Migraine aura anyone? Or does the cheese stand alone?

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.... Interestingly, or not, I have been taking CoQ10 because I'm on 40 mg of pravastatin daily and I have read it's good to supplement with that. I started getting more regular auras, maybe I'm looking for a pattern who knows, when I was out of CoQ10 for a couple of weeks. Started back on it this week so I guess I'll see...
Isn't CoQ10 one of the things they tell you to avoid on warfarin? I used to take it.
 
I was at a football match yesterday, and was standing up watching at the side of the pitch, when I had a complete grey out in my left eye which lasted about 5 minutes before aura and flashing lights broke the grey. Vision returned to normal soon after that.

Started getting these vision disturbance events about 10 years before the surgery, tends to happen once every few months.
After surgery is the same, no better or worse

Always occurs in the left eye. Triggers are strong light (like what triggered it yesterday), or standing up from a seated position too fast
 
I was at a football match yesterday, and was standing up watching at the side of the pitch, when I had a complete grey out in my left eye which lasted about 5 minutes before aura and flashing lights broke the grey. Vision returned to normal soon after that.
Are you taking aspirin regularly?
 
I got my first one while still in the hospital. Never had one before surgery. Sometimes I get a mild headache with them. Been taking warfarin and baby aspirin for over 25 years now. I started using nasonex/ Fluticasone spray in my nostrils and that seems to have decreased the frequency. I don't think I even get them monthly now whereas before probably a few a month.
 
I got my Onx aortic valve 19 years ago and am on warfarin and 81 mg aspirin. I get the migraine aura every week or two, usually without a headache. I have had a few grayouts also. I’m not sure either one has anything to do with the warfarin, hadn’t thought it until now.
 
I got my Onx aortic valve 19 years ago and am on warfarin and 81 mg aspirin. I get the migraine aura every week or two, usually without a headache. I have had a few grayouts also. I’m not sure either one has anything to do with the warfarin, hadn’t thought it until now.

Hi Happymesandra.
I'm curious what INR range you target? Have you noticed any correlation between the migraines and where you are in your range; for example whether they tend to occur near the low end or high end of your range?
 
Hi and welcome

I’m not sure either one has anything to do with the warfarin, hadn’t thought it until now.

I've had migraine aura most of my living memory although as I had my first OHS at 10 I'm not sure about before that but I seem to recall the first was some time after my first OHS (which was about 1974). What I found was that an osteopathic type chiropracter has helped very significantly in relieving this. Indeed whenever I've been going (once every 6 or so weeks) I don't get migraines.

I only commenced warfarin in 2011 and so the previous 30 years of migraines can't really be attributed to warfarin.

HTH
 
I've never had warfarin nor aspirin, but my migraine auras without headache started the day after open heart surgery just over 8 years ago and they continue. The doctor on the cardiac ward said they're often happen after heart surgery. I reckon it's to do with the heart lung machine but it doesn't appear that anyone has investigated this properly despite the fact that a fair number of people get them post heart surgery.

I got my Onx aortic valve 19 years ago and am on warfarin and 81 mg aspirin. I get the migraine aura every week or two, usually without a headache. I have had a few grayouts also. I’m not sure either one has anything to do with the warfarin, hadn’t thought it until now.
 
I've never had warfarin nor aspirin, but my migraine auras without headache started the day after open heart surgery just over 8 years ago and they continue. The doctor on the cardiac ward said they're often happen after heart surgery. I reckon it's to do with the heart lung machine but it doesn't appear that anyone has investigated this properly despite the fact that a fair number of people get them post heart surgery.
Before my heart surgery I would get a couple of migraines a year, proceeded with the aura. After surgery I get the aura a lot more but I don't get the subsequent migraine. Maybe a little fuzzy feeling after but nothing like before. Funny thing is the cardiac surgery team acted as if they had never heard of a connection between the heart and lung machine and this issue. But I saw a neurologist that Penn and he said they see this all the time with people who are on the heart lung machine.
 
Funny thing is the cardiac surgery team acted as if they had never heard of a connection between the heart and lung machine and this issue. But I saw a neurologist that Penn and he said they see this all the time with people who are on the heart lung machine.
That is really interesting that a neurologist you saw said they see this all the time with people who've been on the heart lung machine !

I once found a link to an article about neurological complications of heart surgery where it mentions "complications from bypass surgery can include vision problems," but it doesn't go into much detail: Neurological Complications Of Heart Surgery
 
I am six weeks out of surgery and I get the aura about 4x per week. It does not last for long and it does not turn into a migraine (though I have a history of migraines).

I associate it with muscle tension, as I am still unable to exercise my upper body, but the aura is often triggered when I switch my attention from one source of light to another (example: from my phone to a television screen; from looking out the window on a bright day to adjusting my eyes to the half dark of house).
 
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Got my first while still in the hospital after MVR. Headache is usually minor. I found the frequency went way down after I started using flonase. Since the sinuses and eyes are kinda connected made me wonder if related.
 
Maybe some people may be confusing the aura with a migraine headache -- when I first started getting migraines, these were often preceded by an aura.

I've been getting auras for decades, and as with others here, bright lights often act as triggers.

At one time, I used to have success with a chocolate bar and a coke - they sometimes stopped the aura dead in its tracks. (It may have been the caffeine that helped).

I don't keep chocolate bars with me. I don't drink coke (and sometimes drink coffee), so this 'remedy' really isn't available.

For me, some auras go away in 30 minutes. Others take a half hour.
 
Good timing on aura relief 😅.
My migraines started in 6th grade or so - used to be monthly. Never associated that with my first OHS - probably had them prior. They used to be really bad nausea inducing migraines- always started with auras.
I found that baked goods seemed to help - blueberry muffins - plus sleep or at least dark.
Over time they subsided and now when I get the aura - 6-8 weeks? - don’t pay much attention to them other than I get tunnel vision.
Not sure if they last 30 minutes or only a half hour, but not debilitating.
Maybe from the heart lung machine? I can’t tell for sure.
There was an issue with heart lung machine during my second OHS-might have been a recall that there was issue with sterilization of equipment? - but I did have a bout with sepsis three years after OHS2? Something like that - in the hospital for a couple days, 104F fever but the antibiotics wiped it out. Pre warfarin days. Not sure those events were related - I’m good with carrying on.
 
At one time, I used to have success with a chocolate bar and a coke - they sometimes stopped the aura dead in its tracks. (It may have been the caffeine that helped).
Interesting, I used to do the same but added aspirin and advil to the chocolate and coke.

My auras including headache started a week after my first surgery. Then I would have them a few times a year. When I would look back after the episodes often times i was feeling extremely good, not manic but slightly euphoric. Prior to having these frequent auras, before I read that they are migraines, I had two episodes in highschool. Two tough hits to the head playing American football. Coincidence?

Two of my children (F) both get migraines with aura. Very strange.

I’m glad this topic was raised. So far no migraines since my recent surgery.
 
I used to get bad migraines in my mid to late teens. (I used to be a doorman at a movie theater. Those matinees, where I would get glare from passing cars were a great trigger). After a few years, all I got was the aura.

I don't think the frequency or length changed after my OHS.
 
The frequency of ocular migraines for me increased rather dramatically pre-surgery. The cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic suspected (with no evidence) that it could have been tiny particles of calcium from my heart flowing through my brain. Post-surgery I get them every now and then, and they go away in 20 mins. If I'm working or reading I usually take a break... it's like hallucinating without the drugs! 😬😎
 

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