Poll at Dianne's request. Aura or not?

With reference to the thread by Linda "Some hope?"

It was noted that Peter Goadsby made reference to migraine with aura.

Dianne asked how many of us are aura people and how many not.
She didnt know how to do a poll, so I said I would....

So let's see shall we...

Hope it suffices, if not, let me know and will change it

I have one rather, maybe obvious, question. How do you define an aura?

HeelerLady wrote:I have one rather, maybe obvious, question. How do you define an aura?

That is a good question. As I dont think I have anything then I think those that have them will enlighten us.

I posted OTHER because I have migraine with Aura about 10% of the time, and sometimes I get Aura and no migraine. 90% of the time I just get pain with no Aura.

Not sure where I fit in.

Seemingly not as cut and dried as the medics and media make it sound,..

I'm about 50/50. When I have an aura though the M is generally worse...actual vomiting, more pain and lasts longer.

The aura itself is pretty mild. Either a ton of floaters in my right eye that look like bubbles, or a shimmer like you see way down on the highway on a hot day. Where it kind if looks like water on the road.

Constant aura of one type - visual snow - which may or may not be migraine related. Similar here: (the sandbox - green field with shed) except my worms are black not coloured, sand isn't as dense.

http://www.migraine-aura.org/content/e27891/e27265/e42285/index_en.html

Constant pain in the head - which may or may not be classed as migraine or as headache.
Sometimes blinding aura of classic migraine. Shimmering zig-zigs precede knife through eye sometimes followed by black blindness.

I don't get auras myself, but I have seen this image that attempts to reproduce the effect:

http://iownimages.tumblr.com/post/819164249/how-migraine-looks

The only reason I asked is that I get some visual disturbances but it's not the ultra weird stuff. I get a lot of double vision and I occasionally get floaters but it's not with every single one and my M seem to be changing again. The visual stuff is a lot less as of late. I don't know if you classify that as an aura or not?

I get visual auras that look like a scintillating ring that expands from a pinpoint to all across my visual field. I get auditory auras where my hearing becomes either deadened or hyperacute. I get smell auras. Numbness ones. Pretty much any part of my brain can manifest an aura.

Auras tend to go away after 20-30 minutes which is how I differentiate between an aura and the neurological effects of the attack. If it lasts longer than 40 minutes or so, I consider it the main part of the migraine, especially if it doesn't let up for hours.

I get a very specific feeling during my auras (which are almost always intense visual shows, though have had rare sudden numbness in extremities). It's hard to explain, but I feel like my nervous system is off kilter. Get very tired and kind of woozy feeling. Anyway, the aura lasts less than an hour and is immediately followed by a hell of a migraine. That's how I know it is an aura.

People that get migraine with auras, even if they don't get the aura every time, are considered to have "migraine with aura". Very few people get the aura 100% of the time.

Allie, I always wondered what that was. I get a ring too but it doesn`t ubstruck my vision like the other aura that I get. It`s barely noticeable.

How long have you been getting the rings?

joshp wrote:I don't get auras myself, but I have seen this image that attempts to reproduce the effect:

http://iownimages.tumblr.com/post/819164249/how-migraine-looks

joshp - now that isn't what mine looked like. Mine start out with zigzagiy flickering things that go completely black for 20 minutes. I'll see if I can find a picture.

http://www.migraine-aura.org/content/e27891/index_en.html

There are some really good photos and videos of what aura looks like at that link. Mine always look like either the top video or the bottom video.

jwar - mine also resembled the top one but not that colorful

Estre - it's hard for me to even watch those videos! Some of them are so accurate, it's hard for me to not feel panicky just watching it, haha.

I hear you jwar. I don't get them anymore but it sure brought back memories watching that flickering.

I know what you mean jwar. I couldn't even open them up, I feel so on edge at the moment.

I don't have them often, but my auras usually start as if I've just caught the sun reflected on something shiny, when it leaves a blank spot in your vision, that then spreads so more is blank than not. The blank spots then become jagged like the pixelated images on tv, when they blank someone's face out. Or it's a crescent shape at the top edge of my vision which grows in size.

I don't know if others have this but sometimes I get a momentary aura usually at the top left edge of my vision, in the form of a short jagged flashy line. It usually happens in the evening and not particularly related to a headache.

Liz

Liz,

I'm glad you brought up the momentary aura thing. I've been meaning to start a thread on that for a while, actually. It also happens to me, often at night. I get nervous about it because I don't want an aura to develop, but in reality it never has and no resulting headaches either.

jwar

That's interesting. I'm sorry you get it but relieved someone else does too. I'm just assuming it is only migraineurs who get them but maybe not. Yes they freak me out too!!!

Liz

Back when I got the auras I had no idea what they were. I talked to others that had had similar experiences. They didn't know they
were migraines either. Even my eye doctor and regular doctor at the time didn't diagnose it (had no pain). At least we have gotten some where with them. As much as I hated the auras, I would take them over the pain that replaced them. Still creepy to me though (especially if you are out in public). I was at a conference once and got one right in the middle of it when we were commenting on a presentation. The presentation
had a big blob flickering dark spot in the middle of it. I knew it would be gone in 20 minutes but that was a long 20 minutes.

None of those are exactly what my visual experiences are like, but the top one is close (minus the colors). Mine go on to have numbness in my lips, tongue, and fingers (but only on the left side of those body parts).

I was 12 when I had my first aura and I was freaking out. My parents didn't know what to make of it. It resolved in less than an hour, so they didn't take me to the doctor, and the next aura didn't happen until months later, and by then I knew it wasn't going to kill me, but I still didn't know what it was until I was 19.

To this day I hate auras, and there was a time not long ago when I was getting them daily. Sure, I can take all the pain meds in the world, but there is absolutely nothing invented for relieving auras. Good thing they resolve in less than an hour.

But try being a young mom-on-the-go with two toddlers, out and about running errands, struck with an aura. Incapacitated by visual disturbances, power of speech gone, and trying not to panic so the kids don't panic. Not fun.

AZgirl - Mine don't have the colors either. I can understand the panic. I don't think most people realize we can actually be incapacitated.
I think the anxiety that goes with it isn't helping matters. I would ask for something to kill that, but that would just be one more medication to
add to my pile.

thanks once again for doing this poll, pen! i had no idea there were more of us WITH aura, at least sometimes, than without. how confusing it must be, to have the warning of aura (as a friend of mine always has) but then not having it consistently.

there is always much to be grateful for, and i'm grateful for just having plain old ordinary hideous pain........dianne

ALWAYS with aura. I don't remember ever having a migraine without it. Always visual aura but sometimes tingling and numbness. I am always ice cold with migraine, not sure if thats aura or not.

I do get pretty severe headaches that don't have aura, but for me, I don't think that these are migraine because I don't "feel" the same way I do with my migraines.

The longer the aura lasts and the "quieter" it starts, the worse the migraine.