Prolonged Aura without the Headache: Help!

Hi guys,

It's been a while since I posted, but I was wondering if anyone can help me out. I get complicated/confusional migraines. Right now I am on Cardizem, Plavix, and a low dose of Neurontin to prevent them. I'm becoming confused about when to take my abortive meds, as I often have a hard time believing I have a migraine, as I'm not getting the headache part at all. Believe me, I'm grateful, but when I get lightheaded, nautious, and have trouble thinking....it's hard to explain....even my aura doesn't see "as bad" but I still feel horid. So then I take my meds, which do seem to help, but I don't take them the full couple of days that I would if I had a headache, so this ill feeling just gets worse and worse until I say...well this has to be a migraine. When it first started happening I thought I was just super tired and out of it, but the fatigue/malaise is so bad even if it's a Saturday I can't do anything. I end up lying on my couch. I'm just too sick feeling. Then I'll take my meds, and a good amount of the time they'll actually work. But when I get my occasional 4-7 days "migraine" now without the headache...I'm just confused.

Does anyone else get this? I put in a call to my neurologist, but I know it will take at least a few days to hear back from him. Also, I'm now in NC, so I'm debating on whether to see a new neurologist, as it seems only my neurologist from a migraine center can understand this weirdness I'm talking about . Does anyone see a neurologist they like in NC?

Thanks,

Angel

Angel,

How long have you been on Plavix? Do you have a strong family history of stroke or heart attack?

Cardizem works as a preventative. I'm wondering, unless you have strong risk factors, why you are on Plavix.

Plavix does have some side effects, and I'm wondering if your symptoms have gotten worse since starting Plavix.

Good luck,
mgb

Hi,

Thanks for writing back. Plavix helps my symptoms. It has completely stopped me from getting the visual auras. I'm on it because my neurologist wants me on it. I also have a heart condition, but I'm young (30 years old). So I first took Plavix for the heart condition, but then when I got off of it I immediately started having TIA symptoms.

Angel

i think i might have asked you this before angel, sorry if i'm repeating myself.

TIA symptoms can be pretty scary--i know how that feels. some cardiologists are weary of putting patients long term on plavix because of side effects, and especially thrombolitic stroke risk (bleed).

i haven't stopped plavix and aspirin for more than one day since my stroke in 06.

MGB,

That's O.K. I know there are risks, but I feel safer on Plavix than I do off of it myself. I did meet a patient (I work in healthcare) who had a stroke who had a clot, but then bleed more than usual when he did bleed. That freaked me out thinking about it. But generally I feel safer on the Plavix.

Angel

I have this same issue a lot of the time and talked to my Neuro about it. He said it is all part of the migraine prodrome and my meds are probably helping stop the headache phase but not the prodrome. He has increased my nortriptyline. I also take depakote. But I still get the "silent migraines" and you are right - you still feel sick and out of it and it's very debilitating too. Sometimes I try aleve/magnesium first and it's always a guessing game if I should take amerge. I have felt this way for up to 2 weeks and it sucks!!!! It sounds very similar to your situation - stupid migraines!!!!

I've always had a lot of really severe and prolonged aura symptoms, and hemiplegia too, but have had far fewer the past 10 months or so. I started taking omega-3 supplements and the effect seems to have increased and increased over time. I take flaxseed oil capsules and a DHA supplement from algae as I'm vegetarian and don't eat fish.

However! They can cause an increase in bleeding and clotting time, so I would be wary of taking them on top of plavix without checking with your dr and having things monitored.

The other great thing for me with my omega regime is that I can continue it while pregnant (that and a prenatal supplement is all I've taken, no abortives etc either, whilst trying to conceive and pregnant), in fact it is probably beneficial to the baby's brain and nerve development.

Drug wise I have taken flunarizine a couple of times, and it also helps, but with more side effects for me and the effect wanes with time. It's a calcium channel blocker that is prescribed off licence and imported in. Verapamil is the closest licensed drug, but cardizem is also similar, so may not be worth switching if it helps you.

None of the other drugs I've tried have particularly helped the aura symptoms specifically, but gabapentin and sodium valproate both reduced my migraines for quite a while until they stopped working for me.

Thanks so much. It's just so nice to know that I'm not the only person with crazy/weird auras. Most of the time I don't mind too much, but sometimes it just gets to me. I've finally realized that my current aura seems to be extreme fatigue, and pressure in the back of my head. I think I was dehydrate, so am going to pay more attention to how much water I'm drinking the next few days, to see if that helps. My cardiologist recently put me on a diuretic, and I think I'm still figuring out how my body reacts to it, and what's me new "normal." I used to take flaxseed oil, and I think it helped, but I don't think I can take plavix, flaxseed oil, AND naproxen....I would be nervous about that. Maybe I should try taking magnesium though, or maybe a multivitamin, because maybe with the new medication I need more minerals.

I also realized it just snowed, and I've been eating holiday treats, which I bet have some sort of food migraine trigger. Does anyone have any good suggestions for figuring out what my migraine food triggers are? I think I have some, but I find this process awfully confusing. My neurologist said that if I eat something, and have trouble 30 min. to 3 hours later, that I should avoid that food. So far I've identified red wine, certain cheeses/ and or pizza (the crust I'm thinking?), and bananas. I also avoid MSG.

Angel

Hi. Just wanted you to know I get the visual stuff and feeling sick too. Sorry you have to keep going through this it is really horrible.

I havn't taken the same meds as you have but have had the experience over the last two years of trying a lot of different medications. They all seemed to aggravate problems for me and I was still in a daze and seeing things. A lot of them were preventatives and didn't seem to work on someone already in a migraine.

I think I have been stuck in the same stage of migraine for ages, so am trying to shift it by deliberately eating my triggers. It's more of an idea than my doctor has at the moment so he's happy for me to try it. My theory is that by getting it to move through to the headache phase and the limp lettuce phase after as I recal it, I won't be stuck in the aura phase. has anyone else tried this?

I am getting a little desperate to find something that works. I hope you manage to balance your meds soon.

best wishes

Di