Poll at Dianne's request. Aura or not?

I get aura occasionally, but it is rare. When I do get them, it's either flashes of light, or a feeling that I'm very far away from everyone else. It's an odd feeling and I don't know how to describe it. It just seems that other people are further away from me than they are both in appearance and in sound. Very uneasy feeling.

Normally, though, I just get classic migraine with no aura. When I get an aura, I know I'm in for a really bad one.

Brenda: my older daughter (going on 10yrs) gets the sensation of people or objects appearing far away. Luckily she doesn't get the following pain, just the aura. We were treating her with an antihistamine (used as a preventative for children) and she did better on it. Now we took her off of it to see how she will do. So far, so good.

Hi All,

I get visual auras. They usually look like brightly colored geometric shapes- purple, green, bright pink, and yellow are the usual colors. I will also get something that is round and keeps moving. On rare occaisions, I will hallucinate. However, all of this is just part of the migraine.

Pain free days,
sailingm

I get aura with virtually all my migraines as well as a prodrome consisting of fits of uncontrollable yawning.

A visual aura of wriggling spots which end up blocking my vision. This can last well into the migraine proper for a total of 6 hours or so. I also get some numbness in my face, experience strange tastes and smells. I'm assured these are all aura symptoms but have some link to the symptoms of the main migraine phase.

I get the uncontrollable yawning, too! I never even noticed that myself - my mother pointed it out to me. It's how she knew I was getting a headache when I was younger.

As 90% of mine come on around 4am, I actually dont know if I get aura.
Who else gets them in the night and knows if they have aura??

Pen

Hi Pen,

Mostly these days I wake with a migraine at 7am or they wake me in the early hours. However, I know they have aura too as I can't see by then. If, God forbid, I have to go down the stairs I hitch down on my backside as I can't see and am not at all steady on my feet either.

Pen, sometimes auras have woken me up at night. Rare, but it has happened.

Thanks. I think this might mean I dont get aura.
I wake with the pain, and am a bit unsteady, but I am sleepy and hurting.
I think the closes I get to aura is feeling a bit odd sometimes, but Neuro said that isnt aura, just migraine coming.
Would we agree??

Pen

Pen - You would know if you had aura I think -- for sure if it is visual. Can't miss that. At least you have that going for you.

I have never had an aura, but my migraines rarely have much if any visual or light sensitivity. For me it is all sound sensitivity. I can tell when a migraine is coming on because everything will start to sound too loud. I will have to turn off any radio or other noise because they become unbearable. The headache will generally follow within the hour. I have not found anything that will stop it coming. I also end up super sensitive to any movement or vibration. I can't stand to sleep next to my husband because every movement he makes is magnified times ten. It like all my nerves are standing on end.

It is interesting that most people's migraines seem to involve the visual system and hence visual auras. But some for people like me it's mainly auditory.

Migrainegirl wrote: I also end up super sensitive to any movement or vibration. I can't stand to sleep next to my husband because every movement he makes is magnified times ten. It like all my nerves are standing on end.

I know what you mean. My 4-year-old always wants to sit on my lap, and he squirms and jumps and jiggles the whole time. Every movement he makes causes my nausea to spike.

I also have a one-year-old. They are both very noisy and very active. There is nowhere to hide at my house if I need some peace and quiet.

Luckily my daughter was in college before I developed migraines. I am not sure I would have survived if I had them when she was younger.