I was in class reading a book to my students. Mine start with a blind spot. I'm reading the text and then it will become less clear, not blurry but like parts of the letters are missing. I know immediately that it is coming on. After about 5 minutes the letters become even less clear. Then I get the zig zag - broken glass effect. It starts in my central vision and slowly ebbs sideways until it goes away. Today's one lasted about 20 minutes. I had one last week as well. Again it was in class but it lasted only about 10 minutes. Prior to that one I hadn't had one for months. I hate them because my anxiety jumps on it and I start to think "what if it doesn't go away". Even though it always does. I'm convinced its caused by anxiety. Then more anxiety gets added when it occurs. Its that vicious cycle.

I was convinced mine wouldn't go away either though I knew it would. Its the same as a panic attack, they always feel like they will never end but they always do. Its the thought of it never ending that fuels my anxiety but I can't switch it off even though I know for a fact both anxiety and an aura wont last forever. So frustrating :(

[.Poppy.]

I actually just got a new migraine medication: Midrin. For years I've used Immitrex or the generic, but I hate taking it now because I get funny side effects of my migraines (weird smell, taste in mouth, etc.) and the Immitrex was making those worse even if it took the headache away, which felt worse for me.

So I haven't been taking anything unless they're really bad...I probably still won't take it terribly often because apparently my health insurance decided that with this particular medication, OTC products "may be just as good" so they won't cover most of the cost and it's $130 a bottle for the meds! But I've read reviews and it seems like a really good med, far better than anything OTC, so it's nice to have just in case the bad ones come.

[rsanchez]

I guess for me I was lucky I started getting migraines before I developed problems with anxiety. For me they always followed a predictable pattern so I never developed a fear of them. Always started with the aura and then followed with the pain and finally the not feeling right for a day or two. It disappointed me that it was ruining my day, but never scared me.

[swajj]

I was convinced mine wouldn't go away either though I knew it would. Its the same as a panic attack, they always feel like they will never end but they always do. Its the thought of it never ending that fuels my anxiety but I can't switch it off even though I know for a fact both anxiety and an aura wont last forever. So frustrating :(

I know exactly what you mean. I don't actually experience bad headaches when I get them. Sometimes I will have a headache with them but other times I don't. I know that this is common. I'm like you I live in dread of the next one.

---------- Post added at 20:46 ---------- Previous post was at 20:22 ----------

Ginger, I thought you might be interested in reading the following post. It was in response to someone posting there concerns about ocular migranes. It is written by a retired neurologist who used to post here (I think he died). Anyway he had a lot of knowledge about health anxiety and its physical effects.



The most common cause for the symptom being described is an ocular migraine, which is simply the presence of a scintillating scotoma, or visual aura, in the absence of the subsequent characteristic migraine headache or discomfort. Stress and anxiety are present in nearly all instances. Many patients describe the aura as having a fractured glass appearance with colors similar to that observed in a kaleidoscope. The aura typically originates in the peripheral vision and first detected as a burring effect, which slowly develops into an arc of visual disturbance and slowly crosses the greater or central field of vision before dissipating in about 20 to 30 minutes, rarely a bit longer.

There is nothing to suggest that your symptoms are the result of any type of underlying pathology, so you should try to relax. The events occur randomly and more frequent upon original onset, gradually dissipating over time.

---------- Post added at 20:51 ---------- Previous post was at 20:46 ----------

He was known as RLR (don't know if you are familiar with him) and he had his own forum. He also posted on there a few times about ocular migranes and he mentioned the blind spot that you and I experience. He said that ocular migranes are absolutely harmless.

[GingerFish]

I know exactly what you mean. I don't actually experience bad headaches when I get them. Sometimes I will have a headache with them but other times I don't. I know that this is common. I'm like you I live in dread of the next one.

---------- Post added at 20:46 ---------- Previous post was at 20:22 ----------

Ginger, I thought you might be interested in reading the following post. It was in response to someone posting there concerns about ocular migranes. It is written by a retired neurologist who used to post here (I think he died). Anyway he had a lot of knowledge about health anxiety and its physical effects.



The most common cause for the symptom being described is an ocular migraine, which is simply the presence of a scintillating scotoma, or visual aura, in the absence of the subsequent characteristic migraine headache or discomfort. Stress and anxiety are present in nearly all instances. Many patients describe the aura as having a fractured glass appearance with colors similar to that observed in a kaleidoscope. The aura typically originates in the peripheral vision and first detected as a burring effect, which slowly develops into an arc of visual disturbance and slowly crosses the greater or central field of vision before dissipating in about 20 to 30 minutes, rarely a bit longer.

There is nothing to suggest that your symptoms are the result of any type of underlying pathology, so you should try to relax. The events occur randomly and more frequent upon original onset, gradually dissipating over time.

---------- Post added at 20:51 ---------- Previous post was at 20:46 ----------

He was known as RLR (don't know if you are familiar with him) and he had his own forum. He also posted on there a few times about ocular migranes and he mentioned the blind spot that you and I experience. He said that ocular migranes are absolutely harmless.

Thanks for that, that's me just saw this. Its so hard to remember they aren't harmless. They are so scary. I haven't had one in over a month but saying that, my anxiety and stress hasn't been as bad as it was when I got the last aura, not by a long shot so it most likely was stress that brought mine on because I was so stressed at that point I honestly thought I was having a nervous breakdown.