Migraine aura... scared!

[Dimdim101]

Also like 3 years ago, I was doing the weird head bobbing motion and I got a migraine aura for the first time after which really scared me. Coincidence possibly, but I don't think so, and I worry then that I caused brain damage or something. I know a lot of people get migraine auras after neck strain, so it could be as simple as that, or as complicated as some brain damage. I feel so angry because this is something that I did to myself and I'm really scared now that it could kill me :(

Maybe it happened because of something as simple as neck tension from doing the head bobbing rather than anything sinister

[ankietyjoe]

You're being ridiculous.

Stop reading stories like that if they scare you. It's like worrying about being struck by lightning. Sure, it could happen, but it's not actually going to and in the meantime your life is whizzing by while you worry about nothing.

[Carys]

It was three years ago!... and no you can't weaken blood vessels - if you could then dancers or all sorts, professional and nightclubbers would have weakened veins that just burst. Head-bangers - they don't drop dead at the time of taking part in their 'activity' (though actually the amount they do and the incredible force some do it at isn't advisable, but in the unlikely event that caused a problem it would be at the time!)

[Dimdim101]

So I just had a migraine aura I went just over a year without having one and I thought I had beaten it... nope! I woke up, and as soon as I went to look at my phone I noticed I couldn't see properly, and it went from there. The zig zag grew and in about 20 min it was finally gone. I stayed relatively calm compared to my usual panics, and so after the zig zag I didn't have any other symptoms (in the past I have had numbness, tingling, slurring etc, but to be fair that was probably all just part of a bad panic attack from me freaking out about the visual aura).

I got a headache after so I went to have a nap (bit weird to do that after just waking up but didn't have much of a choice) and I feel much better now. I just have a slight headache and feel a little on edge... like at any moment it will happen again or that there's something wrong with my brain and I should watch out. I'm meant to go out tonight and have a few drinks, would this be okay? I'm worried I'll have a stroke or something Although one time I was actually out drinking and I got an aura and once it went away I kept drinking...

Let me know your thoughts please as I just want to move on from this and not keep worrying! I'm only 23 and just want to enjoy my life.

[Dimdim101]

Just read a few threads on here about it and how it is linked to stroke and I'm freaking out again :( I suppose it's 'over' now and no stroke happened but I feel like a stroke could happen at any moment now :(

[washingtonwaves]

Hi hope you're feeling a little better. I read your post and wow it sounds exactly like me. I'm 27 and healthy. If it's any comfort I actually had an MRI done and was officially diagnosed with these symptoms just being a migraine aura but without headache which is pretty common. I would rarely maybe one or two times a year get a migraine aura but mine come without any headache or pain. I usually start to notice it in one eye when reading it'll start with maybe a letter is blotted out or hard to see and in the center of my vision. Over the course of 10 minutes it gets progressively worse.

I'll see moving white zig zag lines throughout my vision like someone took a strange flash camera and blinded me. They'll proceed to get more prominent and slowly move towards my peripheral vision while the center of my vision clears up and by 20 minutes it's usually pretty faint and only in the corners of my vision until it finally fades away.

I also used to panic thinking it's a stroke especially since I didn't even get the tell tail headache but stokes are VERY different than what you described. They don't cause zig zag lines and they come on very fast and don't have the visual progression like an aura does.

Millions of people get migraines and yours is as classic as they come. Stress can cause them to happen more frequently and they're in no way a sign of an impending stroke (try not to google it's your worst enemy trust me). If it were something wrong with your brain you would have other severe symptoms that don't come and go. What you can try to do is make sure you drink plenty of water, lower your anxiety level, and get plenty of exercise. These are all good ways to possibly keep a migraine from happening. Drinking can sometimes cause headaches so it's not surprising you'd get a migraine from that but that's about it and you'll be fine.

Hope some of this helps hang in there!

[BlueIris]

The increased stroke risk that comes with migraine aura is relatively small. It only becomes an issue if you add in other factors such as smoking and oral contraceptives.

[Dimdim101]

Wow thank you so much @washingtonwaves! This helped a lot. Compared to my first aura I was much more calm, but there is still some growth to be made as I have that lingering doubt. Unlike you I never got an MRI although I’m sure all would be fine too so it just seems very silly for me to go and do it. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this message, I really appreciate it!!

[Elen]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.

Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.

It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.

Elen

[washingtonwaves]

Glad to help 🙂! I know the struggle especially when you’re first starting to get the auras. When I had it for the first time I ended up in the ER freaking out haha. It gets easier each time you have it though and and agree you definitely don’t need an MRI it’s expensive and didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know that it was a migraine aura yours would be the same!