Disturbances of the body image affecting its mass

Following the classification of body image disturbances from Lukianowicz (1967), one category of body image disturbances that may occur as migraine aura symptoms can be labeled as disturbances of the body image affecting its mass, i.e. feelings of heaviness, or of weightlessness or of hollowness of the whole body or of its parts.

Sensations of heaviness

"Throughout my early childhood I suffered from migraine headaches... Most of the time it was when I was sitting still, I would feel so incredibly heavy that I was sure I couldn't move any part of my body... " [more]

(Jen Smith, Alice in Wonderland syndrome forum, March 12, 2005)

Sensations of weightlessness

"I get ocular migraines that way -- the visual and cognitive aura without the headache bit. Rarely do I get them with the headache that sudden though; there's usually a buildup.

For instance, on Christmas I went outside to wait for my friend to pick me up. The light changed, since I went outside in the daytime. With no warning there was pulsating transparent stuff all around the borders of my visual field, and pulsating colored stuff in the middle, and I got light-headed and confused. I hoped it would not turn into a headache, and it didn't, but the aura is annoying enough."

(skrewt, Livejournal for Support Group for Migraine Sufferers, Subject: Issues, December 28, 2002)

"The first time I had an aura that I was actually awake for, I thought I was high. My head felt all floaty and my arms and legs got light, and I had to speak and write very carefully - I had no control over my words."

(christyedna, LiveJournal for Support Group for Migraine Sufferers, April 12, 2004)

"One afternoon after school I was sitting on my bed, which was a day bed with a spiraly-cast iron design on the headboard and while I was looking at it it started to move and rotate, like it was turning like a wheel. When I tried to explain this to my parents I got frustrated because my eyes were telling me that my bed wasn't moving, but my brain was telling me that it was moving. Every episode was accompanied with a strange feeling that at the time I didn't understand, but in retrospect I would call it an extreme-version of light-headedness, kind of like you're on laughing gas but highly uncomfortable and very scary. And every episode was followed by a killer migraine headache..." [more]

(Jen Smith, Alice in Wonderland syndrome forum, March 12, 2005)

References

Lukianowicz N. "Body image" disturbances in psychiatric disorders. Brit J Psychiat 1967; 113: 31-47.
Podoll K, Robinson D. Migraine Art - The Migraine Experience from Within. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California 2009, p. 117-127.

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