I experience them,and have for years.

Mine are mostly food allergy related,but tend to surprise me sometimes too..now that I have stopped the hormone medication,they appear to have lessened.

Yes,I have the aura..actually,I see double,and shifty sort of.

I do take medication when the aura hits,and usually something for the pain to follow.

My ability to speak is also affected,prior too,with the aura I s'pose,and is affected for a day or 2 as well.

Yes,I feel like a Mac truck hit me for a day or so,then feel great later on in the week.

I used to take Ergomar,but it was taken off of the market about 12 yrs ago..must have worked for too many ppl,and the chemical or pharmaceutical ppl couldnt have been making any $$$...now I take Cafergot when the aura is there,to help to lessen the full blown headache

You might outgrow them as you age..you might also have offending foods,smells,cleaning products,perfumes,etc. triggering them..its easiest to watch what you eat,in other words,pay attention to what you had in the last 3 days before the aura hit...then,when you have another,see what triggered it..there is usually a pattern

Good luck

No I never saw an aura.

I had a horrible time with them about 3 years ago. I was getting them 2-3 times a week for months. I had seen our family doctor and he had given me a few different samples of medication, none of them helped - AT ALL. They were miserable, I would spend the day in my room in the dark and always ended up vomiting as well. My sister in law found out about it. She is a massage therapist. She came to our house and worked on me. I never knew that something like that could help. She said "Oh yes, migraines are one of the things that I specialize in." She worked on me just that one time and I went for over a year before I had another one. And I have only had 3 total since then.

I know this is sort of getting away from the questions you asked. I just thought I would mention it because I would have never in a million years thought to see a massage therapist for migraines.

((((Hugs)))) I feel for you though. They are pure evil.

I have had them since about 10 /11 yrs old. They used to be very crippling but in later years they have eased up and now I don't get them very often.
I would almost always have an aura with them. What was really scarey was if I was out when the aura hit as mine started out as strange wavy lines in my eye that would grow and grow until I could no longer see...then the severe pain would hit. If I was out driving I immediately headed home.
Nothing I could do or take would stop the them, although some medications helped ease them to a degree. As I said in later years they have subsided considerably....thankfully.

I have had them since I was 11 yrs old. They used to be crippling and even paralyzing on a few occasions.
An imagined odor/smell was often the first signal but the aura was there every time, just before the pain made life miserable for days. Sound, lights, moving and thinking became nearly unbearable. I've tried many of the meds available and nothing helped. The moment I realized a headache was coming on I would head for my bedroom, bring a thermos of water, pull the black out curtains, pray for silence and stay there until the vomiting phase. If someone who loves me was available to bring ice packs for the first few hours the migraine would last only one day and a recovery day . If there were no ice packs wrapped around my head and neck the first 6-8 hours the pain would last 2-3 days and leave me incapacitated for another day with a recovery day. One doctor I have talked with said woman who begin having migraines as early as 10 or 11 years and medication doesn't work will usually have them from puberty to menopause and often right before or during ovulation. Then they will go away except for an occasional one every few years. This was nearly 30 years ago and now that I am in menopause I have noticed the migraines have diminished to 2 maybe a year. YEA! He was also talking about the ones that are triggered by foods or flashing lights (just like an epileptic seizure can be), smells from all kinds of thing including spray propellants or scented candles. Those are the ones that are most often helped by medications. I know many of the medications available for migraines have such awful side effects or can cause present condition problems to get worse sometimes the Dr. believes the pain relief isn't worth the chance. I'll bet those DRs. never had a migraine!
I know one person who did acupuncture and that relieved the migraines for her for years and when she got one again she went to get another treatment. That worked for 26 years for her. I got one acupuncture treatment. I got dizzy and nausea then a migraine started immediately without any warning. That migraine lasted 3 days and was the worst I ever had. Massage didn't help me either.

LIL

I've had them for years.
Mostly brought on by stress. I've never seen an aurora; my first clue is sensitivity to sound and light. Sometimes a massive dose of caffiene can hold it off if I don't mind not sleeping for a couple days.

Ron

I've had several migraines during my life. Mostly caused by stress. they start out with seeing a streaky "light" in my field of vision. It looks like when a flash bulb has gone off in your face. Then I get a painful headache, much worse than a "normal" headache you might get from too much or too little coffee or a sinus problem. The light then starts to slowly move out of my field of vision. It takes several hours, but by the time the light streaks are gone, so is the migraine.

OMG. I've certainly heard of migraine headaches, but had no idea they were that bad nor incapacitated a person to that extent. Thanks for educating me on the subject.

I had them for just a few years in my late 20's-early 30's. Stress. They started when I was trying to conceive and continued for a couple years after we adopted our DS.

No aura. No 'notice'. Just WHAM. I didn't vomit often, but needed the dark, quiet room for those 12-24 hours of incapacitating pain. I'm not sure which is worse, migraine or a kidney stone.

I have only had one that was diagnosed as a migraine (I think what the MDs thought was meningitis was actually a migraine- miserable spinal tap ruled out meningitis).

I woke up screaming in pain- no aura but it made for a frightful, miserable night- and two very concerned parents! MD gave me a shot of something, ended up puking from it. Another shot and massive pain killers for several days. That was in 1994 and thank God I have only had VERY bad headaches since but nothing THAT bad.

Now, I can usually tell a headache will be VERY BAD compared with the "normal headaches"- stress, and lack of scheduled meals are causes, oh and smells! BAD ones tend to start behind the eye and the normal ones are more in the "brain area". Either way, dark room, caffeine, and over the counter pain killers will usually keep me going until I can get home and take something stronger.

I've had them pretty much all my life--although they weren't diagnosed until I was much older. Mine have slowed down a lot since menopause.

Mine can be triggered by chemicals like cleaning products or scents from makeup/perfume. A flash or strobing light almost always brings one on (I have to be really careful if I'm driving and a school bus, police car, fire engine, etc crosses my path. Sometimes, it seems that allergen overload can be a factor (I'm much more likely to get them spring or fall, when allergies are worst)

My aura isn't visual. Before a migraine hits, I sometimes get an odd smell. Something like a cross between cigarette smoke and wet plaster. It's an odd, unreal sort of smell.

Ontgal--are you sure you take Cafergot? It's been off the market for MANY years and is very, very dangerous. It can cause serious circulation problems--people have lost fingers/toes, etc from taking it. You might want to look into the dangers of it, and reevaluate using it.

For mine, I won't take anything heavy-duty. I down a couple of Motrin or Exedrin Migraines, swig some room temperature Pepsi (the caffeine helps). Then, I take the hottest shower I can stand, to get the blood moving, then get to bed, keeping my head warm and my feet cold. Since Migraines are vascular headaches, what needs to happen is for the blood to leave your head (the headache is basically caused by pressure because the blood is backing up there) and then slow it's return (hence the cold feet). Using those steps, and lying in a quiet, dark room, I can generally get one on the run in an hour or so. Once it's gone, it's gone--I feel fantastic, I'm raveouns, and I'm ready for life's next adventure.

My daughter has suffered from migraines since about age 10. They can be genetic--my father had them, my husband's mother did, too--poor DD didn't have a chance! Unfortunately, though, she gets abdominal migraines. They're not as well-known as regular migraines, and it was a couple of years before we finally were able to find a dr. who correctly diagnosed her condition. In her case, she doesn't get a headache at all--but she'll get terrible stomach pains and vomit uncontrollably for hours, until the migraine passes. Once she was diagnosed, and given migraine medication, it was clear that that had been the problem all along. Sadly, drs still often misdiagnose abdominal migraines (which often hit children), and treat the kids for stomach problems--which doesn't help at all.

I've had them since I was 14, I'm now 48. I get an odd sensation in my head and my migrane is always on my right side, in the back of my head. I take Imitrex and it has saved my life. Before Imitrex I would take BC powders, Excedrine, whatever was available and sleep in a cold room with a frozen bag of vegetables on my right side of my head. I would vomit also for hours. This would last sometimes 24 to 48 hours.

Mine are hormone related. I only get them at ovulation and my period. During my pregnancy 20 years ago I never had a migraine! I'm hoping menopause will do away with them all together, but until them I have my Imitrex.

I had my first migraine at age 7...DD Caryn had her first one at 7 also. My arm will start to go numb when it starts..I can literally feel the numbness move down the arm, and then the aura will start and I will lose sight in 1 eye first and soon both. And I will soon not be able to speak...correctly. I get very nauseous, and when I was younger I would make myself throw up....by drinking water! (prob why I don't like water much! LOL) The only way for them to pass, was in a very dark quiet room and sleep.

I had them severely from age 15 through about 30, the family knew if I said I was getting a headache and went to my room and shut the door, that there had better be blood dripping from you to come into my room!!

I went to so many Dr. for so many years and all they would do was pat my hand and say; "it is only a headache" !! FINALLY I found someone that would work with me to figure out what would help....if I get to my meds as I start one and then to a dark room for even 15 min, I can usually ward off a full blown migraine. I was on a medicine for many, many years and it was my life-saver! Then it wasn't sold anymore!!!!! I pleaded with the pharmacist one night to help me figure something that would help....after we had tried 3 different (suppose to be in the same drug line) meds. Thanks to her, and my Dr. who was willing to let me try anything, I have got something that does almost as good of a job.

I maybe end up with 1 or 2 full blown migraines a year now. That used to be at least 1 every 10 days! I am on preventative meds also. I know when I feel one start, I have to do what I have to do to prevent it!!! Sun flashes (reflecting off a vehicle, business windows) is my major trigger. I LOVE gloomy gray days! People think I am nuts, but I don't have to worry about getting sun flashed.

If you get alot of them...or any type of headaches, you maybe getting rebound headaches...from too much medicine. I went to a Dr. one time and he told me that he was going to put my in the hospital for 3 days to completly clear my system of the meds. I said if that is what it takes, I will do that at home!!! (where I had 2 little kids!) I did, it wasn't fun, but I did learn alot from him.

I had them from a very young age and had the aura with them also and at times vomiting. When I reached 40 they went away and never came back. Thank Goodness! I never had any medicine for them but aspirin.

Sue

When I was in my late thirties I started to have strobe flashing in my right eye. As the years have gone by there have been more symptoms that had me believing I might be having a stroke. Just prior to the colorful flashing I get this funny feeling that is hard to describe. Out of sorts for sure. I'll lose partial or total vision in one or both eyes that lasts for about 30 seconds to minutes. And get this...All without pain.
The docs tell me I'm having painless migraines.
Although now after my stem cell transplants (8 yrs. ago)I now get sudden head splitting, knife like headaches when I vomit. So I do know of the pain that you all speak of :(

I feel for those of you that have ongoing migraines and don't know how you could stand hours on end of that type of pain.

I get the aura, and just a small or medium headache. But the aura lasts all day. I take excedrin migraine to help it go away. I get very very tired and just want to sleep. I'm so sorry for those of you that get such awful pain.