Anyone suffer from aura migraine? How do they leave you feeling afterwards?

[BorntoDillyDally]

Even though I have experienced these for 20 years they still never fail to terrify the hell out of me.

I got my first migraine with aura during my pregnancies then at the beginning of each period. I am now in perimenopause and they come randomly, so must be a hormonal trigger for me.

I hate them with a passion. Starts off as a blind spot in my vision which becomes a weird flashing zig zag which lasts half an hour or so. I often have no choice but to go and lie down in the dark.

I often don't get much of a headache after but they leave me feeling really weird, anxious, spaced out and so so tired. Sometimes I will very confused too.

I woke with one this morning and now feel so weird, 3 hours on. So tired and spaced out.

Does anyone else get this? After all these years I don't think there is anything I can do to prevent them happening (my mum always suffered from them and so does my sister).

Sympathies! Yes I have IBS as well and they seem to trigger something unpleasant.

I get them. A type of Birth control triggered mine about 10 years ago. Had one yesterday actually. Take sumatriptin qt the first blind spot I notice which takes most of the pain but leaves me with a burning neck and acid reflux. If I don't take them it varies between a light sensitive pressure headache that I can sleep through and sometimes q headache so bad I think my head will explode inside out with sensitivity to overeat and light as well as vomiting. Also nauseous through them.
I also always have a mild movement headache for a day or two after and frequently feel really emotional in the days leading up to one.

Migraine has 4 phases:
Prodrome: I don't always notice mine but involves being restless, not sleeping, anxiety, going to the loo a lot and food craving. If you think chocolate triggers your migraine, it might be that you crave it in prodrome and your migraine was already inevitable.
Aura: not every gets one, may only be seconds
Headache: speaks for itself. May go with other neurological symptoms like light, sound or smell sensitivity, speech problems, weakness
Aftermath: don't underestimate the hours of feeling like absolute shite afterwards.

It's not just a headache.

yep, me too—starts off with the flashing zig zag crescent in one of my eyes. My very first warning sign is a small blind spot (while reading, for example). Then a headache and nausea sets in and once that’s finished I feel quite hungover for a day or so. And very hungry!

I’ve found the attacks have decreased since cutting out alcohol and taking quite a lot of magnesium. I’m in my 40s and I get about one a year, maybe two, and they’re much much milder.

This is very similar to what I experience.
First happened when I was pregnant and have occurred randomly since then.
I am now post-menopausal and still get them occasionally. I can’t identify any triggers.
I am lucky in that I don’t get any headache afterwards and generally feel fine, maybe just a bit washed out for an hour.

The first time I had a migraine I thought I was dying!! The pain was horrendous. That was many years ago. Still get them all the time, starting with the zigzags and flashing lights. That lasts about half an hour. The actual migraine can last for days, my scalp is really tender to touch and I feel awful. Even with painkillers it doesn't take away all the other symptoms you're all talking about. My biggest triggers are bright lights, stress and lack of sleep. I haven't found a way to stop them happening unfortunately and they're more and more frequent. What I hate is when people think you've just got a headache!! If you've never had a migraine I guess you can't imagine it. Strangely I often feel unusually well just before I get one!

I keep the 150ml cans of coke in and get one of those down with paracetamol and ibuprofen. Take a nap or at the very least lie down and close my eyes and after 20 mins or so I'm much better. Not 💯 but ok

Mine don't seem to come with the migraine hangover any more (I'm in my 50s but not yet menopausal.) but are more frequent. I'm hopeful that, as they're clearly hormone related, they might peter out post menopause.

They started after my first pregnancy and were most severe during my second, and until a couple of years ago they would only rarely associated with headache but would be followed by feeling off from anything to a couple of hours to a day.

Now, as I said, they're more frequent and seem to be related to my period being due, but literally just last the 20 minutes it takes for the aura to move across my vision and then it's done.

Newnamebridget can you describe vestibular migraine please.
I have the occular ones with aura and sometimes feel dizzy and discombobulated is this the vestibular one when this happens.

I used to get them and they started after the birth of my DC. First one really scared me as I didn't know what was happening and I was out with DH and two DC in a farm park. There was never a headache, just the wild zig-zaggy disturbance to my vision. I learned quite quickly to take a couple of painkillers and lie down for 30-60 mins in a dark room as that would alleviate them quickly. I'm 60 now and - touch wood - haven't had one for years.

I get the zig zag aura, headaches have changed over the years. The fear hasn’t. Initially used to get such painful headaches it felt like my head couldnt move. Then I used to just the the aura but was fine. Now I get a headache and feel completely wiped out, sometimes for a couple of days after aswell. I take cocodamol and I feel like my limbs are very heavy - not sure if migraine or side effects of drugs. They are v frightening aren’t they. Mine are brought in by stress.

I get the visual aura too. They don't scare me, except for the time I got one driving down the M6.

I dont usually get a headache after but do feel weird and out of sorts in a hard to describe way.

I also get migraine headaches without aura. They are mild, so regular painkillers are all I need. But annoying because of the other symptoms I get: thirst, yawning attacks, sometimes my temperature regulation goes wild (can't get warm. And they can last for a few days.

This is a very timely thread for me. Have had an aura migraine this morning - zigzags, flashing lights etc.

I'm finding that they are becoming more frequent - with one every few weeks. I thought it was related to eye sight as prescription changed. I've tried to track any triggers but there doesn't particularly seem to be a pattern. I guess maybe it's peri related instead.

Given they are becoming more frequent, is it worth going to the GP?

Potentially. Would probably be helpful to see if there are any areas of your life where you need to reduce your stress levels too.

I used to get very painful migraines, but I now get the aura and numbness on one side. It always makes me feel like I can see ghosts! It's the shapes in my peripheral vision.

Mine start like yours, with a blind spot
I can get a terrible over the eye headache after the visual disturbance and get left feeling like I have a hangover
Sumatripan has been life changing for me. It works quickly and I am not left feeling awful

I've tried seeing the GP about mine and haven't really got anywhere. Have been going back and forth for over a year. Have tried various triptans which didn't work and basically he didn't seem very interested.

I get them every 2 to 3 weeks and they last about 5 days so it's pretty bad.

Will be interested if you get any good help from your GP @You4coffee

I get (or used to get) very similar to yours @BorntoDillyDally blind spot then zigzag lines that last for about 20 minutes. No real headache afterwards, but feel a bit out of sorts.

They started a few years ago, I just had one a year, then last April I started to get them every 4 weeks. Couldn't find any triggers, they seemed very random and not related to stress. Post menopause, but assumed they were hormone related as they became so regular. Sometimes I would need to go and lie down and close my eyes while it happened, but also found that putting on a pair of sunglasses seemed to help.

I mentioned them to the GP who advised to go and get an eye test. I had a brilliant session in Specsavers with a special kind of scan (can't remember what it was called) and they checked everything - explained there were no actual problems with my vision or behind my eyes and they might just stop as randomly as they started.

Oddly I started chemo and immunotherapy in November and haven't had one since - obviously a rather extreme way to knock them on the head and wouldn't recommend this route to others !

I found seeing the optician very reassuring, I didn't get any strategies for dealing with them, but it took the worry and anxiety away.

I was advised by my doctor that you shouldn’t take a triptan until the actual headache starts as it isn’t effective if you take it any earlier. I tried taking sumatriptan when my aura starts and it made zero difference (which was why I was moaning to my doctor). Actually, I’ve subsequently been diagnosed with ADHD and my psychiatrist has told me that I MUST NOT take triptans if I’m taking ADHD meds (I take methylphenidate aka Ritalin).

I take an over-the-counter medication called Midrid as soon as the aura starts and that really helps. It’s the only medication I’ve ever found that makes a difference for me. Unfortunately it can be quite hard to find. For a while it stopped being available, then it became prescription only, then the manufacturer stopped making it - and there are NO other similar meds (per my GP searching for meds with the same/similar ingredients) - and now it’s available from just one or two websites as an OTC medication. I try to stock up when it’s available. I’ve never met a GP who’s heard of Midrid. I discovered it accidentally at a chemist many years ago.

I started with aura migraines in my teens. I’m now 54 and still get them. For a few years I took a low dose of amitryptiline to help prevent migraines and that really helped reduce them. But then I was advised to come off it by the menopause clinic and now my migraines are back. For me the triggers are very much lack of sleep and stress, and also a change in sleep patterns, so if I realise I’m in a ‘migraine risk’ period I have to make very slow changes to my sleep/stress behaviour as a sudden/big change will trigger a migraine anyway.

I lose vision in the left side of each eye, then get an aura with shimmering zig-zags in an arc. I lose the ability to say certain words, or recall those words. My fingertips go partly numb and my tongue goes numb. It can last less than an hour, especially if I can lie down somewhere dark and quiet.

The aftermath is just as destabilising. A slight ache in my head, giddiness, light sensitivity, noise sensitivity and an overwhelming feeling of fragility.

I'm going to try Midrid! I've never heard of it but anything is worth a try so thanks for that. Even if it just helps make it go quicker than will be a bonus.

I get them. They were much worse when I was pregnant. No pain but bad vision loss. Mine are much improved by HRT.

Tell you what’s weird though - when there’s one starting, I become a teeny tiny bit psychic. Like I can tell you who is going to ring, what so and so will say when I see them, etc. All utterly pointless. If it was the lotto numbers that would be useful.

🤣