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Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

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Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#41

Post by tbirdny »

doubled112 wrote: post #37
soupfordummies wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

my mom used to get these and said it was like "seeing dots" anecdotally of course too, but is it more common for women? I've only ever known 3-4 people that got these kinds of migraines and they were all women.

I happen to be a man who gets migraines with aura, but I do think they’re more common in women. They started when I was 14. I get visual issues like tunnel vision and sparklies, but I also get numbness in my face and extremities, confuse my words (right parts of speech, not what I intend to say), and often vomit. Needless to say, the first one scared the crap out of my mother and I. I may or may not have a headache w…

Migraines and epilepsy have a lot in common, including some symptoms and triggers. Drugs and things that lower seizure threshold also tend to cause migraines. Some epilepsy drugs also act as migraine prophylactics.

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#42

Post by bootloop »

peterfirefly wrote: post #23
orthecreedence wrote: post #19

I've thought for a long time now that everyone has a migraine all the time, but migraine sufferers temporarily lack the brain's ability to ignore the ever-present pain. In other words, the migraine isn't the addition of pain, but the absense of a pain relief mechanism. I have no sources to back this up, other than personal observation.

That doesn't explain the auras. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aura_(symptom)

I got told that it could be indeed the case that my brain continuously has small seizures but only from time to time they break trough and cause the pain and auras which I would then experience. They wanted to measure the brainwaves to figure out if that was the case. That would also somehow fit what OP said, so I guess this is known in the medical world already. Or at least something in that direction.

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#43

Post by cf100clunk »

Any other migraineurs share what I call "Silver Bullet Fatigue" at trying new treatments? I've been at this for six decades with no magic solution for my own migraine problems, and I've lost count of all the neurological investigations, meds, scans, treatments, and helpful or sometimes utterly silly suggestions that have come up short over the years. Some have come close but had undesireable side effects, others made me very ill in their own right. At this point I just don't have much desire to go through the treatment wringer again. Am I alone in this sort of fatigue?

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#44

Post by bootloop »

pan69 wrote: post #31
iainctduncan wrote: post #25

I have been a migraineur for decades. Mine are classic aura, with the whole "looking through broken glass" thing for a half hour or so when they happen. This year one of my partner's doctors mentioned positive results from supplementing with Vitamin B-2 and Coenzyme Q10, and it has dramatcially lowered their frequency. Mine are especially bad when the air pressure is seesawing which it does a lot here in the spring a…

> "looking through broken glass" I think we have similar symptoms, but I have no headache, just the "broken glass" that passes over my vision. Usually takes about 15 mins to half an hour or so to pass. This is the best visual representation that I have found of it ove the years: https://imgur.com/gallery/kY0I0Ht

Yes that's silent migraine with aura, you experience the visual effects but not the headache. It's rare but happens for some people.

The representation is really good in my opinion! Gives me flashbacks.

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#45

Post by seattle_spring »

markx2 wrote: post #34
jmhammond wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm willing to try it! Are you able to wear earbuds with the daith piercing? Airpods Pro are one of my most-used pieces of tech both at work live-streaming classes and at home listening to books and music.

Yes! I have worn various and my current are Airpods 2 Pro. The daith is discreet, does not get in the way of anything.

What about wearing a winter hat? I was considering getting one for the exact reasons as you, but I live in a pretty cold area and not being able to wear a hat for 6 months during its healing process is unfortunately a dealbreaker.

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#46

Post by groestl »

peterfirefly wrote: post #23
orthecreedence wrote: post #19

I've thought for a long time now that everyone has a migraine all the time, but migraine sufferers temporarily lack the brain's ability to ignore the ever-present pain. In other words, the migraine isn't the addition of pain, but the absense of a pain relief mechanism. I have no sources to back this up, other than personal observation.

That doesn't explain the auras. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aura_(symptom)

Well, I think the Auras is my brain failing to filter out visual noise, which then get's into a feedback loop and builds up. And that might be related to other filter functions failing. I think that, becaus4 once in a while, I'm able to suppress the Aura conciously, when it is still very small.

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#48

Post by valbaca »

soupfordummies wrote: post #18
wozer wrote: post #8

> Migraine can even drive full-blown visual hallucinations similar to the ‘reflections of the living light’ painted by Hildegard von Bingen, a twelfth-century abbess who was thought to have experienced a condition that is now called migraine with aura. I don't think the aura effects are usually considered hallucinations? I get mild migraines sometimes, with hardly noticeable headache, but with aura. In a way, it's pr…

my mom used to get these and said it was like "seeing dots" anecdotally of course too, but is it more common for women? I've only ever known 3-4 people that got these kinds of migraines and they were all women.

I'm male and I get visual auras with migraines (not often, only once or twice a year). It's like a small area of old TV static or (as I call them) "dead pixels" in my vision. It's usually centered right in the middle of my vision, so reading becomes impossible but I could do something else.

It usually spreads a little bit before dissipating. They can happen with or before the actual migraine pain.

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#49

Post by FloorEgg »

I got my first migraine in my early teens. I was over at a friend's house and we were playing in the basement on a summer day, then went outside where the sun reflected off a window into my eyes.

It would start with a shimmering pattern obstructing my vision where the bright light was, which would grow into a c shape and get bigger until it surrounded my vision and then faded away. About 15 min after the shimmering pattern faded the blistering pain would start and last for about 5 hours, with lingering light sensitivity until the next day.

I later realized that something about a rapid change in brightness (from dark to bright) would trigger them for me.

Another time was triggered by a high school shop teacher lighting a welding torch.

The best way to relieve the pain I found was to turn out all the lights and dunk my head in cold water, which I discovered eventually in desperation for relief.

I would only get them every few months, but when I did I would be pretty useless for most of the day. I stopped getting them in my early 20s. No idea why, but I am grateful. They sucked!

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#50

Post by nextos »

groestl wrote: post #46
peterfirefly wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't explain the auras. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aura_(symptom)

Well, I think the Auras is my brain failing to filter out visual noise, which then get's into a feedback loop and builds up. And that might be related to other filter functions failing. I think that, becaus4 once in a while, I'm able to suppress the Aura conciously, when it is still very small.

Some auras have a musculo-skeletal origin. For example, some neck issue irritates a nerve or alters the pressure in a blood vessel, which in turn affects the optic nerve.

I have suffered them myself, and they always came in a sequence: arm pain, neck pain, headache and aura. Finally, I'd release tension in my neck and it'd be gone.

My doctor confirmed injuries in cervical discs also seem to be causally linked to auras, but there might be other causes as well.

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