Migraine with aura

[Bornworrier]

I am 49 years old and have had three migraines with aura this year. Central vision is obscured by a colourful zig-zag arc which moves out of my field of vision over a period of 20-30 minutes. Each time it is followed by a dull headache that lasts a few hours.

Has anyone had these starting later in life? Until these, I could count on two hands the number of headaches I’ve had in my entire life. I had the first migraine (January) checked and was told that it was a migraine with aura and they are quite common. That was it.

I had my second yesterday and third today. Could they be hormonal? I have booked an appointment to see a different doctor, but am a bit worried as I am reading that if migraines start later in life, it can be because of an underlying, more serious condition. And as my name suggests - I am a bit of a worrier.

Any thoughts or insights?

It's such a horrible feeling. I get these and also speech difficulty with hormonal migraines. Don't drive. Seek a quiet room away from the computer, perfume, cooking or paint smells. If I am at work I go to the loo or hide in a quiet corner.

My migraines with aura are certainly hormone related but I’m not sure what that means if they start later in life. Definitely worth a chat withe your gp if you’re concerned. You could always ask them to clarify why they are not worried!

I've had spates of these sorts of migraines three times in my life:

Adolescence (hammerhead headache with full on vomiting)
Pregnancy (with speech and motor disturbance)
Menopause ('just' the aura and headache)

I'm taking a punt on them being hormonal.

Co-codamol at the first sign, with water, really helps me. The pharmacist seems to happy to sell them for migraine.

Sorry OP but I'm with the above, starting periods, pregnancy and now peri-menopause seen to be my triggers. And only in the last few years have I started govt blind with some of them, and being unable to select words too. That bit lasts a couple of days after the pain has gone.

It's worth keeping a diary to see if you can find triggers, if not it's the first thing the Dr will ask for.

My trigger is stress. Which is very hard to avoid for a woman in 40s/50s with multiple family and financial responsibilities tbh :(

I’m thinking you are right about the hormones:

In December I started getting hot flushes and not being able to sleep. In January I had my first migraine with aura. In May I went on HRT patches because I was so tired with waking up 10 times a night and feeling miserable all the time.

I have had problems with the patches (non-stop bleeding). Can’t get hold of my Gynae (holiday), but took the patch off middle of last week. Yesterday and today a migraine with aura.

All three could be caused by a dip in hormones....

I feel your pain! I have a migraine today and it started with Aura. They are horrible things. Mine are for sure hormonal as I tend to get them the day before a period or right on ovulation. I take preventative medication now so get them less frequently but still do get some. Mine are also sometimes triggered by stress.

Worth asking about preventative treatments if they become more frequent as there are several options to try.

I started to get mine after my periods came back after I had DS. I would tend to get one in the week before I was due on. Worked out though that having a strong coffee in that week was more likely to bring one on, so now if i want a coffee while I'm out (and having instant at home doesn't bring one on!) then I simply get a decaf. Could something like that be a trigger for you do you think? Strange how coffee never used to affect me like that so must also be something to do with hormones! Our bodies are weird at times!!

What HRT patches were you prescribed, OP? My GP made a right horlicks of mine at first, I bled like crazy.

(I've had a hysterectomy since, because of fibroids, which kind of simplified things.)

I still get migraines but the ones with visual disturbance stopped when I started taking magnesium supplements. Definitely worth. Try!

AutumnCrow - they are called System Conti. I had no period for 8 months prior to going on patches in May. The patches have been wonderful for the hot-flushes, sleep, my overall well-being and state of mind BUT I have bled pretty much constantly since starting them.

I kept thinking it would stop but last week I’d had enough so ripped the thing off (I tried to make appt with gynae but she is away). Didn’t think that it might then cause hormone-dip issues. Which could be what the two aura migraines in two days could be??

Thanks - will go back to taking magnesium too....

Same rookie mistake my GP made, OP. You're obviously not post-periods yet.

Oh gosh I am so so sorry! I had these and they got to the point I dreaded every new day! One time I was in Tesco buying things for migraine when the aura came on, I cried :( I was young mind! But the migraine that followed was horrific!

Check your diet, maybe look at things like caffeine! I removed that 3 years ago and they've gone too

I had these with a certain contraceptive pill I was on, stopped taking that brand and changed and they stopped

AutumnCrow - why does that matter? Can you not be on the patches if your periods haven’t finished? She knew I hadn’t had one for 8 months, she said it didn’t matter...

I think it goes:

Conti = post-periods 18 months
Sequi = not yet post-periods
Oestrogen only = no uterus

There are very knowledgeable women on the Menopause Board who will know all this stuff properly.

Bear with and I'll find a link ...

AutumnCrow: really??? :-o
Oh dear.

Try having a look at this thread and then maybe read around the board. The poster called Jingling is very good.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/menopause/3085719-evorel-conti-patches?pg=1&order=

Ignore the doom-mongers; HRT is excellent. You just need to find the right one, reduce stress, and cut out any other triggers like (maybe) coffee and you'll feel better.

I found bleeding constantly pretty stressful ...

I agree it's been hormonal for me - I get them exactly as you describe when I'm pregnant. I've never had them at any other time.

Thanks. Will check it out now....

Thanks AutumnCrow. How can a gynaecologist make such a mistake? I will try and change.

Meantime, I am pretty sure my migraine with aura are hormonal.

Bornworrier - you can check the pack leaflet to see whether it’s indicated for your situation.

I have had migraines with aura that were definitely peri-menopause related. As the other symptoms have become more manageable (well at least I’m less batshit crazy than I was, sleep better than I did and have rediscovered my libido which absented itself for a year or so ) the migraines have become less frequent. Only had one in the last 10 months I think.

I have ocular migrane which is just the aura without any headache, I just get a weird zig zag almost psychedelic that last for about 20 minutes. It happens in clusters so I could get it every day for a week then nothing for weeks. In my case I guess it's menopause related. I worried about it till self diagnosed myself on Google.

I've had one with aura recently, exactly the way you describe with the bright zig zag lines that move out of my field of vision in the same sort of time.

I'm 35, on some medication that lists migraine as a side effect so not worrying too much.