I am 64 and started with migraines at age 11 or 12. Classical b&w zigzag aura lasting about 20 minutes, loss of vision in a pie-shaped segment, inability to speak clearly for the first few mnutes of aura, one sided headache following on to nausea and vomiting if medication (Migraleve) and/or sleep do not abort attack. Originally attacks settled to one every 2 to 3 months with a complete absence between ages 18 to 24 (encompassing the years of my two pregnancies). They then resumed the previous interval routine until my 40s when they started to spread out and by 2011 they were 18 to 24 or more months apart. Then last autumn I had two attacks on two consecutive days (I regard the appearance of the aura as signalling a new and separate attack). Since then I have had attacks again at 2 to 3 month intervals but 50% of the time that involves 2 attacks on consecutive days. The worst has been 6 attacks over 5 days in Feb of this year (admittedly at the time of a family death/funeral) but I retired in January and have no more obvious stressors. I type this as I am recovering from a 2nd attack in two days, after a 2 month gap since my last one (a single episode). I was so expecting for them to fade away altogether, hoping each attack was my last. I am well past menopause and hormonal changes so I am a little concerned as to why these attacks are increasing, or at least seemingly returning to the frequency of my younger days. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
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Hello, and welcome to HealthCentral's Migraine Community!
Welcome to the community, we have lots of information and plenty of support here for you.
Have you spoken with your doctor about the recent increase in your Migraines? That may be the first thing I would do be seeing how well documented you have them. The general rule of thumb is any time we see a change in our Migraine pattern, whether it is frequency or severity, we should check in with the doctor.
Unfortunately for some of us there are other triggers and exacerbaters besides hormones and emotional stress such a certain foods, changes in the weather, dehydration, skipping meals and even changes in our sleep schedule. One of the best tools for identifying triggers is a good Migraine diary. You can download a free diary workbook from our article Your Migraine and Headache Diary.
Thank you for creating a SharePost. SharePosts are a form of blogging, and there are many things you can do with them. You can share an experience, suggest something that's helped you, use SharePosts as a Migraine and headache journal, and many other things.
We also have a discussion forum that you may want to check out. Especially if you have questions or are looking for information, you may find the interaction on the forum to be quite helpful. To get there, go to the Migraine home page and look on the left hand side where you'll see a row of boxes. The Forum box is at the very bottom. Click on it and scroll down to the bottom of that page, and you will see the log-in spot. Because our forums are maintained by a third party, you'll need to register for the forum. You can use the same information you used to create your community log-in if you like. If you want to go directly to the forum, you can click HERE.
Along with your personal "My Home" page and the discussion forum, you'll find links to a great deal of helpful information on the main page of our site, http://www.MyMigraineConnection.com. Under the Find, Manage, and Connect tabs on the left side each page, you’ll find a wealth of information – educational articles, tips, quizzes, workbooks, support and advocacy information, and more.
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Welcome again,
Nancy Bonk
Health Guide
HealthCentral's Migraine Community
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Thank you for your welcome and the information. I will look into downloading a migraine diary and consider all the other points you raise.
I have mentioned this to my GP (family doctor - I am in the UK) but she didn't have any answers nor did she seem concerned. I may yet go back as I saw her about the sudden reappearance of more frequent attacks in the weeks before I retired and I think she saw that as a possible reason.
I had a 2nd attack after writing my post yesterday (new aura) and I suspect the first attack of this set of 3 over two days was triggered by bright sunlight (early morning, sun low in sky) but not sure why they continue. I am even wondering if sitting in front of a computer screen triggers them! Sometimes they start when I am reading. I think the migraine diary is the next step to take!
Thanks again.