Mirgrane/headache aura?

[pinkynicca]

hello all...last night i was watching some videos on youtube when i suddenly had these circle auras in my vision it affected the center of sight and blurred out a little bit the circle got bigger then finally out of my vision then i got a headache im scared i got a brain tumor now :( very scared. has anybody ever had this?:

[Anxious_gal]

Yep been getting them for years now, very scary things, an awful pain :(
the aura normally lasts 20 minutes and is followed by a headaches, usually on one side of the head.
you might feel really weird n kinda spaced out too.
theres a herb called FeverFew which helps cut down on the amount of migraines I get.
were you on your period or did you eat cheese or drink red wine or were very tired? sometimes these things can trigger off a migraie.

[haz]

Yes! and it was very scary. Thought I was going blind. Phoned my GP got an appt later that day. By the time I got to the doctors surgery I had a headache and the visual disturbances were gone. I had a migraine!

Still not convinced, went home and phoned my best friends husband who has an opticians. He explained that you can get an "aura migraine" i.e. visual disturbances without the actual headache. Got my eyes tested just to be on the safe side from another optician (friend lives too far away) and he also agreed as he is a migraine sufferer himself.

Only had one more since, but I now I know what they are, I'm not as scared.

Regards.

Haz

[Anxious_gal]

http://www.google.ie/images?um=1&hl=en&biw=771&bih=385&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=migraine+aura&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=

IMAGES on google of auras :)

[TracyL]

OMG, I have just posted about the exact same thing. I had a problem with my vision yesterday and could only see bits of anything I looked at. I was so scared and it gave me a full blown panic attack. I did get a bit of a headache after but not a dreadfully painful one. I thought I was going blind. I went off to the doctor at the hospital who took my blood pressure and checked my eyes but by then i could see ok. He said possible migraine auras but nothing sinister. I was so scared. Today my head feels really thick and my eyes feel thick behind them. It petrified me and I don't think the panic attack helped either.
Take care hun

Luv Tracy

[Anxious_gal]

hey just so you all know, some times you can feel a bit off days before having an actual migraine, a migraine it's self is not just a typical headache, after the migraine you might get whats known as a migraine hang over, where you just feel very off and tired x

this might help http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migraine

[pinkynicca]

thank you all for your input.. jeeze how scary!!!! does anybody ever just feel good for years on end? seems like when one thing ends another begins. thanks again

[blueangel]

As a longterm migraine sufferer, I'd say those images on Google are a very good representation. Makes me queasy just thinking about it!!

[Anxious_gal]

I know, I felt a bit ill too while looking at the pictures!

[Kelley]

Hi.
I am new to this phenomena, only having 3 in my life, all which have been this year. I looked at the google pics and i cant say any of them look like mine!! I don't have zig zagging or C shapes. I just get a spot in my vision that blanks out the picture. Kind of reminds me of when you have looked at the sun and then come inside and the light stays in your eye. It then moves over to the side and my whole eye seems to do a weird thing i cant describe. Kind of like i've been spun around really fast and then stopped but my eyes are giddy and i have them open. (It's fine when i close them).....The one i had yesterday was like this.....I woke up in the morning, went to the loo and looked over at the clock on the wall in the lounge room and noticed that i could see the clock but i couldnt see the hands to tell the time! I got back into bed and watched the tv and then noticed that i could see the people on the screen but while looking at their faces, their bodies seemed to dissapear or not match up correctly!! As i sat up i began to feel the giddy type feeling in the eye and it felt like my vision was going to close over. This is when i panicked and told my hubby to quickly get me some panadol and nurofen which i took and closed my eyes for an hour. When i was brave enough to open them, i noticed it had gone but i did have a very mild headache on the other side of my head.
Anyone else???


Kel x

[JaneC]

Hi.
I just get a spot in my vision that blanks out the picture. Kind of reminds me of when you have looked at the sun and then come inside and the light stays in your eye.



Hi Kel, I've had that one, like a sunspot which gradually gets bigger and a blank area of vision where it is. Luckily, I tend to feel ok afterwards although occasionally not. Sounds like you are doing the right thing with the painkillers and getting some rest. Don't know what else one can do, except accept it's a migraine, nothing worse, and not freak out xx

[Kelley]

Thanks for the reply Jane.
I guess it's just hard for me to accept because i have generally never suffered from migraines prior to this year. Does everyone that has these type of migraines experience exactly the same symptoms everytime they have one? Or do they come slightly different at times? The one i had yesterday didn't start as much of a 'sun light' but rather like a missing part of a picture........not blurred or black/grey/colour, just missing then the weird distorted effect after...

Thanks,
Kel x

[blueangel]

Hi Kelley

I can answer this one from my own experiences - I have experienced a number of different types of migraine aura, and I can usually tell from the aura how bad the headache is going to be afterwards.

My commonest symptom is the wavy zigzag lines; in fact, I had an attack yesterday afternoon which I think might have been bought on by being dazzled by reflections. I was at a vintage car show and the sun was reflecting off all the highly polished cars, and this seemed to set me off.

When I get the zig-zag patterns, they will either start in the centre of my vision and work their way outwards on one side, or they'll start at one of my vision and then work their way across. I do occasionally get "blind spot" migraines, but for me these tend to be bad and will make me very sick.

Along with the visual aura, I'll usually get a very upset stomach and nausea, and can sometimes get numb patches on my face, tingling fingers and speech disturbances. As far as I know, migraine can come on at various different times of life, and for women they're very often hormone-driven.

My mother was also a migraine sufferer and she used to get a range of different auras as well.

I'm not sure why they differ - I'm guessing that it might be related to the type and extent of the contraction of the affected blood vessels, but I don't know whether anyone knows for sure.

[Kelley]

Thanks Blue Angel.
It helps to talk to others who understand and know about it.......Have you suffered your whole life or did it just begin later like mine have? I'm 33 and the only thing similar i can remember was when i was 11 at school and i went to the office because i couldn't see properly out of my left eye....I was sent to the doctor nearby who asked my mum if i had started mensturating yet and as i had he said it was caused by hormones. But why after all these years would it come out now? I'm the type of person who needs to know the why's and how's or i cant settle. I guess this a trait for all us anxiety sufferers though! Does having migraines put us at risk of serious things brain related?? I have googled and i shouldn't have!

Kel x

[blueangel]

Hi Kelly

If I remember rightly, I started to get them properly around the time I started my periods, although when I was little I used to get "sick headaches" which might have been a precursor to them.

For years, I only used to get fairly infrequent attacks (maybe 3 or 4 a year) but mine suddenly got worse when I went perimenopausal and I got to the stage where I was having one every few days. My doctor said for me it was caused by a drop in hormone levels and I've been on beta-blockers since then to help control them.

It's probably worth having a work with your doctor about them, as there are all sorts of things which can trigger them, from food to weather conditions. Often, if you can identify a trigger, you can do something about it.

As for the link between migraine and other conditions, there is definitely a genetic link between migraine and epilepsy, so it's certainly possible to get both conditions in the members of a family that is prone to it. As for googling other stuff, I know there is material published that links migraine with stroke, but try not to worry about this as the extra risk is quite small compared to the non-migraine-suffering public, and a lot of this risk can be reduced by ensuring you don't get high blood pressure.

Hope this helps!

[kayster]

Aura Migraine-to me it was totally scary, used to suffer with them in my teens, had the occasional one on and off over the years but not many. Things happened last year, work, relationship that sort of stuff, and they started again in Jan 2011, but not like before, totally different, in my teens I could be laid up for 2 days, had the changing colours, flicking lights and really bad headache where i wouyld even be sick.
This time, a blind spot and then ziggy lines in my vision, have tpo lie down and they go within 45 mins, yesterday though had blurred vision, only for about 10 seconds, once sat down ok.
Keep a record each day of what you eat and drink, think mine happens when I am dehydrated, and over tired, they have gone from every 3 days to once every 2 weeks, once they pass I seem to be ok, I do take it easy for the rest of the day, just to be sure.
I've had to give up work due to the panic I suffer with all the symptoms, but I feel that i can cope at the moment
:hugs: