Migraines with aura broken down by an expert neurologist - Online Interview

A large percentage of the population experiences migraines at least once. However, there are different kinds of migraines, one of them being migraine with aura. One of our expert consultant neurologists Dr Mark Weatherall explains what this kind of migraine is and what people should know if they have them.

[stoyanfourn]

I have exactly the same symptoms of "classical" migraine with aura. First comes the aura, then the pain.
Of course, I feel that an aura will develop, so as soon as I get the first symptom I take a painkiller, and then the pain doesn't come, or is moderate. But the pain is better by far compared to the aura. It is literally incapacitating, and it can really ruin my day. Once it happened while I was driving a car, and I was really scared, because there was nowhere I could safely stop. And the only other thing that helps (besides the painkillers) is to go to bed, turn down the blinds, turn off the lamp, close my eyes and rest. But still, I can see the flashes even with my eyes closed in the dark!
Really awful experience!

[anna-rexia]

I used to be scared of my zig zags aura.

My migraine starts with a blind slot in front of my eyes and I only have peripheral vision, then come the zig zags.

I know they will pass so what I do now is lay in a dark room and watch the zig zagging. It’s awesome that your body can do this .



The headache after the aura is always unbearable and last for a good few hours. The day after a migraine is like having a hangover.

Luckily I only get these migraines once or twice a year.

[lukancheese]

I experienced 3 migraine aura attacks in a week. The 3rd attack was the scariest bit where my right face was drooping and my right arm felt numb and tingling sensation. I thought Im gonna have a stroke 😢 After rushing to the emergency, they did MRI scan n it came all clear thank god. Scariest experience in my life 😢

[stphngrnr]

Dr Weatherall is my Neurologist. He's an amazing doctor and truly a visionary in the field of Neurology, specialising in headaches and migraines.

[cosmoBlue]

I suffer from auras without a migraine. It always starts with the visual one, then there's the numbness and I also experienced speech problems (thankfully just twice). The scariest thing is that I have no idea why it happens, nor do the doctors know. It's scary. Incredibly scary. I have it once a year and the last time I had it was during class. It was a very scary experience. But the scariest one was when I went for a run and I saw this little light in my eyes and I immediately knew what was going to happen. I stopped running and sat on the ground. I was completely alone in a forest, having a blind spot in both of my eyes. I walked home, partially blind - hoping that it goes away quickly.
My first ever aura was when I was 14 years old. That was the first and also the last time I experienced an actual headache after the auras went away. After that, no headaches. Just the visual aura and numbness + 2 times when I also got the speech problem.
Wish it just went away and I didn't have to stress about when it's gonna happen again...

[kerriesanders]

I had migraines with aura since childhood. In my 40's I realised that my aura and migraines were caused by low blood sugar and were a pre cursor to diabetes. Now when I experience an aura I understand that I am suffering a diabetic hypo. I wish doctors had picked up on this when I was a child.Good health to you all.

[thompson]

I get the aura. Like a horseshoe shaped kaleidoscope. But not the headache. Only feel a little off after

[amos]

I occasionally (about once a month or two) have the aura, no pain. As a former meteorologist I've found that it often happens before the onset of a warm weather front, though dehydration may trigger it too.

[jangreig]

An excellent presentation. I've had classical migraines about 3 times each year for the last 48 years. No one else in my family has experienced them.

[nhbjhbbhbhgvb]

CELERY JUICE PLEASE READ I hope this comment helps someone. Someone once told me to try celery juice and it may have something to do with the magnesium in it or something but if I juice a whole stalk of celery in a juicer it gives me about a solo cups worth of celery juice and if I drink that as soon as I wake up 3-5 times a week I will not have the aura or headache at all. It’s kinda of hard to keep up with but when I stop doing this I will get the migraines again. I think the juice flushes your system really well and makes sure you’re not nutrient deficient but please try it if you struggle with these. Don’t drink it every day tho or you will have weird side effects like spots on your hands from too much of something in the celery. I did it 7 days a week for a while and it was too much. 3 - 5 is probably good. Just find out what works for you

[snowdust]

Thank you for this. I have suffered migraines throughout my whole adult life, just as my dad did. I get the aura and occasional numbness but today I had slurred speech which was one of the scariest things I have experienced. I did visit the hospital and my doctor was not concerned as the symptoms had disappeared by then. But this video has helped alleviate my anxiety and makes me feel validated.

[thulizondi]

Thank you doctor, especially for allaying fears of things like stroke, etc. This has been really helpful.

[dnclvr]

Very interesting. Because I would get aura migraines with blind spot developing first and then vibrating light zigzag but either never develope migraine headache. I have not had one since beginning ADHD medication. I also stopped having regular headaches

[avestuart]

I often had very great difficulty speaking or finding the right words to say during my migraine episodes. That these are rare are of no comfort to me at all, LOL. I'm in my 50s now and migraines seem to have lessened in severity, however once in a while i'll still have some confusion with my migraine. No matter how often i've had these suckers, it's disconcerting every damn time I get one. Now that i'm getting older I always think "what if I AM actually having a stroke?". Flippin hate these things

[ayrellesaint]

I have the aura and no pain! I do feel 'funny'..sometimes feel really warm, but have never had a headache during or after.

[livliv]

I’m having an aura right now. I remember it starting when I was 11 years old, and now I’m 21. I don’t remember the last time I had it, but I know I’ve been always scared to death when I used to happen. I took me a couple years find find out what it was and now that I have more knowledge about it, I don’t get scared anymore. What I usually do, I just take some pain killers right away. Usually I get some super bad headaches to the point of making me super nauseous. Hopefully this time around it won’t be as bad as before. Thank you for the info sir!

[lillianmcsherry]

I'm a migraine sufferer..and it's terrible 😢😢😢😢

[lisaclausen]

I get the scintillating scotoma, but no headache afterwords.

[SuperParatech]

Very helpful, thank you.
I get auras and the first time I had one, I believed it was a stroke. I was frightened but because of the setting I was in, I could not do anything about it.

The pain can be in my head or belly. Never both. I get photophobia and nausea. Triptans work for head but for the belly I found that promethazine and rest are better options. If I get a migraine, then most of the day is gone. There is nothing to be gained by trying to carry on. Go to a dark place and let it pass.

I am pleased to see a simplified explanation in here. Much of what people say about migraine is rubbish and clearly they do not understand.
No doctor ever explained to me why or what was happening. This is useful. Thank you

[aspegel]

Yes, yes, yes!!! Right after the aura passed, I felt like I couldn't articulate my words. It was a scary feeling. My fingertips went numb and so did the right side of my upper lip. My friend kept saying, "You need to take a nap." Yet I didn't feel tired; I was just having problems remembering specific words.