I Had a Stroke at 33

Re:I Had a Stroke at 33 by 300bps on Monday September 22, 2014 @09:00AM (#8350341)

Thanks for writing the article - it was well written. One item to point out to any fellow migraine w/ aura sufferers that are worried right now they're going to have a stroke...

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/patent-foramen...

Generally, a patent foramen ovale doesn't cause complications. But, some studies have found the disorder is more common in individuals with certain conditions, such as unexplained stroke and migraine with aura. In most cases, there are other reasons for these conditions, and it's just a coincidence the person also has a patent foramen ovale...The possible link between patent foramen ovale and stroke or migraine is controversial and research studies are ongoing.

I'm 42 and have had migraines with aura (mostly blindness) since I was 15. My father is 72, my oldest sister is 51 and my youngest sister is 45 and they have all had migraine with aura since a young age with no strokes reported yet.

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Re:I Had a Stroke at 33 by weddpros on Monday September 22, 2014 @11:45AM (#8351034)

A migrainous infarct is a rare complication of migraines with aura, and you should probably not worry too much about it.

But make sure you'll NEVER take vasoconstrictors during the aura... Migraines with aura have two phases :

- first vasoconstriction, which cause the aura. Should not last more than 30-60 minutes. Take NO anti-migraine vasoconstrictor at this point.

- next comes vasodilatation which causes the pain. That's when vasoconstrictors can be used.

Find my comment bellow to learn more.

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Re:I Had a Stroke at 33 by 300bps on Monday September 22, 2014 @12:18PM (#8351198)

The two phases you detailed of "Migraines with aura" match my experience precisely. Dark spots in vision are typically the first sign at which point I have about 30 minutes before tunnel vision and blindness kick in. Then I gradually get my vision back with an equal measure of pain in my head.

Interestingly, I have literally never taken prescription migraine medication. I don't have severe ones often enough to warrant needing it. The only thing I take - and I take it at the first sign of aura - is two Excedrin. The active ingredients in Excedrin (aspirin, tylenol, caffeine) are identical to the active ingredients in Excedrin Migraine so I generally take either. It seems to lessen the severity and duration of the headache.

As a neurologist once told me - there is no medication you can take that will reduce or eliminate an aura. So to your advice that it is dangerous to do so, apparently it's not effective either. So there is no upside and apparently plenty of downside to taking vasoconstrictors during aura.

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Re:I Had a Stroke at 33 by weddpros on Monday September 22, 2014 @02:11PM (#8351691)

Actually, I had that stroke the first time I tried anti-migraine treatment (eletriptan). I have no medical proof that there was it was a cause though.

Before that, I was usually taking 1000mg of aspirin too.

My advice if your migraines occur in high stress times (mine did): learn auto-hypnosis or find anything to lower that stress level...

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