Migraines, Auras, Silent Migraines, Ocular Auras

[Carnation]

I've started this thread for fellow members that suffer with any of the above.
I'd like to know how long you have been suffering, if you know the trigger and whether you take medication.
This will help others (including myself) to have some comfort and guidance to something which can be very scary and worrying. Tia.

[MrLurcher]

I had my first visual aura or 'scintillating scotoma' episode when I was in my mid 20's, and have had them sporadically since (now in my late 30's), so around 15 years or so. The episodes usually last around 20 minutes, and are sometimes followed by a mild migraine, but often not. Haven't noticed any pattern at all - I've even had one while waking up! I thought I was dreaming and seeing flashing lights, but I woke up and I was in the middle of an episode! Sometimes I can go several months without having one, then I'll have 2 in a week, and sometimes once a month. There's no pattern.

Very scary at first and thought something horrible was happening, so visited a doctor and an optician who explained these were visual auras / migraines, and having done my own research, I concluded that my episodes are scintillating scotoma's - a common type of visual aura.

Hope that helps someone.

[.Poppy.]

I’ve had migraines for years. I think my doctor thought they started when I was about three or four, but they got really bad when I was 11. They’re not as bad now but can still be awful. Usually they are caused by tension, so if I sleep funny I will get one, or if I get too stressed.

I rarely have auras with them, but I had one about ten years ago where I had the zig zag lines, then temporary blindness, then a horrible migraine hit, and I could barely speak. I thought I was having a stroke and went to the ER. They said everything was fine and I had an MRI after and it was just a bad migraine. Thankfully I haven’t had like that since.

I agree, Carnation, they can be scary. The visual stuff can definitely be upsetting even when we know what it is.

[Carnation]

Thank you Mr Lurcher and Poppy.

Mr Lurcher, do you take any medication for this?
I too have noticed no regular pattern. Sometimes months will pass, then I will have a cluster of them over a couple of weeks and also I'll have one follow the following day.
Not always with a headache which is usually to one side and around one eye, sometimes just a washed out feeling but no headache. The auras lasting between 20-30 minutes. Eyesight clear immediately after.
The aura normally a zigzag of multicolours starting in the centre and finishing over my left hand side. With distortion of sight in both eyes
Also had the light thing upon waking.

Poppy, you have experienced these for a long time.
Do you also takes medication, for them?
I've heard tension /stress can be a trigger and a few fellow sufferers have mentioned a tightness around the neck /shoulder area. Sleeping position could even be a factor.
Did you ever find a trigger, for instance a particular food.
Such as cheese, chocolate, coffee?
And how long a period did you have your migraine?

[BlueIris]

Strange coincidence; I haven't had any in years and then I had two today.

[Carnation]

Wow BlueIris, I wonder if it is because of your recent hospital.
We're they with migraine headache or not?

[.Poppy.]

Mine usually last about a day, Carnation. I don't notice any food triggers, really just stress or tension. If I sleep funny I'll feel it in my neck and then it will work around into a headache. When I had the bad one that I went to the ER for, I remember not sleeping well the night before because I couldn't get comfortable on my pillow. Sometimes I'll get one if I'm overly excited for something, and sometimes I'll get one if I have a sudden bout of stress, like if something alarms me (I guess because I go tense really quickly?).

I do take a medication, Nurtec. It works fairly well, though it works best if I can take it and then lay down and nap afterward. Thankfully a good sleep usually helps and it's gone by the next day.

It's funny, I have had some before that were just so intense and then even when the pain is still there if the intensity is gone I feel better, if that makes sense? Like after I left the ER, my head still hurt terribly but all of the other scary symptoms were gone so I felt much better. When I was younger, I'd get sick to my stomach several times (awful, as I'm emetophobic) but there was always that last time that afterward my head still hurt but I felt better.

They really are awful things. My best friend gets them and hers last for days.

[BlueIris]

I've been a bit headachy but not massively. I haven't been sleeping, though, and I've been eating and drinking much less, and I've been incredibly stressed out, too. None of these help.

[Carnation]

Yeah, I would agree with that BlueIris.
I remember when you had a cluster of them when you had some issues going on at work. You were taken home one time.

[Carnation]

Poppy, I've noticed I get a bit of a knot in my shoulder area at the base of the neck. My eyes also feel tired and difficult to focus. Not sure if that's anxiety tbh. But I do feel a washed out feeling just before one arrives.