Migraine without headache

By jenny Tuesday, December 27, 2011

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Hi All

I suffered with classic migraines from the age of 13. I would first have the aura followed within 20 minutes with the mother of all headachs and vomitting.

They stopped when I reached 20 years old. Then about 2 years ago (I'm now 49) I suddenly went totally blind in both eyes (white snow), numb down my right side, slurred speach and was carted off to hospital where I lay in A&E for 3 hours until it passed. No headache followed.

Since then I have been having the aura only. It starts with a big blind spot that feels to the right and a little shimmering light. This light then gets bigger and bigger and forms a shimmering, jagged, red, black & white arc that spreads accross my whole vision and then slowly disapears. My speechh is slurred & I go numb all down one side.

They last 30 mins exactly. I'm not getting the headaches though - just a dull sickly, exhausted feeling that lasts days! Sometimes I'll start with one, then go straight into another and another. It's so distressing!!

My question is that inbetween the migraines I'm having this constant flashing light to the left of my eyes. It's really troublesome & does not ease off. I'm also having episodes of double vision - one on top of the other though!!! It's worrying me & I wonder if anyone else has this inbetween their migraines??

Many thanks

Jenny

Comments (3) | Add comment

Nancy Harris Bonk, Health Guide

12/29/11 10:13pm

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theresa

1/ 5/12 8:20pm

Hello, I would like to tell you that everything you talked about happen to me minus loosing my vision. I started haven headech when I was about 7 and I'm 40 now. The thing to do is try to live with it an find the right medice that helps you. when I find something that help me get thrue the day it only last for a couple of years then I have to move on to something els. I had a bad exsperince about 6 or 7 years ago when I was driven home from my daughter soccer game. I was fine all day then as I got in the car i started to feel a little funny. I thought It was just another headach but I soon found out it was much bigger then a migraine.

I was about five blocks from the game an a bad feeling came over me and I pulled over. As I pulled over there was an explosion in my head and It felt like I was parelize becaouse I could not move but can here everything around me. I can here my daughter screaming for help an telling someone to dial 911 my mommie is not breathing. This was very scarie feeling for me and my girls. After getting shock several times to bring me back I could not talk for about 48 hours. When I did started to talk I told everyone that I had a visitor when I was asleep. My father, grandmother and great aunt and uncle was all dress in white an was happy to see me. After talking to my father her express to me that its not time for me to go. As much as I would have like to stay with him, he stress to me that he would always be with me everywhere I go in life with my girls. Until this day my doctor can not explaing why this happen to me. I still have real bad migraine but at least im aware of the triggers. Sometimes the spots really bother me to the point where I have to go in a dark room and stay out of the sun light.

Chuck

1/ 6/12 4:50pm

I used to have a frequent symptom like this. Somehow I found that keeping the back of my head moderately warm had a theraputic effect. Thus I usually have a baseball cap on or a knit cap covering that area. I found this out some 3 years ago and have had very few auras since, and no headache. If I'm somewhere I can't use a cap I make sure that my head is not cold--not even a little cool. I found that if I don't cover for more than an hour that aura, may start up. I sleep with the knit cap. If it comes off during sleep I found that I could awake with the aura starting, but putting the cap in place lets me get back to sleep with minimum aura. If you work at a computer screen (or watch a lot of TV) you might see short, white wiggly streaks across your vision--means stop watching and do something else, or else aura may start up. If the flashing lights are near the edge of your vision it may be that the retina is rubbing against part of the eye lining. This latter seems to go with aging. You might first notice it if you bend over to pick something up--and wham--severe flashing lights all around your vision. They seem to diminish with time, but fast movement with the eyes may bring it back for a while.

Good luck with my story.--Chuck

Migraine without headache

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