New Here...42 year old guy migraines with aura since 14

Hi, I'm John.
I have had migraines since I was about 14. My mother and sisters all have them, so, the first time it happened I actually knew what it was. Frequently I have aura only with no pain afterward. Even when that happens I feel foggy and out of it for a day or several days. Luckily, they are fairly infrequent. I only have maybe one every couple of months. Lately I have had them more often and actually had one start yesterday that is still hanging on. When the aura starts, I am completely unable to do much of anything. Can't see, one hand and arm go numb then face. I can't talk...it's like I know what I want to say but words don't make any sense. It's very scary for those around me. I have a very good job/highly compensated and have been able to hide it for the most part from my folks at work until this year. I have found that most people associate migraines with women. In fact, I don't know any other males with them but of course know it happen. My brother has never had one but all the women in my family on my mother's side have them much worse than me. I remember my mother being in bed for several days at a time with them back in the 70's. She took a medication called Sansert for years but it was fairly dangerous I believe and wasn't available after the mid 1980's. I have taken all sorts of things over the years..calcium channel blockers, elavil, caferagot, butalbital, narcotic pain killers, anti-inflamatories, triptans...you name it. None seem to really help much. The only trigger I can find is sleep. This week for example, I didn't sleep well for the 3-4 nights before and only got maybe 5 hours of sleep. I couldn't sleep because my doc started me on a new antidepressant, Viibryd. I forgot to mention I have depression also and have been on and off SSRIs for years. Anyway, the Viibryd kept me from sleeping. I am not sure if it was the sleep trigger or the serotonin level changes that triggered this one. I stopped taking it the day before I had the migraine this week. Enough about me...just interested if anyone has similar auras (they are very scary), sleep triggers, serotonin triggers etc. Thanks

Hello,

Migraines causing blindness and numbness and an inability to speak properly would certainly frighten me. Fortunately mine do not cause those problems. However they are chronic and because of their regularity I have not been able to hide them at my work. By the way, there is a guy at my office who gets occasional migraines.

I have also tried about 12 or 15 different meds including preventative and rescues. Unfortuately, very little helps. Poor sleep or lack of sleep are definitely a trigger for me. I've become very careful about my sleep routine - as it is one trigger I actually have some sort of control over. However, I have also started a new medicine, generic Effexor (Venlafaxine). It has caused insomnia that has gone on for a few of weeks - resulting in a bad migraine that has lasted a week. I saw my neuro yesterday and he gave me Ambien to help me sleep. I'm to take it for 2 or 3 nights in a row then try sleeping without it. He said that insomnia can lead to sort of forgetting how to sleep and that sleeping well for a couple of nights can help my body remember how. I took the Ambien last night and got my first decent night's sleep in a while. I have felt better today, the migraine is not as severe.

Has your migraine gone away yet? Wishing you well!

Thanks for sharing. This one is better at the moment. I took an Imitrex about an hour ago. I just feel completely wiped out. I took ambien for a while. It is great but soon I was taking it every night and couldn't sleep without it. So, I like your Doc's suggestion. I take lunesta occasionally now but only one or two nights a week.
My sister takes Effexor and has for years. She adjusted well to the side effects but I can't handle it. too jittery and could not sleep.
Glad you are feeling better today!

hi. im 46 now and have had migraine with aura since i was 12. in the last 12 months have had 17 attacks 15 of them since christmas. having an attack every few weeks has been a strain on the family and at work. the attacks can last anything up to a week and can come one after another. 3 in 1 week was the worst well that was a bad time from everyone. iv been on preventatives(see intro post) for a bit now to break the cycle ,hopefully it has now touchwood.id like to say be honest with your employer,hiding attacks is not a good thing especially when migraine can become so disabling and you could well need your folks at work to help you when attacks do happen.my employer and work mates know the drill iv known my boss a very long time.his daughter suffers too.they all take 1 look at me and send me home when attacks come then take it from there 1 day at a time which is all any of us can do.
keep well.

Hi John. I'm with Lib, I don't have the aura. I would be terrified if I couldn't see, move parts of my body, or speak. Even though I know what migraine with aura is, I would still be scared of a stroke. Many of my family members have had them, and it's my greatest fear. It's great that your employer understands, because many do not. I have had problems sleeping over the years, and taken Ambien at times. I actually realized that my job was causing a lot of my migraines. I was a paramedic and worked 24 hour shifts. I ended up having to quit.
I have tried so many preventatives that my neurologist is stumped trying to come up with what to try next. Botox seems to be the only thing that makes a difference. I went from hurting 5-6 days a week to 2-3 days a week for 2 months after I get the shots.
I hope you are aura and pain free today.

Hello there and welcome

I totally understand the aura issues - I started when I was about 13 and always get the aura - however like you I sometimes do not get the full blown headache. But you should not underestimate aura, it can be just as debilitating as the pain bit

Have a look at this - you might see something on this list which you have not linked to migraine - I know when I was researching this there was a number of things I experienced which I had never linked to aura..... https://migrainetalk.forumotion.co.uk/t250-types-of-aura

Have to say that I am no longer scared of aura, but maybe that is because I have experienced a minor stroke as well, and whilst the outcome is very similar, it happened very quick, while my migraine aura can take days to build up. (I get Alice In Wonderland syndrome and actually find that one amusing - I know I am odd lol)

I am pleased you have been able to identify one of your triggers Just a pain that the drugs your on prevent good sleep - when I had my minor stroke I lost the ability to stay asleep and was given Amitriptyline, which was great It still amazes me the effect some meds have on sleep - I have gone from no sleep to not being able to stay awake while on Fluarazine and Epilim hmmmmm

Like you and many others, I have tried many many medications and like Akron the only thing which has helped, with no side effects is Botox. I would recommend that.

Well I do hope this one has settled for you and that you have managed to get some sleep

Hi John,

Sorry to hear that your are having such a horrible time.

As far as migraines are concerned. Yes I am female, but the person in the family who had them was my dad. He died 10 years ago from an unrelated condition but I think it was related to the level of seratonin in his system and the fact he did shifts, he NEVER got them at work aways days off, anyway, sorry more about you and auras..

I suffer from hemiplegic migraines and other migraines with auras, I have suffered vision problems on the right side and side weakness on the right side, and one of the worst aura I had recentlythat wasn't part of a HM migraine episode was the feeling of the top of my head being burnt and tender to touch. I actually had to wear a hat when I went outside for about 4 days because the heat and the sunshine hurt. Auras drive me mad I actually get to the point where I jump for joy if I feel a normal migraine coming on and I manage to catch it with my maxalts.

I hope you get some relief soon.