Headache and Migraines Forum - Migraine With Aura Being the Worst Part of the Migraine...

stevie_23 wrote:

i've had migraines with auras ever since I was about 19 years old (so for 8 years now), and most of the time the actual aura is worse than the migraine pain aspect. Often I won't even get the pain part, but the aura is just so terrifying it's much worse to me.

What can you do to get rid of this? My migraines are occasional (like once or twice a year) and I used to think they were caused by neck strain and eye strain but the last one seemed to have no cause at all, which I find scary.

I read about people saying they take various things and it stops the pain, but how can you stop the initial phase of the migraine that causes the aura in the first place?

I go basically blind in one or both eyes, my hands go numb, the side of my face and tongue goes numb and I start violently shaking and hyperventilating. Sometimes I can't think or read or write either, and when I speak it sounds like i'm not in my own head. Like my voice is coming from an external source. Very disturbing.

you have my empathy. I have gotten auras to go along with my migraine headaches since fifth grade, and now I am 27. The first time it happened I (and my mother!) thought I was dying! I go funny in both eyes- if I look at something I can only see "half" of it. This gets worse and soon a wave of squiggly lines crosses my vision for about an hour, and during that time the migraine starts building. I have yet to figure out if the accompanying nausea is a migraine symptom, or something that comes up on it's own because I know what's coming and it makes me sick.

I have tried many things to combat it. Since I am fortunate to only get migraines about 4-5x a year, and I have a severe lack of trust for traditional medicines (research paid for by the drug companies themselves...C'mon people, wake up!) I go a nontraditional, yet illegal, route. If I smoke marijuana immediately when the symptoms begin it relieves the headache pain, it relieves the aura symptoms, and I can function relatively normally in about two hours versus the six-eight hours without it. I also drink several cans of coke and lay down in a quiet room.

I think it is important to also mention that I do not eat one bit of food with msg in it, nitrates, hydrogenated oils, preservatives, hydrolized proteins (or the many other names msg lurks under in food labels) and I avoid excess sodium. I do not partake in dairy products, red meats, or any processed foods. I never, ever drink coke or any caffiene unless I have a migraine-i'm pretty sure that's why the caffiene helps. I also never, ever smoke marijuana unless I have a migraine. Smoking is terrible for you, but the 4-5x a year I do it is a sacrifice I willingly make.

I think you should try this alternative route. I am willing to bet it will help your shakes, your numbness, and you will mentally calm down.

Good luck!