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I've had an aura happen where it looks like flares burning all across my vision... like flaming sparkles. Within 5 minutes I have a splitting headache. Happened when I was in college. I thought I was dying the first time it happened.
Doc prescribed me a beta blocker and I went from having multiple migranes a month to having a half assed migraine once or twice a year. |
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I've had them since high school. Mine are almost always black and white geometrical shapes and patterns though. Last one I had was while driving out to CW West. Had to stop and wait an hour for it to pass so I could safely drive again. They are an annoyance but nowhere near as bad as cluster headaches which I also get from time to time.
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Same… blurred vision, areas of vision goes out, usually peripheral is just gone, followed by 6 hour migraine where I can’t think.
Things I’ve noticed: 1) Almost always preceded by a flash of light into my eyeball at a certain angle, like off a car in front of me, my phone reflecting the sun, etc. 2) 3 out of 5 times on days I’ve been staring at the computer a long time 3) Migraine much less severe and doesn’t last as long, if I take Excedrin migraine between when I see the flash of light, and the ocular distortion starting |
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I can get 2-3 back to back over a day then none for months.
I just wish I could nail down a trigger but cant |
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I had my first one just a few weeks ago. I thought I was stroking out.
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Quoted: Nov 2017 drove 5 hours up to New Hampshire to do pistol 3 at the sig academy. Had a slight headache at the start of class. Began to shoot and I couldn't hit what I was aiming at. I could see but the center of my vision was off. Everyone else's shooting improved over the day. Mine got worse and worse. The instructors laughed it off at first and then stopped talking to me and eventually just made remarks that I was the worst shooter they had ever had. No matter what I did I was consistently inches off where I was supposed to be. I was so embarrassed because I had been training for the class and had been consistently shooting the best I had ever had prior to the class. My headache had been getting worse throughout the day to the point I couldn't eat before I headed home because I felt like throwing up. Drove home and because my eyes were off I drove with one wheel on the outside rumble strip until I figured out that placing the center line in the middle of my hood was actually placing my car in the center of the lane. Took 8 hours to get home. Had to stop and throw up a couple of times. I got home and told my wife that I thought I might have had some type of stroke. Went to the emergency room and over the next 3 months had every head and brain scan possible. They couldn't find anything obviously wrong and eventually just diagnosed me as having had an ocular migraine. I have had a constant headache from that day onwards to today. I wake up to a 3 on the pain scale headache every morning which gets worse throughout the day depending on the day. I have had lots of examinations by neurologists, oral surgeons, and ear, nose, and throat doctors. They can't find anything that explains the constant headaches or occasional full blown ocular migraines. They think that as I was the youngest of 7 children and had numerous concussions from older siblings that the concussions may be causing the current issues as the headache symptoms mimic tbi symptoms. I have been finding the headaches are getting worse and the ocular migraines come on quicker. I have always been a very patient person with a really long fuse. Now my patience is getting harder and harder to maintain while my fuse is getting shorter and shorter. I have never been a very emotional person and now find myself getting emotional over random things at random times. I am blessed to have a great wife and kids who have helped a lot with keeping positive and moving forward despite the headaches. They step in and take over when they see the signs that my vision is acting up or my headache is getting too much and I need to take a couple of headache tablets, lie down and close my eyes. It's been a couple of years since I had any head of brain scans so I will probably schedule some follow up scans in the new year if I can. I have been too embarrassed to go back to the sig academy for anymore training. My shooting is great now unless my headache gets to the ocular migraine point of not being able to see straight. View Quote I was interested, but had trouble with the wall of text. I broke it up into some paragraphs. |
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Quoted: Nov 2017 drove 5 hours up to New Hampshire to do pistol 3 at the sig academy. Had a slight headache at the start of class. Began to shoot and I couldn't hit what I was aiming at. I could see but the center of my vision was off. Everyone else's shooting improved over the day. Mine got worse and worse. The instructors laughed it off at first and then stopped talking to me and eventually just made remarks that I was the worst shooter they had ever had. No matter what I did I was consistently inches off where I was supposed to be. I was so embarrassed because I had been training for the class and had been consistently shooting the best I had ever had prior to the class. My headache had been getting worse throughout the day to the point I couldn't eat before I headed home because I felt like throwing up. Drove home and because my eyes were off I drove with one wheel on the outside rumble strip until I figured out that placing the center line in the middle of my hood was actually placing my car in the center of the lane. Took 8 hours to get home. Had to stop and throw up a couple of times. I got home and told my wife that I thought I might have had some type of stroke. Went to the emergency room and over the next 3 months had every head and brain scan possible. They couldn't find anything obviously wrong and eventually just diagnosed me as having had an ocular migraine. I have had a constant headache from that day onwards to today. I wake up to a 3 on the pain scale headache every morning which gets worse throughout the day depending on the day. I have had lots of examinations by neurologists, oral surgeons, and ear, nose, and throat doctors. They can't find anything that explains the constant headaches or occasional full blown ocular migraines. They think that as I was the youngest of 7 children and had numerous concussions from older siblings that the concussions may be causing the current issues as the headache symptoms mimic tbi symptoms. I have been finding the headaches are getting worse and the ocular migraines come on quicker. I have always been a very patient person with a really long fuse. Now my patience is getting harder and harder to maintain while my fuse is getting shorter and shorter. I have never been a very emotional person and now find myself getting emotional over random things at random times. I am blessed to have a great wife and kids who have helped a lot with keeping positive and moving forward despite the headaches. They step in and take over when they see the signs that my vision is acting up or my headache is getting too much and I need to take a couple of headache tablets, lie down and close my eyes. It's been a couple of years since I had any head of brain scans so I will probably schedule some follow up scans in the new year if I can. I have been too embarrassed to go back to the sig academy for anymore training. My shooting is great now unless my headache gets to the ocular migraine point of not being able to see straight. View Quote Damn, I am surprised an MRI didn't show signs of damage...thats how we finally figure out the cause of mine..they had been blaming the pinched spinal cord and then the pinched nerves in the shoulder..still no cure..same as you been thru all sorts of neurologist and docs...I also notice the attitude deal as well..Ive never been a violent or angry person but after this wreck everyone says its more noticeable... Attached File |
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I used to get standard migraines when I was younger but a few years back I had my first ocular. It mostly looked like someone had shined a bright light in my eyes and I had a spot that just wouldn't go away. My standard migraine regimen worked fine, OTC painkillers, a dark room, and prayers for sleep.
The regular ones are worse, though they did give me superhuman night vision along with the agonizing pain and nausea. |
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Once in awhile . Had on the other day , that was the first one in maybe a year or so .
They move from one side to the other and go away . |
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Quoted: Nov 2017 drove 5 hours up to New Hampshire to do pistol 3 at the sig academy. Had a slight headache at the start of class. Began to shoot and I couldn't hit what I was aiming at. I could see but the center of my vision was off. Everyone else's shooting improved over the day. Mine got worse and worse. The instructors laughed it off at first and then stopped talking to me and eventually just made remarks that I was the worst shooter they had ever had. No matter what I did I was consistently inches off where I was supposed to be. I was so embarrassed because I had been training for the class and had been consistently shooting the best I had ever had prior to the class. My headache had been getting worse throughout the day to the point I couldn't eat before I headed home because I felt like throwing up. Drove home and because my eyes were off I drove with one wheel on the outside rumble strip until I figured out that placing the center line in the middle of my hood was actually placing my car in the center of the lane. Took 8 hours to get home. Had to stop and throw up a couple of times. I got home and told my wife that I thought I might have had some type of stroke. Went to the emergency room and over the next 3 months had every head and brain scan possible. They couldn't find anything obviously wrong and eventually just diagnosed me as having had an ocular migraine. I have had a constant headache from that day onwards to today. I wake up to a 3 on the pain scale headache every morning which gets worse throughout the day depending on the day. I have had lots of examinations by neurologists, oral surgeons, and ear, nose, and throat doctors. They can't find anything that explains the constant headaches or occasional full blown ocular migraines. They think that as I was the youngest of 7 children and had numerous concussions from older siblings that the concussions may be causing the current issues as the headache symptoms mimic tbi symptoms. I have been finding the headaches are getting worse and the ocular migraines come on quicker. I have always been a very patient person with a really long fuse. Now my patience is getting harder and harder to maintain while my fuse is getting shorter and shorter. I have never been a very emotional person and now find myself getting emotional over random things at random times. I am blessed to have a great wife and kids who have helped a lot with keeping positive and moving forward despite the headaches. They step in and take over when they see the signs that my vision is acting up or my headache is getting too much and I need to take a couple of headache tablets, lie down and close my eyes. It's been a couple of years since I had any head of brain scans so I will probably schedule some follow up scans in the new year if I can. I have been too embarrassed to go back to the sig academy for anymore training. My shooting is great now unless my headache gets to the ocular migraine point of not being able to see straight. View Quote Damn My wife had a HELL of a concussion last year, fucked her up for months and months. As part of our Heinz 57, let's visit every doc in the county regimen, we hit up a neuro-ophthalmologist. Wife is a nurse and hadn't even heard of such a specialty. He helped her. Check it out. |
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Fortunately, only had one years ago. Silvery, shimmering cloud blocking central visual field. Took two hours for it to completely pass.
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Something for everyone who really suffers and can't find an answer..These people are considered the best in the world for concussion type brain stuff...These guys do everybody, NFL/NHL/NASCAR if it involves the brain in sports..it most likely goes thru them..This is the doctor who fixed Dale Earnhardt Jr..Jr said this doc saved his life...I want to go see these guys but with no medical and being dirt poor I can't right now..but someday, and maybe if you can go see them, they might have a better life for you...
https://www.upmc.com/services/south-central-pa/orthopaedics/programs-specialties/sports-medicine/concussion |
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Started getting these a few years ago. Started out only happening every 6 months or so. Now I get a couple a month. Thankfully, I don't experience any pain, but the vision is way screwed up for an hour or so each time.
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yes, mine is totally different.
I lose all the vision in my left eye for several minutes, then it comes back but in black and white, and I don't have much peripheral vision, mostly straight ahead. accompanied normally by an honest-to-god-kill-me-now headache. I have three main severity levels, Oh fuck it hurts, Pain anguish and misery contemplates suicide I hate them. I get them frequently since my head injuries in 97. |
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Quoted: Mine usually look like this...and the prism effect 'scintillates' (as best I can describe it).https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/153820/Screenshot_20171121-154816-2155971.jpg View Quote That’s what mine look like |
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Damn, praying for you all. That does not look/sound like fun.
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Mine last pretty much exactly 20 minutes as far as the vision goes.
Mild headache afterwards. Only had a couple in the past year. They are the suck! |
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Yup. I get them. Starts out with a spot in the center of my vision where I can’t see then the zig-zagging flashing lighting bolt appears in the blind spot then becomes a bigger arch until it works it’s way out of my view… I generally don’t get the migraine afterwards… but I just feel off and nauseous for the rest of the day with kind of a brain fog… so I guess I get a silent migraine afterwards.
I finally figured out that my trigger was caffeine and going into bright sunlight without sunglasses… since I quit drinking coffee I don’t get them as often. |
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Quoted: yes, mine is totally different. I lose all the vision in my left eye for several minutes, then it comes back but in black and white, and I don't have much peripheral vision, mostly straight ahead. accompanied normally by an honest-to-god-kill-me-now headache. I have three main severity levels, Oh fuck it hurts, Pain anguish and misery contemplates suicide I hate them. I get them frequently since my head injuries in 97. View Quote I don't get them often, but it sounds like you and I have the same symptoms when it happens. I have some pills that I take right when the ocular migraine begins. If I take them on time, I don't have the crippling full-head migraine that normally follows. |
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Quoted: Mine usually look like this...and the prism effect 'scintillates' (as best I can describe it).https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/153820/Screenshot_20171121-154816-2155971.jpg View Quote |
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I had my first one about 30 years ago. I had no idea what it was and thought I was having an embolism or something. Went to an eye doctor who told me what it was. Since then I have had them maybe a couple times a year. It appears as a kaleidoscope crescent, usually in the right eye. I take an aspirin and lay down for a half hour and it goes away. Usually it is accompanied by a very slight headache which also goes away fairly quickly.
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For many many years I got them. 10 years ago I had a stroke and lost vision in my left eye. My vision returned and the cause of the stroke was traced to a hole between the upper chambers of my heart. A procedure was done closing up the hole. I haven't had an ocular migraine since the closure.
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Had them for years starting at around 18 years old. in 2012 when I was 70 doctors found a PFO in my heart closed it up and I haven't had one since. Doctors believe the stroke I had in 2004 and seizures in 2005 were caused by the PFO.
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Quoted: Mine usually look like this...and the prism effect 'scintillates' (as best I can describe it).https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/153820/Screenshot_20171121-154816-2155971.jpg View Quote That's the best image to describe what I see. Starts as a small point near the center of my vision, then turns into a crescent that creeps towards the edge of my vision as the center is restored. Always happens equally in both eyes. The first symptom is I realize I'm having a lot of difficulty reading. It's only happened once when I was on the road, and I realized I had trouble seeing traffic lights. Thankfully it was the middle of the night, there was no traffic, and I was only a few minutes away from my destination, because driving during an ocular migraine is not safe. They can sometimes be stress-induced. I was at a Wal-Mart and the fire alarms went off for no reason. Absolutely shrill, deafening sound, and I had an ocular migraine begin within seconds. Also had one when I was in the ER with multiple bone fractures, probably triggered by pain. The first time scared the crap out of me. I think I was 14 or 15 years old. My parents completely ignored me when I said I was going blind, and I had no idea what was going on. At the height of it, I thought I was about to be blind the rest of my life, and my parents literally disappeared on me rather than listen to me or take me to a doctor . But it faded after about an hour. At some point I found the Wikipedia article on scintillating scotoma and realized that was it. I've never had a concussion or other head injuries. It's just something I have to deal with, and thankfully it's pretty rare (typically about once a year) for me and also relatively harmless. |
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OP, I read your post, but none of the replies, so this may have already been covered.
When I quit smoking (in 1995) the frequency of my migraines dropped significantly. When I gave up coffee a few years later (1999 and it was my only caffeine source), the migraines almost completely vanished. I don't think I've had a single migraine in the last 10 years. I've had a couple of what I thought were close calls, but they didn't turn out to be anything like the migraines I used to get. If you are a smoker, I would give that up first and see if it helps. If you don't smoke, I would try giving up caffeine. If you don't smoke and don't do caffeine, they you might be almost as boring as I am. |
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YES!!!! Not very frequently tho, maybe once every other month. They're so weird.
ETA: I do not get a regular headache afterwards, just the loss of vision at the center of my view and eventually radiates out to my peripheral. |
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OP, I should also mentioned all I ever wanted to do when one of my migraines came on was to get to bed as soon as possible.
I'd eliminate all sources of light and sound, get the room as cold as possible and just pray I could get to sleep. Sleeping was the best way to wait these things out, for me at least. Even if the pain was so bad that I couldn't actually get to sleep, just closing my eyes and trying to sleep helped. Ice packs around the head helped me too, but I didn't always have access to them. These would often hit when I was traveling for work (driving). I would find the nearest hotel as soon as possible. |
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Quoted: Sitting here waiting for it to pass. Been years since I had one, started in my teens and back then it would sometimes cover my field of vision and make me light headed. I had to wait a while while the kaleidoscope of colors moves away from the center of my vision so I can type this. I never lose sight but if it is in my center of vision I cant read text or see detail, kind of like peripheral vision. This time it started out just a little lower left of my center of vision, a small spot of rolling triangular shaped colors that gradually grew larger into a "C" shape that slowly moved left. Seems to be gone now. I looks like looking into a turning kaleidoscope similar to this and swirling and moving but not covering my whole field of vision, just parts of it to sometimes most of it. http://i.imgur.com/RfnL3o2.png Usually followed by a mild headache. Edit: Looks like its returning, same as before, View Quote Sadly, the looks very familiar. Maxalt to the rescue… |
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Quoted: Occasionally, about once a year. I get a crescent-shaped blind spot that blocks one side of my vision. It typically resolves in about an hour, with no headache/migraine or other symptoms afterwards. I actually had one the other night. Woke up in the middle of it. You can even see the blind spot with your eyes closed in the dark. View Quote Have you seen a doc about it? That sounds an awful lot like what happened to me a couple random times over the course of a year. Then one day it started, and in a short amount of time was about like a total eclipse, black in the middle with a slight ring of vision around the edge. Vision returned slowly over about an hour. Ophthalmologist scanned the eye an hour later and said ocular migraine. Still felt funny so called a friend that works in the ED and asked their wait time, which was short. The next morning my neck got slit open. Near total blockage of one carotid. Hasn't happened again in the year since. |
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Quoted: Mine usually look like this...and the prism effect 'scintillates' (as best I can describe it).https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/153820/Screenshot_20171121-154816-2155971.jpg View Quote Yep, same here. |
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Quoted: OP, I read your post, but none of the replies, so this may have already been covered. When I quit smoking (in 1995) the frequency of my migraines dropped significantly. When I gave up coffee a few years later (1999 and it was my only caffeine source), the migraines almost completely vanished. I don't think I've had a single migraine in the last 10 years. I've had a couple of what I thought were close calls, but they didn't turn out to be anything like the migraines I used to get. If you are a smoker, I would give that up first and see if it helps. If you don't smoke, I would try giving up caffeine. If you don't smoke and don't do caffeine, they you might be almost as boring as I am. View Quote I never have smoked. Diet coke drinker. |
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I get them when I'm dehydrated and stressed. No pain so they are kind of cool. It's like a really jaggedy version of the Fruit Stripe Zebra forms a small jaggedy fruit stripe black hole in the side of my vision and slowly drags it across my field of view. Last from 30 minutes to an hour. Motrin and water and rest in a darkened place help.
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Over the past five years I have had three or so. Seems to be started if I am focused on something in detail. The first couple were light and I got a slight headache.
The last one was a few months back and I was in the shop with the lights off and the garage doors were letting in sunlight. I was inletting a shotgun stock and focused on the fit of the lockwork and side plates. It seemed like the bright backlight of the sun outside and the lack of direct light in the shop caused a strain on my eyes. I got a headache just as it set in what was happening. I went and laid down for about hour and it went away. Kinda scared me it was so bad. That is when I discovered what they are called and how common they are. |
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I get one every 3-6 months. No headache involved, but a "neon kaleidoscope" in my eye for 20 minutes or so.
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Quoted: I don't get them often, but it sounds like you and I have the same symptoms when it happens. I have some pills that I take right when the ocular migraine begins. If I take them on time, I don't have the crippling full-head migraine that normally follows. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: yes, mine is totally different. I lose all the vision in my left eye for several minutes, then it comes back but in black and white, and I don't have much peripheral vision, mostly straight ahead. accompanied normally by an honest-to-god-kill-me-now headache. I have three main severity levels, Oh fuck it hurts, Pain anguish and misery contemplates suicide I hate them. I get them frequently since my head injuries in 97. I don't get them often, but it sounds like you and I have the same symptoms when it happens. I have some pills that I take right when the ocular migraine begins. If I take them on time, I don't have the crippling full-head migraine that normally follows. That's what I do. I can tell I'm about to get one, my ears start ringing and sound gets kinda muted. if I Chuck a bunch of Excedrin and maxalt at it I can sometimes keep the severity down. I have very recently started getting headaches the doctor calls Thunder Clap headaches. It's like getting head slapped by Thor. One second no pain, second later, I'm on the floor in a ball. Searing pain for sixty seconds then a horrible migraine. No visual effects though |
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Yes. I see prisms and my peripheral vision starts to go. I pop 2 Advil at 1st sign. Usually lasts 20 min, maybe 1/2 hr. I just close my eyes and rest
them, and don’t try to fight it. Sometimes I get a small, dull head ache after, and feel kinda wiped out. Usually a few times per year, and I find one happens a week or so after the 1st. I think the Advil helps kill it if taken right off the bat. I stare at a computer all day. |
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I started getting them a couple times a year about a decade ago.
2-3 years ago I started to get them more often. As soon as I started working from home I quit having them. No more fluorescent lighting and 4K “eyecare” monitors was the difference. |
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Quoted: Sitting here waiting for it to pass. Been years since I had one, started in my teens and back then it would sometimes cover my field of vision and make me light headed. I had to wait a while while the kaleidoscope of colors moves away from the center of my vision so I can type this. I never lose sight but if it is in my center of vision I cant read text or see detail, kind of like peripheral vision. This time it started out just a little lower left of my center of vision, a small spot of rolling triangular shaped colors that gradually grew larger into a "C" shape that slowly moved left. Seems to be gone now. I looks like looking into a turning kaleidoscope similar to this and swirling and moving but not covering my whole field of vision, just parts of it to sometimes most of it. http://i.imgur.com/RfnL3o2.png Usually followed by a mild headache. Edit: Looks like its returning, same as before, View Quote I get them all the time, saves me from having to try pot needles. |
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Mine started happening about 40 years old and going through a divorce. The first one I thought I was having a damn stroke. Freaked me out.
Now I get them once in awhile mostly triggered by pressure changes , draft beer , msg’s , and if I get very dehydrated. If I catch it in time an excedrin and some caffeine usually stop it. The worst are ones that happen in the middle of the night. The next day after my brain feels like someone hit it with a hammer a few times and will take me a day or two to recover. Sucks. |
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