From the article: Migraine Aura
Sometimes migraine auras are very obvious, but other times it can be tough to figure out what is going on. Sharing information is an excellent way to collect information to help you deal with our own situation. What types of symptoms or warnings do you experience before a migraine?
Mary H Morris
- I start with blind spot, then beautiful sig zag coloured broken glass, then comes the headache! As soon as the headache starts I use my hairdryer on the side of the headache for some time and headache lessens.
- —Guest Mary H
Prodrome and aura
- Usually my prodrome comes the night before I get the attack. My vision is blurred, my neck is stiff, my sense of balance is off, and I have a CONSTANT need to urinate. The latter is the worst part by far; even if I have emptied my bladder, I still have the need to urinate. It's just tortuous. Sometime the next morning, usually around 9 AM, the aura comes. It starts out as a blind spot in the center of my vision, which then starts to shimmer and grow. The blind spot usually has a scintillating zig-zag border that usually consists of complementary colors, most of the time red and green. Once the border moves out of my field of vision and the scotoma dissipates, the actual attack starts, which consists of merely a moderately strong headache on one hemisphere of the head, followed by nausea and rarely vomiting. Mercifully, my migraines only last 2-3 hours, and the postdromes are rarely bad. Plus, my auras are strangely beautiful, despite the terrifying connotations that they hold. If I could focus for long enough while I have an aura, I would be delighted to draw them.
- —Guest Aesaun
Fixed with glasses
- I used to have some of the blurry ball thing and it would grow to a sickle shape towards the left top side of my eyes. This happened all throughout jr high and high school. But it really stopped for the most part when I started wearing glasses. Now they are far and in between. Like 1nc a year maybe less. I dont even think about anymore its so rare. But I just came on here b/c my little girl now 7 just said something about a blurry ball that she can see. I know exactly what she is talking about and I just hope she doesnt get sick like I used to. I am going to get her eyes checked as that is what helped me.
- —Guest Paul8798987
Starting and I oserved..
- I have observed some common facts : 1.If you see blind-spots, lines, aura in your left side of vision, then your right side of head is going to hurt. 2.If you just had a migraine attack (few hours,days before)and you see aura now, the immediately following migraine will be very slight, hardly noticeable. 3. If you see blind spots etc, immediately stop driving,computer work, or any activity requiring visual activity. Close your eyes, stay away from noise. divert your mind away from the headache. 4.The best to endure a migraine is either a sleep, or deep meditation. 5.Only take pain killer tablets when you are out of options, like a very important work meeting etc. The more you become dependent on medicine, more easily you wear out under migraine . 6. using bio-rhythms and a strict time-table can save you from disturbances in your daily routine, which triggers migraine.
- —Guest marvin
Twins with migraine
- My twin & I both get migraines (inherited from mother). He started getting them in his teens, me in my mide 30s. Cause of mine is normally me being a bit tired / run down & some sort of bright light. They inialise with a small blind spot in the centre of my vision. This gets bigger and is immediately followed by the jagged, coloured lights (quite attractive in a way :)). At this time there is absolutely no headache, however, it is my warning, so I seek a dark room, preferably the bedroom & switch on the radio waiting for the headache to come on. This can vary in strength but has not so far been too acute. However, I am sensitive to light for maybe 48 hours & feel like I have just driven a very long distance. My brother's latest was a bit worrying as he found he couldn't remember things e.g. who a character was in a regular tv program he was watching. Anybody else suffered similar short term memory loss?
- —Guest Richard C
migraine continued
- He said you will feel a knot in your temple area.When you find it use your index & middle fingers to grab it on each side(it will hurt) apply pressure like you are squeezing a zit and hold it,you will slowly feel your fingers moving closer together,keep doing this til the knot is gone when that is gone so is your migraine! The area will feel tender and sore,but as you all know here the pain of migraines are terrible.They can make your life hell,this really worked for me as time went on my migraines weren't hitting me so frequently,I hope this info can help you all!
- —Heidicat13
migraines
- I had a fall 7 years ago which resulted in chronic back & occasional neck pain.I suffer from sciatica,numbness,tingling,restlessness,insomnia,lack of concentration to name a few and yes the horrific migraines that hit fast,hard and can last for days.I have been on 10 mg.of percocets,350 mg.of Somas and before Hurricane Katrina forced me to relocate and get a new doctor I was on Fiorocets for migraines.It physically hurt for me to touch my temple area when a migraine hit me,though I asked my pain mang. doc,chiropractor and hell even Neurologist why I had the physical ailment in my temple no one could give me an answer.I have tried everything from the docs I listed earlier to homeopathic meds,accupuncture and just trying mind over matter,it wasn't til I stated seeing a Muscular Skeletal Therapist that I finally got an answer and a soloution.He said that a headache/migraine is actualy just a muscle spasm,he taught me how to relieve them it works! ran out of room will continue sorry.
- —Heidicat13
Migraine with auras
- I suffered migraines for 30 years. I would experience auras that began with a blind spot that enlarged into a zigzag pattern that moved slowly to the left of my eye and then disappeared and I would then be left with a crushing headache. What has worked for me over the years is the moment I see the aura coming on, I sit quietly with my eyes closed and go into a relaxed state of meditation. When the aura has disappeared I will not experience the headache. Maybe this approach will help someone else.
- —Guest Annie M
Visual and no pain
- Its strange to hear most everyone suffers the headache, I don't, however it no fun to experience. The claasic zig zag line in the form of a DNA spiral which sometimes covers both eyes. This only lasts for 15 to 20 minutes but happens several times per week. I can work thorough it if necessary but its still frustrating and debilitating
- —Guest John Y
Lifelong
- As a child I had severe light-sensitivity, I'd faint even in the shade, I'd go nearly blind in sunshine, then it would become a migraine, and I'd just sleep it off. My fingers sometimes got numb. For a couple of years when I would wake up from these naps I would see an indistinct shape hovering over me up near the ceiling. Very scary, but it could have been stress related. In recent years I stopped getting migraines, until one day I was at a loud, busy farmers market drinking a diet coke (my bad). Freaked me out: I felt a pop or some kind of myoclonic event in my head. I had to sit down, and didn't get a headache, but felt wobbly the rest of the day. Now my most frequent occurences, are the lightning bolt or zig-zag streaks in my vision. Don't know if it's both eyes. It may start as a little ball-lightning, then grow and become an expanding circle made of kaleidoscope. I can't see past it so I have to fake it on the phone at work. Gonna go get some migraine meds. I want it to go AWAY.
- —Guest Fern
Blind Spots
- I will get blind spots on the sides of both eyes and some "spotty" blind areas looking forward. I noticed that the length of time of the Auras is an indicator of how long the pain will be around.
- —Guest Shawn Valrico
migraine
- severe migraines last four yrs.starts in neck.up my head down t eyes im in bed 48 hrs cant move or sleep go to batroom i just wanna die at that time they are taking over my life . i have 2 children i miss out on alot of activites has put strain on marriage my whole life.
- —Guest Donna
auras
- If I feel the center of my forehead get hot, notice smells acutely (esp. that of cheap or pungent perfume -- the worst!) or my sense of taste changes, I know I am likely headed toward a headache. I notice that my eyes get swollen, particularly the upper eyelid, and I develop circles under my eyes. I also had an optical migraine once, consisting of a circle of light with a rotating Art Deco-esque design in it, which floated across my left eye for about 20 minutes and then disappeared. That was not followed by headache pain. If I feel any headache pain I immediately take my Amerge, because I cannot take the risk that a minor headache will mutate into a major nightmare.
- —Guest sarah
impressionism
- my vision gets like seeing the world through a veil or an impressionistic painting too close - I can't tell if it is raining lighlty sometimes - bright lights - and unending hunger - till the nausea sets in
- —mamamull
Thanks for sharing!
- I get memory problems such as it will occur to me 'I don't remember how to walk backwards' or 'Have we had Christmas yet this year?'. Out of the blue. Weird that migraine hardly ever takes away without letting you know that something has been taken. Eg I remember once losing half of everything -- not half of the world but half of the book case, half of the clock, half of the ducks on the grass outside my window. It was only later that I realised my brain must have known very well what a 'whole' was in order to subtract half. I get visual disturbances, aphasia, numbness, vertigo, confusion and sickness. Problems with scale too: things will grow huge and then tiny before my eye. Have also had the very confusing simultaneous symptoms of not recognising my hand, and my own voice. Had to listen carefully to focus on what I was saying, even though I swear I had meant to say it. Also lost ability once to see movement. Just a sequence of stills. Hate it at the time, but interesting afte
- —Guest Guest Too
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