Migraines & Headaches Community

my blood pressure is also normal for the most part! except once at the eye dr it was 104/63, which is low. but I've always had a low to normal blood pressure. i.e. 117/68 usually.

Hi and welcome,

I'm so sorry about your pain and unanswered questions. It sounds so frustrating. I really do think you need to search for another doctor or perhaps a specialist or neurologists. There is no way to diagnoses you over the internet and I know you are looking for those with similar experiences.
But bottom line isI think you need to follow up with another doctor.

I hope other can help and support you here as well. Please let us know how you are doing.

It is possible to have migraines that entail only one of the systems, such as the stomach with the nausea/vomiting, or visual auras, they don't always come with "headache". I learned a lot about my migraines by reading Oliver Sacks. His book "Migraine" is especially of interest, though it is a little dense. He's the neurologist behind "Awakenings", if you're familiar with that book/movie. All of his case studies are fascinating. Hope you find an answer, and never hesitate to see another doctor.

that's a bit comforting to know. it's just scary to me that my migraines have shifted lol. from headache and vomiting and aura and pain, to just aura.. constantly almost. and it's not a bad thing because that's a lot better that puking and being in terrible pain, but it's scary because it's new.
I want to go to get an MRI but I dunno why my doc wouldn't have suggested one if he was worried about it. my eye doc said I need to get one! but my regular doctor didn't. maybe I should just switch doctors. the doctor I have hasn't done much for my migraines. he prescribed caffeine pills at best.

I am not diagnosing anything, just a thought. Could it be a silent migraine? My dad has those, but he will actually lose much of his vision for a few minutes to hours. Maybe it's something like that. Do seek a new doctor, and good luck.

I am 66 years old now and male, and began noticing what I learned were scintillating scotomas when I was somewhere around 25 years old. With me, they involve no pain, usually last maybe 45 minutes, and definitely interfere with vision. I experience them maybe a couple of times a year.

Mine usually progress similarly to what you mentioned (except for not lasting as long as yours) -- begin with an extra blind spot (as if I had looked at a bright light for a moment) that grows, begins vibrating, and turns into a pretty, sickle-shaped area covered with zigzaggy, vibrating, pastel-colored short straight lines. Think of a parquet floor with a herringbone pattern, but made of tiny, pink or yellow or baby-blue blocks. The point of the sickle blade is close to my foveas (both eyes), spreads out to the side. When the pattern covers the fovea, I can't read normal print but can see (sort of) to the side; my peripheral vision is sufficient for stuff like newspaper headlines. If I'm driving, I usually stop for a few minutes.

I was given cafergont tablets to help control nausea (I think they contain caffeine and ergot), but never needed them.

I have been repeatedly assured that there is nothing dangerous about scintillating scotomas. (Unless they affect driving, I suppose.) And it sounds as if your symptoms are becoming less severe. I am told that what is going on is the result of spasms in the vascular system, so blood flow is (temporarily) restricted, but after the spastic episode ends, blood flow is normal. And I've heard that it's /after/ normal flow resumes that migraine attacks generate the pain.

Conversely, if you have a stroke (either from hemorrhage or blood clot), that damage is likely to become permanent if not treated promptly. (But I'm not a doctor, so take all this with a grain of salt.)

Are you sure that an MRI would help you? It would be expensive, and you'd be looking for a muscular twitch in the blood vessels in your brain. It might not be possible to see much, especially if the unpleasant effects are evident only after blood flow has returned to normal.

I agree with @NotYourAnswer that you might want to get a second medical opinion, but having done so, you may discover that your current doctor has already been giving you excellent advice. Good luck.

well I am not sure that an MRI would help or not but it would at least ensure that I don't have a tumor or something crazy going on.

I am glad the headaches are getting less terrible, but like I said, just worried because they have changed. my eye doctor said that it sounds like they are getting better. and that would be great, but the fact that it is off and on and random for days is what is so weird.

I'm sure it's just a silent migraine or opthamolic migraine, which is what eye doctor said. but I just wanna make sure I don't have something like a tumor in my brain or behind my eyes that I don't know about.
I did have blood work and hormone test done that all came out normal. I don't know if they would've came up as abnormal if I had a tumor, but I just wanna know and see that I don't have some crazy hidden aneurysm or mass just waiting to wreak havoc.