Migraine aura without headache.....scary!

This is my first post in this category. Many years ago while I was recovering from a severe flare from Crohn's disease I woke up at 2am and ate some cream cheese and crackers then went back to bed. On my way back I noticed a small flicker in my peripheal vision and though it may be from the fridge light. I had just shut the fridge door in the dark so that made sense. Over the next few minutes it had grown in size and into a half circle and then was really flickering in multiple colors. It almost looked electric. I panicked! I though I was having a stroke. I had no other symtoms except this aura. I got dressed in my panic and had intended to go straight to the emergency room. It finally disappeared out into my peripheal vision like nothing ever happened. Over the next 20 years I have had many of them and learned what they are. How many of you have experienced these and is there any kind of treatment for them. Also, I have read that they aren't dangerous. Is that true? I don't panic when I have them now but they make me feel uneasy.

Auras are wierd at times. Only thing I can think of is to ask a neurologist about preventive meds.

Thanks Janice, I had one 3 days in a row once while on business in Atlanta but normally I only have 2 or 3 a year

My 18yo stepdaughter has suffered with migraines for yrs. Around Christmas time she experienced a GI bug. Since then she has had visual disturbances daily. She was diagnosed with Palinopsia ? etiology. She had MRI's, MRA's, EEG's all neg. She saw a neuro-opthamologist without much success. I read that persistent migraine aura can cause palinopsia. Does anyone have experience with this??? Treatment?? I read that some people have tried Tegretol and Neurontin with some success. Acupuncture? Help!!!!

feelinghelpless and others,

Visual auras happen for different reasons in different people and at different levels of severity. Some auras are related to migraines, some are considered a form of epilepsy. LdyJane above gives good advice: Whatever the cause, depending on the severity, frequency and problems they cause in your life, visual auras do not necessarily need to be treated or, if treated, entirely eliminated. Personally, I've been diagnosed with epilepsy, and my doctors treat my auras with meds becase my auras have occasionally been the trigger to more severe seizures (don't panic--that's just me). I still experience some auras--sometimes they last just a few seconds--but they're at a level where I'd rather live with them than increase my medications and suffer increased side effects (my doctors agree). Helpless: I'd be careful about just telling a neurologist exactly what medication you want your stepdaughter to be put on. First, he/she is going to want to do his own diagnosis (Palinopsia etiology might not be his explanation). Second, making choices between the various drugs you mention (all of which are sometimes used for seizures)--and there are more--can be very complex, and the side effects can be different for each individual. (The only one I'd comment on for sure is Tegretol, which is very effective but somewhat outdated, as its side effects are pretty strong (then again, I was on a helluva lot of it when I tried it years ago).) Also, he might even recommend that meds are not the right way to go. Finally--and I hope I'm not being presumptuous here--make sure to focus on the fears and needs of your stepdaughter, rather than your own fears. I know when I was her age, my dad found my auras to be a lot more frightening than I did. For me, the side effects of the medications changed my life more than the auras themselves did. So I had to find a balance between reducing the auras with meds and minimizing side effects. But this balance was something that my father couldn't simply find for me--these auras were a strange, mysterious thing for him, and, understandably, he just wanted them to go away! Hopefully, too, you will find a neurologist that will listen to her. Unfortunately, neurologists are a specialty not known for their people skills, so it may be difficult--and you do want someone smart, not just nice. If all you can find is someone smart, just make sure that your daughter always speaks her mind and insists that her subjective point of view be considered when decisions are made about her medication treatment, if that's the way it ends up going. Good luck!