New to this whole 'aura' thing - need a tourguide

I'm a 34 year old male. I've had "simple" migraines since maybe jr. high school, but only maybe 1-2 times per year. It would go headache - nausea - vomit - sleep - all better.

Last Monday, however, my migraine was preceded by tingling and numbness starting in my left foot, and over the course of 45 mins or so, creep upward to my mid-section, giving me the feeling that I might loose bladder control. It would wind up in the left side of my face and tongue, then down into my left hand where it would spend a few minutes then finally go away. After that, it was usual migraine. I was concerned enought ot go the the ER. They ran a CT scan, but it came back normal as did my blood, urine, etc.

They sent me to a Neurologist and she assured me it was migraine with aura. She scheduled an MRI for a "few months from now" because I told her it was all preceded by two days of these strange 5-minute tension/pressure headaches. They were also strange for me because it felt like my ears would get plugged for a few moments and I would have this mild-ish pressure pounding in my head. She felt they were benign.

Then Thursday, three lays after the migraine, I got another, worse one. Again, preceded by a strange pressure headache. This time, I got the distorted patches in my vision. I went to the ER again because it scared me so much Once I got in, I had the worst time trying to talk, think or even put words together to describe what I'm feeling. I felt like a muttering idiot. I remember being in the gown, and looking for my pants to find my phone. When the ER doc came in, I was in the middle of putting my t-shirt back on for some reason. After about an hour, the doc let me go home telling me there's nothing wrong with my brain and to just follow the Neurologist's process. I also remember putting my shirt back on before going home, buttoning half the buttons then finding that I have unbuttoned it all over again.

Now, three days after that, I still feel not at all like my usual self. Has anyone else suddenly experienced these increased migraines or symptoms before??

Yes, I would pretty much say that's definitely migraine with aura. I used to get exactly what you described starting at age 16. As I've gotten older my auras have changed in type and frequency. At age 46 (I'm female) I get some sort of migraine aura every day, sometimes with headache, sometimes without. A lot of times I can ride it out and others totally screw up my day. I've had every test imaginable done, all are normal which leaves migraine the only conclusion.

I know it's very very scary! I still freak out on occasion - I dont think it's something anyone can "get used to". It's good you're getting an MRI. I would also talk to your family doctor about preventatives and/or abortive meds. They don't always work for everyone and it might take time before you find the right combination but you might be one of the lucky ones.

Good luck and know you're not going crazy! Migraine is a very complex disease.

I haven't been bad in the aura dept for a little while now. I mostly get the visual disturbances. I have spot that are almost like dust that very often float in my field of vision. sometimes things move a little, kind of wiggle. I have had a few flashes before, but not too often.

One of the worst times when I was in my Soc Sec disability hearing. I lost it and felt like I was babbling. I just could not make heads or tails out of some of the stuff they were saying to me. Other times I could totally understand, but not answer appropriately. I totally KNEW I was not answering correctly, but could not make it come out the right way. And yes , I have often felt like a blabbering idiot. forgetting what it was I was doing, then re-doing things. I feel for you!!

I have had all the tests run, and there simply isn't anything wrong with me, except the migraines. It can be scary, especially at first. I just really ignore it and when I am with people who know me well, kind of laugh to myself in the end. They totally know I am not making sense, but just roll with it,and to me that is kind of funny!! Good luck!

Unfortunately the mental confusion and inability to think straight or communicate well (or often at all) is definitely part of migraine. The 5 minute headache bursts sound sort of like cluster headaches which are more frequent for men, so you might ask your nuero about that.

What you described sounds remarkably like my auras. For 15 years I only had visual ones though, and just recently have randomly started getting the spreading numbness and tingling that you describe. The first time that happened I was very scared because I thought I must be having a stroke. My neurologist told me that if the tingling goes into your tongue then it's never a stroke, but if it's your whole (or half) your face with no tongue you should be worried.

No one has ever said that to me before or since, but he's a really good doctor so I believe him.

Sorry you're having such a difficult time. My auras usually come in clusters like you seem to describe. I might have no aura at all for 6 months, then get 4 in two weeks.

I was on Lamictal XR for a while specifically because I was starting to get a lot of auras and this drug has been shown to reduce them. I didn't get a single aura for 10 months on the drug (staggering). I ultimately stopped taking it because it didn't decrease my migraines at all, just the frequency of aura.

This may sound crazy, but one of the Neuro centers I went to did some specific research on Aura. They claimed that taking and aspirin, or a regimen of daily baby aspirin could reduce auras. The theory is that your blood gets sticky and doesn't have the free flow like normal, and that is what tends to cause these types of visual disturbances and funny talking and the like.

Not sure what if I believe this or not. I don't have the big time aura issues so much anymore, and haven't really tried the aspirin deal, so i can't say if it works. Just wanted to throw this out there.