Kristine Hatak, A guided tour of hell, 2000. © 2005 Kristine Hatak (see here)
"Sometimes the auras can be more disabling than the headaches and they get less sympathy from doctors, and nothing seems to stop them."
(Fiona Bremner, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: auras, January 26, 1999)
"My migraines with aura are my most severe, and sometimes I get 2 sessions of aura with them. It toally sucks, and I hate the aura more than I hate the head pain."
(Martha, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: Anyone here get aura?, September 4, 2005)
"Wow! I never knew there were names for those sensations. I thought I was just nuts (heh heh - the jury's still out on that one). I've never said anything to the dr's because I thought it was my imagination.... Hmmmm.... I only get the micropsia [actually the experience referred to is a sensation of the body feeling larger rather than a visual experience of the environment being smaller, i.e. macrosomatognosia rather than micropsia] ... It's weird.... wow it's real! I'm not that crazy (note: 'that'). Wohoooo!!!"
(sillybear, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: cool aura page, February 3, 2000; additions in square brackets by Klaus Podoll)
"I don't always get the pain first, sometimes during, sometimes after - and varying in type (sometimes icepick through the head, sometimes more like my head is going to explode). When I get the patterns first they usually start as shadow type patterns with neon dots at intersecting lines. Sometimes that's as far as they go, sometimes the neon takes over the geos. It's hard to do sight things, but if you can relax and 'enjoy the show' as much as possible, it passes quicker for me than when I used to panic thinking I'd gotten hold of moldy rye, was communing with 'the other side', or just going insane. My thinking often becomes altered as well and I experience other things like loss of motor function in various parts of body, to loss of sight if it gets worse. I've had these patterns play before me ever since I can remember. I wasn't diagnosed with migraine until 30's and so didn't share this with anyone as I learned early not everyone saw them."
(kryen, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: Brief pain followed by geometric patterns, January 6, 2001)
"I can remember 2 different kinds [of migraine auras experienced as child], and often they happened together, the first was little 'sparkly dots' drifting to and fro in my field of vision, the others were black shapes that sometimes looked like a silhouette of something I could almost recognize, so I guess that I was having both scintillating and [positive ] scotomas ... I also remember that I never told anyone about them because 'people who see things that aren't there must be crazy' and I had enough grief as a kid just from being overweight without adding crazy on top of it."
(Bear, Newsgroups: alt.support.headache.migraine, Subject: Migraine auras experienced as child, January 15, 2006; additions in square brackets by Klaus Podoll)
"But yeah, 'crazy', stigma concern seems to go hand in hand with migraine just as much when you have them as a child. At least when you know what you've got you can rationalize that you are sane."
(Lynsey, Newsgroups: alt.support.headache.migraine, Subject: Migraine auras experienced as child, January 16, 2006)
"I just gave up caring if people thought I was crazy or not, and found it to be the most liberating thing ever, if people think you are a bit nutz you can get away with saying damn near anything."
(Bear, Newsgroups: alt.support.headache.migraine, Subject: Migraine auras experienced as child, January 16, 2006)
"anyone out there get auras but me? Just started having the freaking things followed by headache and am over 50 years old... hope I am not dying."
(Mike Rabon, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: auras, January 26, 1999)
"If you're dying, then this must be the closest thing to heaven."
(Suzie Eisfelder, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: auras, January 27, 1999)
"Scary is an understatement for the aura part of things. The first time I had it, I thought for sure that I was having a stroke and I was going to die. And I can say that freaking out and being stressed certainly does NOT help HA's!!"
(Lisa Kuitert, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: auras, June 6, 2005)
"The first one I had scared me half to death, I thought I was going blind; it's... almost impossible to describe, a curving figure of shimmering lines of color moving slowly across the field of vision. You can't see what's 'behind' it, and even in the rest of the visual field things are... strange.... Pretty, yes... but if I never see another in my life, I'll be just as well pleased."
(John Vinson, Newsgroups: alt.callahans, Subject: Migraine Aura, February 16, 2000)
"I had a really scary about a week and a half ago. I was sitting on my couch, watching a movie with my friend and I noticed my vision changed. All of a sudden, the bottom half of my right eye was completely gray? or something. I could only see out of half of my eye and my other eye was doing the normal blinky-flashy aura thing. I was so freaked out and scared that I was going blind that I called my mom and cried hysterically until she convinced me that it was just another aura. Anyways, that was super scary and pretty weird. My vision came back after less than 10 minutes and then the migraine started a little later, but I have never been that terrified in my life."
(petitanana, Livejournal for Support Group for Migraine Sufferers, Subject: Weirdest migraine aura, November 23, 2005)
"Got that [i.e. blindness] once! Scared the hell out of me. It was like a 'wave' of greyish darkness in my eyes, and went away about 30 minutes later. The big hypocondiac that I am then search through the net for a whole day trying to rule out a cancer of some sort..... Pretty pathetic huh.... ~Sorta~"
(~Sorta Ann, Newsgroups: alt.support.depression, Subject: Blindness, May 9, 1998; additions in square brackets by Klaus Podoll)
"It is real scary when you first start getting auras. It started for me about 10 years ago. I had just come from the dentist and had this wiggly strange scintillating light in my vision. I did think maybe I had a brain tumor or something... I guess it's just something in the brain. I haven't died yet, though sometimes I wish I had because of the pain."
(Jackie Sprat, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: auras, January 27, 1999)
"I'm not a regular migraine sufferer but I've had the occasional attack and I know how debilatating they can be. I find the visual effects somewhat interesting. Once I saw a pulsating electric checkerboard in my peripheral vision w/o knowing what it was. For a little while I thought I was having a stroke or developing a brain tumor. Still it was an amazing effect, like being trapped in one of those Cinematic POV shots where the hero has been drugged."
(elag, Newsgroups: alt.surrealism, Subject: H0llyw00d Flatlands, May 14, 2003)
"Hi, I need some information from anyone familiar with 'migraine aura'. One night, I experienced the weirdest thing... I felt dizzy and was seeing zig-zags all over the place... I thought I was going to have a stroke or something. I drove to the hospital in the thick fog (I could barely see anything) and waited an hour to be told that I had a migraine aura. The doctor told me to expect a nasty migraine, which usually follows the aura; it never came. I've never had a migraine in my life but this incident sure scared the hell out of me."
(frousse, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: Migraine aura??, May 6, 1998)
"Your post reminded me of the first aura I had. It was a yellow blotchy one that was doing the slow zoom and it was in the middle of the junior high volleyball lineperson test. I had no idea what was going on, I thought it was some kind of stroke."
(Elaine M. Brown, Newsgroups: alt.callahans, Subject: Migraine Aura, February 17, 2000)
"Hello Gentlemen, I just wanted to say a big thank you for the website www.migraine-aura.org which I discovered only today. I am 38 years old and have experienced migraines from the age of 8. I never had a visual aura until August 2004, but knew what it was when it happened. Then in January 2005 I was speaking to my daughter and suddenly could not speak or think of words. I had numbness in fingers and in my jaw and lip which travelled. For months now I thought I was having mini-strokes or MS or something equally terrifying. Today I saw a neurologist who told me he thinks it's migraines, and tonight I discover the concept of sensory auras - something I never knew. The stories and examples you have included in the website, people's auras in their own words, has almost reduced me to tears. I feel incredibly relieved. It explains so much to me. I see myself in their words."
(Irene Schymitzek, Email to Markus Dahlem and Klaus Podoll, May 6, 2005)
"Two questions for you all -
First off, when I get a 'bad' migraine (once or twice a year), it usually starts with visual distortions, blind spots and lightning bolts. Sometime into this, I get a tingly/ numb/ electric feeling that moves up my arm or leg, sometimes in my mouth. And in the middle of it all, there's a few minutes where I have trouble talking. Just curious how many of you have this succession of symptoms.
Secondly, how many of you are hypochondriacs, or at least paranoid about it happening? After several tests, I've ascertained that it's all just migraines at work and nothing more sinister. However, the aura symptoms terrify me for no real reason other than that it feels like I'm a prisoner in a malfunctioning body. After the migraine passes (nowhere near as painful as some of you describe), I often have trouble with my vision for the next week or so - not because my vision is damaged or anything, but because I'm CONSTANTLY paying attention to everything in my field of sight. It's exhausting and tiring on my eyes, especially to constantly focus on my peripheral vision. Just curious if any of you look for the visual cue as the first symptom to the point of paranoia."
(3rdrate, LiveJournal for Support Group for Migraine Sufferers,, Subject: Two questions for you all, August 12, 2005)
Entry to art contest Migraine Images, 1992. © 2007 GlaxoSmithKline
"I used to get auras myself... Mine started as a pinpoint right in the center of my field of vision, out there somewhere
(Kenora Sorgenfrie, Newsgroups: alt.callahans, Subject: Migraine Aura, February 16,2000)
nige, Untitled, 2006. © 2006 nige (see here)
"by lunchtime my migraine got so bad that a shooting pain went through my right eye and forced me to swerve off the road.
naturally, I reached for my other *eye*, and took a picture of it (well, you would, wouldn't you?)"
(nige, Blog, May 22, 2006)
"I rarely, if ever, get a headache, but the visual disturbance and 'blindness' it scares the hell out of me."
(Will, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: Migraine aura??, May 7, 1998)
"Everytime, it's how I tell they are coming. That and something goes numb, tongue, arm, leg, fingers, etc. & yeah it scares the hell out of U. never get used to it."
(Robert, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: Migraine aura??, May 18, 1998)
"Hi All ......well i had 8 fantastic days wooohooooo no migraine aura. Then suddenly *Wham*! last night i had a migraine aura attack at 11:49 PM as soon as Rosanne came on Uggggggg not good. I still haven't tracked my trigger however i do recall binging on cheese and a little too many pepsi Uggggggggggg Guess i shouldn't have had that LOL. Well aura lasted for 30 minutes. No headache afterwards though just a bit of tension around eyes. I think the weather is a good trigger for me too.... rainy, snowy, cold etc.... warming up cooling off Mother Nature doesn't kow what it wants to do here!!!! Lawwwwd Mercy! The aura sucks!!!! why do i have to have this. I feel pretty bad for people out there who have terrible pain i guess i should never complain about aura. Aura can be a scary thing though and it is not good to have to stop your life for about 40 minutes and it happens anywhere anytime it feels like usually at the wrong moments. I think the worst part is when it is getting ready to leave. You know when you have the ceiling fan effect in your peripheral vision?? That's the point where i feel a teeny nausious and confusion. Afterwards i am fine and kind of get mad because it's like i get absolutely nothing to prove it's a migraine! No guys i have not seen a neuro yet doc doesn't seem i need to at this point. I feel frequent again i will be in demanding one. Okay that's it sorry this is a long one!!"
(Leisa, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: Hello Lines, December 18, 2001)
"Had visual disturbances about two and a half hours ago. The blind spot quite quickly turned into a bright jagged lightning bolt and a feeling of pressure built up around left temple. Mentally, everything felt very surreal as if logic suddenly took a holiday. This used to scare me witless, but now I know what to expect."
(Anonymous, Zhurnal Wiki a.k.a. ^zhurnal, the journal of ^z = Mark Zimmermann, Topic Personal History - Migraine Visions, August 8, 2004)
"Always had the feeling that if I ever decide to kill myself, it will be because of one migraine too many."
(A. Ferszt, Newsgroups: alt.callahans, Subject: Migraine Aura, February 17, 2000)
"My migraine follows a very specific pathology: I get the aura (looks like the wavy air rising from a hot road), anywhere from ten minutes to a couple of hours later, the pain starts. It is on the right side of my head, almost like someone drew a line down the middle and it only hurts on the right side of that line. It hurts so bad sometimes, it feels like my brain is trying to squeeze itself through my hair follicles. My teeth hurt. Is this normal? I realize that I clench my teeth when I am in migraine mode, the doctor has me on muscle relaxers to keep me from doing this. In fact, I tense up every single muscle from my elbows upwards because it just hurts so bad. Is this normal? Sometimes I get auras in the middle of headaches, almost as if the next migraine is starting before the first one is done with me! Does this happen to anyone else? Sometimes, my face goes numb on one side, and my speech gets slurred, almost like I'm drunk. I get tingling in my fingers and toes. My skin sometimes feels like it is crawling. And I get so depressed during episodes sometimes I feel like I should be put on suicide watch."
(Melinda Milford, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: (a long one) Just need to know if some things are normal..., February 12, 2002)
"Well I don't get these awful attacks very often anymore, but last weekend Saturday morning I woke up with the worst migraine that kept me in bed until Sunday. It was gone Sunday, but I was spent. Well this weekend, Friday night, it happens again. Except it's worse and it's still wearing on me. I thought Friday and Saturday night I was going to just die. I couldn't move my head, couldn't lie on either side, and couldn't find any relief. All I could do was take a bunch of sleeping meds to force myself to sleep.
Now it's Sunday night and I'm still fighting this darn thing. It's been pretty light all day, but it's starting to pound again. I was like a dishrag all day just exhausted from the whole event. I'm driving myself crazy trying to figure out what the trigger was either weekend. I've been really stressed out at work, so I'm just wondering if the weekend letdown started it?? I've never had that problem before though and I have been much more stressed than this.
Anyway, I'm just venting. I'd never entertain suicide, but I sure felt like I wanted the good Lord to take me. I went from praying to begging, to reminding myself that it's really bigger than that :-) I know some of you have been there... at least I think so.
Anyway, hope all is well with all of you. Michelle"
(friendlytxtech, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: I felt like dying, January 16, 2005)
Blau JN. Fears aroused in patients by migraine. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984; 288 (6424): 1126.
Blau JN. Anxiety and depression in migraine. J R Soc Med 1995; 88: 59.
Hatak K. A guided tour of hell: In the words of migraine sufferers. 2000
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