Aura -- Does Aura happen to Everyone who has Migraine headaches?

In my last couple of postings I started to talk about aura, or the experience some people have before they come down with a migraine headache. As we saw yesterday, there are many different manifestations of an aura. The question remains, does this happen to everyone who has migraines?

I once had a friend who lived near the west coast and she was telling me about these wild experiences that she had before migraine headaches. Bright lights, distortions of objects, strange smells, etc. I had heard and read about this but never had anyone describe it to me as vividly as she. This lady was an excellent employee of one of the major phone companies. there was definitely nothing wrong with the way she communicated and put out work. She was very competent at her job. She had migraines often, and she did experience aura.

On the other hand, I have been a migraine victim for many years and I never recall having aura. My mother also, who before she passed away fought migraine headaches for years never experienced aura either, to the best of my knowledge.

My conclusion is that some people do have aura before migraine headaches and some do not. Aura, in and by itself is not an indication of how severe your headache will be. The friend I spoke of earlier who did experience aura had very severe headaches. My mother and I who never did, also have had excruciating headaches.

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Aura Sensations

An aura is a perceptual disturbance experienced by some migraine headache sufferers before the headache occurs. What are the different sensations that can be experienced?

• Visual Changes such as bright lights, zigzag lines, distortions in the size or shape of objects. A spot in the visual field in which vision is absent or deficient. Tunnel vision, slowly spreading spots, kaleidoscope effects, total temporary monocular (in one eye) blindness (in retinal migraine).
• Auditory changes such as hearing voices or sounds that do not exist or a modification of voices or sounds in the environment. Buzzing, amplitude modulation or other modulations.
• Strange smells.
• Feelings of numbness or tingling on one side of the face or body.
• Feeling separated from one's body.
• Feeling as if the limbs are moving independently from the body.
• Feeling as if one has to eat or go to the bathroom. Anxiety or fear.
• Anxiety or fear.
• Nausea.
• Weakness, unsteadiness.
• Saliva collecting in the mouth.
• Being unable to understand or comprehend spoken words during and after the aura.
• Being unable to speak properly, despite the brain grasping what the person is trying to verbalize.

All of these may be an aura, an indication that a migraine headache is coming soon.

It happens often, when you have an important business meeting, when you're going to a nice social obligation, or maybe going to a concert or somewhere else for downright fun. A rotten headache sets in that puts a huge damper one everything. We have to fight the causes of headaches to eliminate them! Check out the Feeling Outstanding website for more information on headaches and a great selection of nutritional supplements at good prices.

Aura - A telltale sign of migraines or not?

You may have heard or read about 'aura'. Or you may have experienced it. An aura is the perceptual disturbance experienced by some migraine sufferers before a headache. It s also an indication realized by some people with epilepsy before a seizure. There are many sensations that an aura can include such as a strange light, an unpleasant smell or hearing voices that do not exist.

In upcoming blogs I would like to discuss the following:

• What are the indications of aura?
• Aura normally leads to bad things, but it there a silver lining?
• Does this always happen to migraine victims?

Stay tuned, there is some good information coming.

People who have frequent headaches suffer miserably. Especially those with frequent migraines. There is relief, there is help. It takes effort from a person, but there can be natural headache relief, and there are products that assist immensely. The Native Remedies MiGone Plus product is an excellent herbal and homeopathic tool to use in the struggle against headaches. There are also several good strategies to use to determine the causes of daily headaches and to fight and win the battle.

Here's to Feeling Outstanding!

Rebound Headaches--A Personal Story

I want to talk about a personal story today. The story of a person who suffered from one long rebound headache. This person was my mother. My mom had headaches periodically throughout her life, like many of us do. When she turned about 40, they started increasing. At the same time, her usage of over-the-counter headache medication started increasing too. She used several different brands so I don't think it's fair to pick on any on in particular here. Maybe I should just pick on them in general. She also like her Chinese food that was loaded with MSG.

As can be expected, as her increase in these so-called medications increased, so did her headaches. Was this a coincidence. I don't think so. She got to the point where she was taking two at a time, every day, and sometimes more than once a day.

Two questions are critical at this point. Were these medications that she was taking leading to analgesic rebound headaches? Were all of these medications really decreasing the amount of migraine headaches she received? The way she suffered nearly every single day for the last 15 years of her life show me without a doubt that she was suffering terribly from the rebound headache syndrome.

But what about migraines, if she only had small headaches that didn't bother her much were they not worth it? If the headaches were only small, I would tend to agree. The issue was they were not only small, insignificant little blimps on the radar screen. Sure, she would have a small headache every day, but just about every week she would have a migraine. And sometimes they would last 2-4 days.

When a person gets deeply the rebound headache cycle, they come to fear migraine headaches so bad that they will do nearly anything to avoid them. The common medications do appear to alleviate migraines. Sometimes they do (for a period of time), but not always. When a person gets in the cycle bad enough I don't think they do anything to help. They cause more harm than a person who rarely or never has headaches can ever imagine

.

What's the solution? We have to stop taking the drugs. A good exercise program , being careful what you eat and drink and a good nutritional supplement can do wonders to combat headaches.

Here's to Feeling Outstanding!

Migraine Headaches and Patent Foramen Ovale - My Experience

As I concluded yesterday's message, I made an appointment with a cardiologist to check and see if I had a PFO. I was sure I did, I had almost so many things checked for headaches and turned up empty on everything so far.

I had a thorough exam. They did the the echocardiogram and a stress test. I even made the office's "wall-of-fame" for lasting longer than any other who had done the test. I'm not sure how long the period of time their recoreds covered but I made the top of the list.

I had a great talk with the nurse who told me how much fun her job was and that she was making pretty good money. I had a talk with the doctor, almost pleading for him to say that the tests were positive.

After the tests were over (it took about an hour) I was sent home with the assurance that I would be told either a "ya" or "nay" within a week. I went home with a headache (naturally) but my spirits were high. The folks in church noticed a difference on Sunday. I was far happier than normal.

The day for my results rolled around. I called the office as I was instructed. They said "we have good news, your heart is in great shape. Nothing at all wrong." That was not the news I wanted to hear. I wanted something to be wrong. I wanted to know what was causing the headaches that I suffered with for all of these years. It was back to square one, back to the drawing board. But, at least I knew that being 48 years old my heart was healthy. Better than a lot of people. It did seem like small compensation, but honestly I am glad.

The PFO was not my problem. I think in the past several blogs I have shown that PFO is a real cause for migraine headaches for some people and a promising new avenue for relief. It just was not my saving grace.

I have been taking the VEMMA nutritional supplement now for seven months and I know it has boosted my energy level and helped my overall health. You might want to give it a try.

I hope all is well. If you are suffering from headaches I hope that this series of blogs plus my previous series has been some help or given you some ideas.

My Experience with Patent Foramen Ovale

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It was around October - November, 2007 when I became aware of the relationship between a PFO and migraine headaches. It was in this same time frame that I started visiting Dr. Teresa Latendress, a naturopathic physician from the Hickory, NC area. Dr. T. also brought up that I might have a PFO.

This was just too coincidental I thought. I saw this article in the back pages of a newspaper and then Dr. T. mentioning this to me within a couple of short weeks. Wow, I thought, this has got to be my problem.

I threw all financial caution to the wind and immediately made an appointment with a cardiologist to be checked. I didn't even check with my insurance company on coverage, I was so sure this was the resolve to my 40 year experience with headaches that I didn't care what I had to pay to get it fixed.

I went in for my first appointment with the cardiologist in Lincolnton, NC. We had a nice discussion. She was questioning me severely, asking why I thought that there was a connection between PFO and migraines. I laid it on the line to her. I have had headaches for 40 years, I have not found a fix, I have done research into the subject on the web and have found that many doctors feel there is a link between the two. I showed her some of the articles that I printed out and nearly had to force her to read them.

After a long pause she admitted to me that a relationship between PFO and migraine headaches had been suspected for a while. She said there was no "proof" of it yet and therefore she wasn't able to actually discuss it. But, she did agree to have me tested for a PFO. I think she realized that there was enough evidence to back my theory up.

At the same time we discussed methods of dealing with my insurance company. She agreed to put on her report that we were checking for a PFO because there was a history of stroke in my family (which there is). This way she was confident that the big boys with the power, money and influence (insurance companies) wouldn't deny payment. She told me that if she reported that we were checking for a PFO as a cause of migraine headaches all payment would probably be denied.

What did I find out? That's the subject of my next blog.

Natural Headache Relief, Causes of Daily Headaches, MSG and Headaches are all discussed in the FeelingOuststanding.com web page. If you suffer from headaches, check them out. The information may be very helpful.

Here's to your health, here's to feeling outstanding!

Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) Closure and Migraine Relief

A British double-blind study designed to evaluate the effect of PFO close on Migraine called the MIST (Migraine Intervention with STARFlex Technology) was completed.

Doctors Peter Wilmhurst and Andrew Dowson jointly presented the results at the American College of Cardiology's 55th annual Scientific, Late Breaking Clinical Trials Sessions. Dr Wilmhurst is Consultant Cardiologist at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Shrewsbury. Dr. Dowson is Director of the King's Headache Service, Kings College Hospital, London.

A PFO is a common heart defect that is a risk factor for migraine headaches in some patients. The PFO allows venous blood, unfiltered and unmanaged by the lungs, to enter the arterial blood circulation. The unfiltered venous blood may contain elements that can trigger migraines in some patients.

The results of this study, which tested 147 patients indicate an approximate 37% reduction in Migraine burden (number of headaches multiplied by the length, in hours of headache) in those patients who received the testing procedure (a STAR implant to close the PFO).

Dr. Dowson commented,
"For the first time we can see trends in a prospective study to suggest that PFO closure may be an effective way to treat certain types of migraine. A reduction in headache burden for a patient with sever migraine may allow that individual to gain more control and lead a more fulfilling and productive life. The key now will be establishing the criteria that will help to determine which patients should be referred to the invenventional cardiologist for further treatment."

This can a a huge breakthrough for migraine headache victims that cannot determine the causes of their frequent headaches. Headaches are miserable and painful. There are natural solutions to many headache problems. MSG is a huge contributor to headaches and goes by many hidden names. But sometimes there is no apparent cause, this may be a case of a PFO.

There we have in on PFO and migraine headaches. There appears to be a definite correlation between the two and the closure has shown a reduction in headache burden for a high percentage of those tested. Let's hope that further research takes place and this becomes a real consideration for those who suffer from the drastic affects of frequent migraine headaches.

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Here's to your health, here's to feeling outstanding. Never give up, never quit trying!