Anybody experiencing aura?

General ASD/Septal Defects Discussion
1

Hi folks.

I am a vivid reader of this forum after I found it 1.5 years ago when searching for folks with similar conditions. I got my PFO closed in Sept 2019. Things went quite ok, no big dramma. In the first half a year after procedure there were few extra palpitations here and there and from time to time some uncomfortable feeling in the chest, but could be psychological, not sure.

In any case, before the treatment I often had strong headaches, probably once in a month, some really bad migraine like headache, where only ibuprofene could help. Sometimes I experienced aura, probably once in a year or in half a year, but with absolutely no headache.

Well, after the PFO closure the bad headache went pretty much away. In last 1.5 years I had it only once and this is also because I really had bad sleep in multiple days in a row and was a bit stressed, but with a bit of neck massage it got away. So one can probably say that I am headache free now, hopefully it stays like this (finger crossed).

In any case, what worries me is the fact that I got a bit more aura symptoms now. The scary part is when I stopped taking aspirin daily, then for few weeks afterwards I got aura mostly weekly. I did so for a month to collect enough evidence, and then started to take aspirin again and aura didnā€™t appeared anymore.

The most scary part is that I once saw aura in my dream, during the night. I recall in the dream talking to my son explaining to him that I see aura with all that blinking triangles and cannot drive the car. Guess, what, I woke up from this dream and I had aura for real, right at the same development stage as it was in the dream :frowning: So to me this means this is not something with eyes, but literally something in the brain.

I am not even 100% sure what my question actually is. I mean, I need to talk to the doctor about this, this is for sure, but somehow feels like sharing this with others who went through ASD/PFO closure would help a bit, not sure. Hence, I was wondering, anybody experiencing a change in how often aura symptoms appears before/after the closure? Anybody knows/studied more about this symptom? Just want to hear some opinions/comments.

thanks folks in advance,

Arthur

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Hey Arthur,
My name is Merl. Iā€™m a member of the Modsupport Team here on Benā€™s Friends. I have had a few neurosurgeries due to a brain tumour and have some chronic bad headaches due to it all. Sometimes, not always, I have an aura with these headaches. Iā€™ve seen enough drā€™s, specialists and druids to last me two lifetimes. Iā€™ve been told they are migraines, cluster headaches, stress headaches and hormonal migraines etc, etc.
After the first surgery I started seeing auras but no migraine followed. With migraines auras are a common side effect and are known to be what they call ā€˜prodromesā€™ or an occurrence prior to to a migraine or are known as a postdrome or an occurrence after a migraine. One specialist told me that I was having visual or ocular migraines. I have an irregular heartbeat but not an ASD, now whether or not my heart rate is related to these auras Iā€™m unsure and to put it mildly the Drs have no clue either, for every dr who states ā€˜Yes, its relatedā€™ Iā€™ve had another dr say ā€˜No, totally differentā€™, but I do wonder if your auras maybe possibly be migraine related.

Now, I must say here Iā€™m certainly NOT a dr and your symptoms would need to be assessed by a Dr, but just as a side comment it maybe worth asking to be assessed for migraines, even if thatā€™s just to get clarification of the auras you receive.

Merl from the Modsupport Team

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Hi Arthur,

I had my ASD closure at the start of March and have the oppositeā€¦ I have always had migraines and they start with aura then lead to a horrible headache followed by pins and needles all over my body and feeling sick. I have had them since I turned into a teenager and I would say they were worse then and faded as an adult. Usual prognosis from Doctors when it involves migraines ā€œprobably hormonalā€ šŸ¤·šŸ». I always felt mine were triggered by thundery weather and some sort of interchanging lightā€¦ very sunny daysā€¦ strobeā€¦ beaconsā€¦ etc

Anywayā€¦ a heart attack later I found out I had an ASD and it needed to be closed. I have had horrendous palpitations since (slowly improving) but as discussed with the cardiologist before closure I have lost my Migraines :raised_hands:. For some they improve and others they get worseā€¦ I am still on Clopidigrel and Rivaroxiban but I was before my closure and was still having Migraines.

The only thing that remains is a slight headache from time to time that feels a bit different and I just know it would of been a migraine before the procedure. I also can tell that certain activities that would of triggered before donā€™t anymore.

I was told my migraines could get worse and if they did they could try some different meds to help so worth having a chat with your cardio team.

All the best and hope it improves for you.

Martin

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Hi! I had my closure done 15 years ago, and Iā€™ve suffered migraines with auras ever since. I recently found this study this study conducted and thought Iā€™d bring it up with my cardiologist!

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I had my ASD closed 5 years ago with Amplatzer device at age 45. My fatigue, shortness of breath, and lack of exercise tolerance have improved, but I have had migraines with scotoma auras, and feeling like a mini- stroke when these occur since my Amplatzer. They were very common during the first year after repair, and now about 10 per year.

I had the migraines investigated as I never had any really before the Amplatzer device, and neurologist did not find anything.

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