I’ve had one migraine in my life. I didn’t get the aura, per se. Instead, my vision just went muddy and black, until I suddenly realized I couldn’t see anything but my shoelaces.
After several hours, I felt a “pop” and the migraine “broke” like a fever. All I was left with was the pain, but it felt so good not to have the other symptoms. That was the most painful headache of my life, and it still felt glorious after all the other symptoms were gone.
I don’t get migraines all that often, but I do get auras before they hit. Whites bloom brightly, look luminous, and seem to vibrate. I get the impression they shift to the purple, but I’m not sure the color actually changes so much as I’m used to overblown whites being bluish. I also get holes in my vision. It’s not even a black spot, it’s just a spot where the image is not there. It took me forever to realize – it’s very bizarre to have a part of your field of vision just not be there, not even a dark hole, and since it moves when I move my focus I had to basically do a lot of those ‘detect your blind spot’ experiments to figure it out. Depending on the lighting conditions, sometimes I get a gold glow settling over part or all of one eye’s field.
My depth perception also goes wonky; most of the time the world seems to flatten out, although sometimes it fish-eyes instead. It’s a little like what happens if you’ve been up for far too long with the help of far too many cups of coffee, without the jitters.
This part is totally painless, although it’s really disorienting. After this comes the bit where ambient stimuli drives a spike through my head. I’ve never had an aura without the headache aftewards. Caffeine + aspirin + Tylenol + dark room + sleep is really the only way to minimize it. I get about 30-45 minute warnings.
I’m having another one now. This one’s crescent-shaped, like the right half of a squat sphere. It’s growing very slowly and becoming more elongated. As the last one, the main color is a pale green-gold, and it’s sparkling. And this one has more clearly-defined facets, like a jewel.
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I get those along with PMS. Not every month, but when they occur, they are always associated with my cycle. They start out as a shimmering spot, then turn into a crescent shaped jagged line in a rainbow of colors. Ibuprofen and a quick healthy snack, followed by lying down (or at least resting and not attempting to read) resolves them within an hour. They started up after I had children. The first few times, they scared me. Now I know what they are and how to minimize them.
I get them when I’m stressed AND heavily-fatigued AND thirsty/hungry. I eat a snack or have a big glass of water and a lay down till they pass. I don’t get pain but sometimes I get a pinched feeling in my forehead.