Migraine aura

Migraine aura. A curious name like the one that some diseases or physical disorders usually have. Long names, Latin nomenclatures and a lot of information and symptoms that are associated with those words.

The hard part sometimes is figuring out those names. It happened to me and this is my experience. Today I am telling something about this type of peculiar headache, not so common, because it happens to me perhaps to others too.

At first it scared me because you don't feel well and you don't know why, because you don't know what it is. And you see that it happens to you like some other time, and if it happens again... will it be really bad? But it is complex to define, how was I going to explain it? Observing each of the symptoms in detail, without doing anything else, sitting, describing to myself what was happening to me and what I felt.

And it worked because I went into research mode. Normally we are advised not to search the Internet for diseases because we can suggest ourselves or find other terrible diagnoses that are not accurate. But I wanted to know what was going on.

What did I do?

Writing the symptoms in the search engine and from there exploring various medical blogs, reading the messages and comments of people who also reported what was happening to them. Until I found some phrases that literally described everything that happened to me, and it had a name “migraine aura”.

Migraine aura

This is a common, but different, type of migraine headache.

What are the differences or symptoms?

At first you feel a throbbing pain in the head, sometimes only in one hemisphere, and uncomfortable neck pain. It may seem quite normal until you start to notice tingling and numbness in your arms and part of your face. You notice how your mouth falls asleep, like when you get anesthesia at the dentist and your tongue tingles. That is already scary (specially if you are a bit hypochondriac), but especially when you notice it around the eyes, and your eyes, your vision blurs, you see blurry around you and with some flashes and more and more. A very strange sensation that is especially scary if you are not sitting down.

What do I try to do?

You take a deep breath because you feel like you are in a vacuum, dizzy. And the head still hurts.
You keep breathing and the best thing is to sit down, lie down and breathe deeply WITHOUT getting nervous, at first you can't help it but later when you know what it is, yes. And wait, you observe all those sensations in your body as they pass and how they fade away. Because after a while everything disappears, you just need patience, not much more than 20 or 30 minutes and then little by little we start feeling more normal again. Ufff

I found out that it was called “migraine aura”, that it happened to other people and that they agreed on these sensations at first somewhat distressing because it seems that you get something worse. But people also agree that it is not something frequent but very punctual, it usually happens once, two or three times a year at most. In fact, it hasn't happened for almost a year.

It is a common migraine that can be confused with other diseases, we must rule out a visual problem, or even a cerebrovascular problem.

Which are the causes?

According to Mayo Clinic

there is evidence that migraine with aura is due to an electrical or chemical wave moving through the brain. The part of the brain where the electrical or chemical wave is transmitted determines the type of symptoms you may experience.

This electrical or chemical wave can occur in areas that process signals from the senses, speech centers, or centers that control movement. The most common type of aura is the visual aura, which occurs when a wave of electrical activity is transmitted through the visual cortex, causing visual symptoms.

Electrical and chemical waves can occur even when nerves are functioning normally and do not cause damage to the brain.

Many of the same factors that trigger common migraine can also trigger migraine with aura, including stress!!!, bright lights, certain foods and medications, too much or too little sleep, and menstruation.

Learn About Migraine Aura (video) - Mayo Clinic

Last Thoughts

There are those who experience it in a more intense or lasting or frequent way, and to others it happens very rarely and lasts a few minutes, like me but still I wanted to know more... The human brain and body is a mysterious world in certain ways.
But it's okay to find out things to avoid panic, to tell ourselves that it's over soon, to rest, close our eyes and take a deep breath.

Thanks for reading! Have a relaxed and healthy day.

*The text is mine, by ©Duvinca

and the medical information is from the Mayo Clinic site

The lead image has been created by me using Canva.com

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