Neurologist Describes His Migraine Aura Live 

Yes, that is exactly how mine is as well; no headaches but the shimmering zig-zag shape (in one eye only). Twice it happened when under a lot of stress, but most recently I woke up with one! Thanks for sharing about this!

It looks to me like a broken CD in my vision. I just had one and had to look it up and I found you.

Yes. Migraines my whole life. Aura a few times. I never met anyone else who experienced this. Great video.

I heard my son describe exactly this (including the headache) for the first time when he was in 8th grade and I was away on a business trip. I got someone from my office to pull him out of school and take him straight to the dr.: classic migraine. He's 35 now and gets a few per year. They run in my family. I get the headache but no aura. Oliver Sacks's book "Migraine" educated me although perhaps it's a bit out of date now. Thank you for your videos.

Many greetings from Germany and thank you very much for your video. I've had these symptoms 4 times in my life so far, the last time was yesterday, which is why I looked for people here on RU-vid who were going through the same thing. I was examined for a TIA in 2015 because of the symptoms because I also had difficulty finding words, but it turned out that this was also related to the migraines. I never had a severe headache after the visual effects, which lasted a maximum of 45 minutes. The only thing that bothers me afterwards is the neck tension which lasts for a few days but that also seems to be part of my migraine.

Hi. I’ve suffered with these for many years. I get the aura as you described and then it is followed with at least 2 days of migraine pain in my head and stiffness in my neck. Also nausea. I went off dairy many years ago and it reduced my migraine attacks. I just got one yesterday. I have also been taking Magnesium supplements as it is apparently a symptom. And probiotics. There’s a direct connection to the gut that causes these migraines. I would highly recommend anyone to get an allergy/intolerance test to start narrowing down what may be the cause. At times when I get these migraines I can’t concentrate or read, everything is jumbled up and my mood is desperate too. Good luck to all who suffers from these because I understand how debilitating they can be.

Thank you for filming while you’re having a migraine and explaining this.#sharing is caring

My aura is a beautiful golden flashing crescent that lasts about 45 minutes. It is the "off-kilter" kind of sickness that sends me to bed for a good long nap which is followed by more "wind down" time. If I don't take care of myself the whole episode will last much longer. Step one is Niacinimide (250 mg up to 500 mg.). Benfotiamine (double dose). Calcium/Magnesium drink. No chewing. No eating (have bone broth if you are hungry). Magnesium oil on neck and shoulders. Potassium. Alka-Seltzer Gold. Nutritional yeast. Cold on head. Heat on feet. Electrolyte water. Homeopathics instead of aspirin. My migraines with aura reduced in frequency after I started taking fat soluble vitamins. Stress plays a role. Weather and dehydration may play a role. Constipation is not good. My lifetime count of migraines with aura is about 100 times so far. Anyway that's my bag of tricks, in about that order.

I just experienced this about a month ago. I took a nap, and when I woke up, it was gone. It was a little unsettling.

I get this every so often, but not as much as migraines. The first one I got freaked me out as I thought something was wrong with my eyes. Thank you for the video!

Wow! Absolutely! I had my first one when I was around 19. I was taking the pill at the time, so my Dr took me off of it. I've continued to have them since. They were very occasional but recently, I have been having them a couple of times a month. I always know when one is coming, as I get sensitive to light. It starts as a tiny flashing zig-zag, they grows into a crescent. It's normally in my right eye, to the side but I have had it in my left eye. They last about 20 to 30 minutes and even with my eyes closed, I see it. I have no pain or sickness. I also have PVCs every day (at least 3 every hour) and I was worried that these, coupled with the migraines means I'm more susceptible to a stroke but my Dr says no (she also said PVCs every hour, every day is normal and nothing to worry about, so I'm not too trusting in her response!). There doesn't seem to be a trigger but may be hormonal for me?

yes, I know, perfect description

I’ve had it several times. Sometimes when very active or when in an environment with a lot of lights.

I have had the same thing dozens of times (but not in the last several months). When I went to emerg. about 10 years ago, they told me "atypical migraine" which was news to me. Do I know the causes? No. But I've lost 30 pounds and 30 points of blood pressure, and I haven't seen one in months. ... We'll see.

To answer your question, Yes I had one this morning and you described it perfectly. Mine lasted about 15 minutes. One eye only. I've only had two of these in my life and both times I was staring at a computer screen reading something, Sometimes they can start with a slightly brighter area in one eye, and then the zigzag moving pattern starts, which is very disturbing. I do have some osteophytes around C-5 and am scheduled for surgery. I can say before having my neck problems I never had any of these aura's, although I don't know if the two are related. If you've never had one of these before they can most definitely freak you out. It feels like you're about to go blind.

Yes since my teens. No headache. Can go for years without one & then when I get run down or I focus too hard visually on something it pops up. My ophthalmologist said that if they go away when you close your eyes then it’s an eye problem but if you can still see them when your eyes are closed then it’s a neurological event

I find drinking water takes it away

I hope you feel better soon! Auras are terrifying when you first experience them. Happy holidays doctor!

Hi Dr Beaber, Thanks for recording and posting this. I get these symptoms quite often, probably two or three times a month. I was diagnosed with MS in 2002 but have had it since at least 1992. Had these visual disturbances since about 92 as well. They used to bother me quite a bit as I thought that something was really wrong with me. Now I just try and enjoy the light show. Take care out there.

Yes sir! Very similar to your description. Although mine can start and finish a bit differently.. can move left or right out of the field of vision in 30 mins.

I experience the exact same without headache. I'm lucky I guess. Thanks for the explanation, when this thing started occuring to me I was so worried I thought I was going to die literally, now I just live with it.

Yes the same experience. After MS came on strong it can happen multiple times a week. Seems to be triggered by a sudden stressful event. The more I can keep stress under control the less frequent.

Sorry to hear this is happening to you it can be scary while it happens . This exact thing happened to me yesterday took over my whole vision . I even had numbness on my right side . I’ve had it happen 5 times in a row just yesterday . Prior to this it happened 3 times over the 10 years since it started

Same as you, I also get visual aura (usually the black and white zig-zaggy sort) without headache. Typically I get one every couple of years (had one today, hence me bingeing migraine-related videos now). My mum, sister and daughter get the more classic migraines, with headaches as well, and all with greater frequency than me. I sometimes get a feeling of nausea afterwards, instead of a headache. Tiredness combined with reading (on screen or on paper) is my usual trigger.

First time i had it i was totally blind and thought i had a stroke 😂😂 I get it and than a weird headache and i need to sleep. Hate it when i have it at work and have to act normal. I feel vaque and dont understand much and talk weird. I get it from the light in supermarket and when i have it it always comes often like three times in a week and than it can stop for a year. When i had normal migraines i only saw big one colored spots. Not the rainbow nor the lost of sight.

YES! You have described this exactly! I call it broken light sight. :( If I don't get migraine exedrin in at this time, I have major pain and have full blown horrific pain and distruption. I have MS so my entire body freaks out. :(

I have it to it is during twenty minites and never get a headache i thaugt it comes sooner when i eat sugar or drink alcohol

hope you getting better fast

Such an amazing description of your aura but I wish you would have mentioned that you weren’t having an accompanying headache sooner! I was wondering how you could possibly be able to make this video and whether you were ignoring the pain as you were having a “teachable moment”. You’re the best and I love your content, it’s fascinating!

I never had this until after I had cataract surgery. But, just 3 months prior my cataract surgery, I went through a very traumatic experience. The island I lived on in the Caribbean went through 2 Category 5 hurricanes in a 2 week time period. Then, before a year was up, my husband was dx’ed with cancer and died 5 months later. I assumed my PTSD brought these symptoms forward. My auras start out like a small area of antique glass surrounded by jig jagged neon lights. As I wait for them to disappear, they grow larger. I have auras without headaches. No one in my family experienced migraines.

Yes, I get these. After years of researching, it’s apparently due to Glutamate docking with the NMDA Glutamate receptor. However, low levels of magnesium may be the 1st clue here. This is because magnesium plugs the NMDA Receptor. Stay tuned. More to add soon! This condition can be terrifying, but it is not life threatening(unless you’re driving).

When I was a teenager I used to get both hemiplegic and ocular aura more frequently than the headaches. I have had the headaches for as long as I can remember though. I've also always had speech problems that we didn't realize was tied to my migraines until I decided to go to the neurologist of figures ago. For a while staying away from certain foods helped but it doesn't seem to make a difference anymore.

I used to get this very frequently when I was a lot younger and in school. It would start with the aura and then when that went away a headache would follow and then vomiting. I was told by docs to avoid high sugar intake like fizzy juice etc. 15 years on i still get them but much less frequently. Maybe once a year and I no longer have the vomiting part which is a bonus. A dark room and rest works well when they occur 👍

I get two or three aura a year, exactly as you described. Also never get headaches.

Three times for me with no headache. 1- before my first Optics neuritis which lasted six weeks. 2- around 5 hours after receiving my last dose of shingles vaccine. 3- I'm assuming brought on by stress and heat. My Aura was the colorful kaleidoscope type. It tends to happen during the day and hot summer days due to some stressful situation.

I have these aura's also and i am scary and have huge panic when they occur. I had also 2 tia's 2 years ago the where so much worser. Suddenly dubbel vision and terrible vertigo. what a traumatic event whas that. I read you can get blind due to aura and little brain infarctions .... this is horrible. My life is never be the same and always afraid when they comming back.

I get migraines with aura all the time. When I was very young and trying to describe to my parents what I was seeing, I told them I was seeing "paisleys" because that's all I could compare it to.

I had this for the very first time a couple of months ago, and it was exactly as you described it in every way. Because for me this was a new Visual phenomenon, and I am diagnosed NMO, it really scared me. Furthermore, I never suffered any migraine headache with it either it was literally just a visual aura. So far, it has only happened the once.

I started experiencing exactly what you're describing very suddenly around 10 mins ago. I've had it once before but the symptoms then were much more vivid with words and letters becoming illegible and blind spots over people's faces. As I'm looking around at the white walls in my room I can feel the symptoms are fading and a faint headache is coming on. it's a bit random that searching for a cause I found this video as I've had M.S. for 20 years and have watched many of your videos on that subject. 😁

I get two different kinds . The one like you describe and a loss of vision directly in front but not peripheral. No headaches with either.

And, yes.. you are dead on. When I get this at work, it's hard to formulate the words to complete sentences. It's very jarring and scary but I get them often so I wonder if taking an asprin immediately when it starts if it would help.

I've had them in one or both eyes without any headaches my entire almost 68 year life. None of the simulations has even come close to being as amazing looking as some of them are. Some are pretty blah, yellow and black zig-zag patterns with a small amount of bright colors pulsating, but some have some truly great patterns of texture, like a fly's eye that changes shape and colors at a rapid rate. I wish there was some way to record them! I used to get them much more often than I do now, when I was a little kid, I got them a couple of times a day. I asked my eye doctor when I was about seven about the "flashing snake" that I saw a lot of the time, and he said, "Don't worry about it!". Later on, I asked another eye doctor about them, and he just shrugged. Finally, I had a very different one where the vision in one eye was pretty much totally obscured, and that was the first time, at 63, that ocular migraine aura was mentioned to me. I ended up having a carotid artery ultrasound about that deal, and everything was fine. Since I had cataract surgery, the frequency has gone down to about 2 a week from about 4 previously, my eye doctor seems clueless as to why it changed, but it did, along with my lifetime sleep pattern. I suddenly needed less sleep than I used to, and don't have near the level of just feeling bad when I only get 4 hours a day or so.

I’ve had the same thing three or four times in my life. I have not gotten it now in about eight years. I do suffer from MS and I figured that that was just a symptom of the MS. I’ve never had a migraine headache. It was very unsettling usually last about 30 minutes. It was like looking through a kaleidoscope. I just had this crescent of triangular colored flashing lights.

I’ve been experiencing these for a few years now. My daughter gets classic migraines so it’s s family thing. Like you, I don’t get headaches unless there is a specific issue (e.g. infection).

I'm just now clearing up from one of these. Has happened twice in the past week, maybe 10 times that I can remember total. Finally decided to search for it and found this. Thanks for the info doc. Oh yeah, visual only, no headaches with the visuals or after, crosses fingers.. but, I do get headaches at other times and have had a few migraines in my life. My auras look like tight zig-zaggy rainbows that kaleidoscopically radiate. They start as a small off center blurring then the size and intensity ramps up until it's very obvious to me and I have to stop whatever I'm doing until it clears up. They seem to take turns on either side of my vision and as far as I can remember, it's always been in both eyes at the same time.

Hi, I have the aura quite frequently, maybe monthly on average. It's hard to show people the effect on vision because one thing we can't do is to look directly at the pattern as it moves with the field of view. As a child I used to get the headache too, for about 12 hours. Once, as a 55 year old, I had the speech impediment too and the school where I was teaching called an ambulance as everyone including me thought it was a stroke. Like you, I just have to stop and let the visual aura move to the side of my vision and fade.

I have had this happen often over the last few years. I had it everyday for a week in April 2020. Sometimes I get it in one eye and sometimes both eyes. I don't get a headache with the aura. But I do sometimes get pain around my eyes and pain moving them side to side. Can these aura migraines be associated to Multiple Sclerosis? I've always felt they might be related to my MS. I have had optic neuritis twice, could it be link to that? Thank you for all the awesome content you post!

I am experiencing this right now, The crescent is leaving my visual field and I expect a slow onset headache progressively getting worse and will peak about 45 minutes from now. Then I will hope to get to sleep through the most painful paart experiencing hot and cold flushes as my body struggles to regulate it's core temperature. I will be out of the woods in around 4 hours and thn feel slightly drained for a day or 2. What is the deal with the fluctuation of temperature? also I find my imagination is alot more active in this state of pain as the migraine continues.. bizaarre how the brain works

I got this after drinking a vodka martini. I usually dont drink either. No headache though. I was freaking out.the kaleidescope lightning flash lasted about 30 minutes. Now I am afraid of drinking.

I have been getting them for around ten years now.Sometimes when going from bright sunlight into a shopping mall or airport where it ain’t so bright can trigger an aura of coloured zig zags which start out the corner of my eye getting bigger over ten to twenty minutes.Then it just disappears.

Thank you for sharing. Yes, I have had many visual auras with a migraine headache following the aura and sometimes just the aura with no headache. What can help this?

You describe it well, i had the same symptoms this morning after a woke up and took a little breakfast I start seeing a little zigzag in my eyes with the shape of the letter C start growing up after 10 min it disappear after that a had a headache

Yes a zigzag half crescent of shining gold and blurry middle vision,I thought I was having a stroke ...no headache,but have since developed migraines..mine started after having COVID.....

Yes every three days I get this

Yes and exact the same way. Always bu surprise and I never know how severe the headpain wil be after the aura or if I get stomage tension also.

Yes i got my first one and thought i was gonna! i get them quite often with screen time, the only way i find to get over it is to close my eyes and relax/breath and it passes in 10 mins or so, but sometimes a head ache follows. Zig Zag black and silver lines with pieces of my vision missing...shame it it didn't show me lotto numbers! lol Jokes aside its not nice and can happen at any time, ive found its pointless taking meds because its gone by the time they kick in. Head colds and congestion can also make them more frequent...Also stress for sure. It reassures me to read these comments thanks peeps.

Are visual auras because of an electrical wave inside the brain or due to narrowing of blood vessels? When should you seek medical help

Yes, exactly as you describe, both eyes usually a right side arc but mine are always the bright colored sawtooth pattern. Mine last between 5 and 20 minutes, usually closer to 5. No sign of any headache. Cannot figure out a trigger. Usually get about 2 a year but recently have started getting 1 or 2 a week but could be stress related as my wife recently passed away. Just annoying.

I have suffered this ocular migraine for last six months. I have been trying so hard to prevent this occuring. My right eye vision is getting worse in last three years, so now my right eye has the power -350, left eye -125. Wonder if this is the cause.

Iv had migraine symptoms more often, can be a few times a week and then months of no issues. It always starts kind of like a dot in my vision where i start to see a kind of a blur that slowly starts to turn in a bended line that looks like glimmering water without colors though like i keep seeing in examples people give. it then slowly starts to move to either the left or the right side and grows seemingly bigger until it disappears outside of my vision. Sometimes i get a tingling and numb feeling in my fingers on one side (the side where the visual aura disappears to) and my tongue and sometimes my lips tingle as well. I also very rarely get speech problems where i cant form the right words ... i can think normally, but the words dont come out right. if i concentrate really hard i will be able to get across whats going on and somewhat use the right words with leaving a few words out and it still wont sound quite right and takes a lot of effort. I doesnt take to long though, up to 10 or 15 minutes, but its pretty scary, specially the first time it happened. Other then a pressure like feeling in my head like a dull painless headache i dont get headaches like many do and I dont get nausea either. Its weird stuff anyway that started about 12 years ago .. Had a few migraines and then nothing for a couple of years. The past 5 years it has been returning more often where i get them a couple of times in a week and then 2 or three months where nothing happens. The last one i had about 2 hours ago and another one 3 hours before that. The one from 2 hours ago also came with the speech issue, hence why i landed on this video to see if it falls in line with what other people have experienced. Anyway, going to give my doctor a call tomorrow and explain what happened and to see if its a good idea to get a checkup. But since the first time was 12 years ago im pretty sure its migraines. I think one of my main triggers is not having enough sleep like last night where i only have about 4 to 4 and a half hour of sleep. I hope i explained it right, i'm Dutch so english is not my first language and two hours ago i had speech issues on top of that 😆

I started getting them when I was 18? For 3-4 years. Then none for decades. Then last year they came back three or four times. Never since. Only time I hate getting them is when driving and no hard shoulder. They last 45 minutes and when I get one I find a dark place and lie down.

Can you define 'dryglation of blood vessels' at ~1:50? Or say which word is being said. Sorry I tried searching a bit but can't understand the pronunciation.

I have had them for years. I have had MRI scans which showed nothing abnormal. If possible when I have one, I just stop what I am doing and watch the "light show". They almost always end within 20 to 30 minutes. it can be annoying if I am trying to get something done though.

Also, if you have lesions in the brain in the occipital locations would this worsen the MS symptoms?

I was diagnosed with this 9 years ago and 1 year ago I was diagnosed with RRMS. I had optic neuritis 11 years ago that was dismissed by the ophthalmologist and I didn't know any better at the time so trusted him. I wonder if it's coincidental or whether it was actually symptoms of my MS since I also had nausea, vertigo, tinnitus, light sensitivity, and neck stiffness; basically all the symptoms except the headache. Just one of those things we will never know. I sure get the headache with the migraines now unfortunately. I hope it resolved as quickly this time as it has in the past, it's very frustrating to have visual disturbances.

Yes, I have it for 3 years now. Attacks 2-3 times a week or more. Last 15-60 min With big Zagzag. I get headache 1 hour after the attack.

I have this disturbance exactly as you describe. I had two just recently in the space of one week. Sometimes I can go a year without one at all. My Doctor suggests stress might be the trigger, though I don't feel I am under stress. Is there any medication that one could take that would preempt the symptoms?

I have had two of these episodes in the last three days. It’s terrible. It instantly throws me into a panic attack! I have the blind spot in the middle. It moves around a bit. Ends up being a strobe light around my periphery and then gone. Followed by NO headache. Last around an hour. Went straight to my eye doctor the first time and he did all the tests. Diagnosed with classic migraine. No know cause or treatment. 😞. I’m 62 and on HRT. Wondering if that might be the cause. Any suggestions?

Did you have it in Both eyes or one? I had in both eyes, but it's not aura, I think it was Tia attack, lasted 1 hour 15 minutes. I have had 6 times those now ,Usually after a strenuous exercise or cleaning. I think this could be serious. I have chronic thrombocytosis, about 400-500 and high hematocrite 47 usually. COuld this be dangerous? I also had difficulty understanding one name during attack. What should I do? I took Aspirin pills but had to stop cause of side symptoms.

Currently experiencing my first aura in 7 years or so. I used to have them quite often as child or teen, let's say 3 to 4 times a year. It's always an aura, followed with an onset of headache and slight nausea after the aura is gone. That's unless I go to sleep or take a short nap, after which the migraine is completely gone... They however reduced to almost zero, after I started taking daily ADHD med's at university. I'm not sure if there is any research about this observation of me. I now have them about 2 times each decade, usually after a long stressful or frustrating period. _PS: Sorry for any typo's or weird sentences, there is a big annoying sparkly thing on the left side of my vision!_

Doc what about magnesium supplements to reduce tye frequency for this?

This is exactly how mine took place. The only difference here is that it became a stroke.

Silent migraine

Dr. is there any permanent treatment.?

Aura increase chances of wmh and dementia? White matter, hyperintensities, a.k.a. white matter leges