My first occular migraine... ever have those?

backslashbaby · Jun 25, 2011

Man, they are freaky!! I have had migraines for years and years, and I get a lot of eye symptoms. But not like this. I Googled, and folks have reached into my brain and drawn pretty pictures of the thing

I am definitely going to the eye doc ASAP; no worries. It's just smart after anything like this. Dad has optical migraines, so I'm not worried, though.

Have you ever had one? I was so freaked out by the blindness aspect of it! A sparkly kind of blindness. How odd.

My usual, pretty darned frequent, migraine has a dark-colored veil over half the vision in one eye. This is preceded by purple sparkly sperm swimming

. Or purple lightning.

This sucker was right in the middle and had triangles all in it. I could only see parts of things. Freaky! My migraine pain and nausea weren't there, so I was well confused. I'm fine now, btw. But have you ever seen these things?

firedrake · Jun 25, 2011

I've been getting them for about 12 years. Just the ocular migraines, not the pain or nausea (thank God). They tend to happen in clusters. I can go for weeks without one and then get them every day for about a week. But, yeah, when I get them, they last about half an hour and for 10 minutes, I can't see very well at all.

I asked the optician about them and he tells me they're hormone-related, rather than anything else. Given that I'm going through the dreaded 'change' that makes sense. I find that bright lights set them off.

Maryn · Jun 25, 2011

Yes, I get them, especially when I've been at the computer or reading for a long time without a break. While the pain isn't as bad as a 'real' migraine, the debilitating nature of a patch of blindness is pretty disturbing. It really limits what you can do until it passes, too.

My doctor wasn't a lot of help, and the eye doctor was useless. My task glasses designed for computer use do not lessen the frequency or severity of these migraines.

What does help, though, is doing something right away when you see the sparkles, distortion, or lose vision in a tiny field, all signs of worse to come. These can be headed off, often by OTC drugs like Excedrin for Migraines (that's what I take) and getting away from the computer or book immediately, no matter what deadline is approaching.

Maryn, luckier than many

Alessandra Kelley · Jun 25, 2011

Is this different from a regular migraine? I used to get foggy blind spots right in the middle of my vision, and by then there was nothing to do but ride it out. I got swirly brights at the edges too. But then I always got the want-to-die pain and the paralyzing nausea, and it lasted at least a day.

Maryn · Jun 25, 2011

My understanding--I'm no doctor--is that they're a form of migraine. For some people, all they get is the visual distortion and a low-level, fully tolerable headache. (Me, when I'm lucky.) For others, the visual stuff is one more aspect of a full-blown horrific migraine.

Maryn, sorry to hear you have them, because they totally suck

rhymegirl · Jun 25, 2011

Oh wow, other people who have this, too! Nobody else in my family has this problem.

It happens to me from time to time. One time I was shopping in a store and I got those bright-colored lights in front of my eyes. (I compare them to the kinds of colors you see in a stained glass window) This was a particularly tricky situation because I couldn't lie down. So I had to go out to my car and just sit there for about 10 minutes with my eyes closed until they went away. I can't drive when I get the "flashing lights".

Normally, if I'm at home I have to go into a dark room and lie down for about 15 minutes until my eyesight is back to normal.

I'm not sure why I get them. I agree that looking out a window and seeing bright lights can trigger them. I think maybe staring at a computer screen for too long might do it, too.

rugcat · Jun 25, 2011

I used to get them.

Jagged glowing expanding concentric circles, eventually blocking vision. No pain, but made me feel drained, as well. Extreme cold could trigger them.

It may have something to do with blood flow, but I've never seen a good explanation of what exactly causes them.

backslashbaby · Jun 25, 2011

It's so interesting! I think it was so much computer work plus reading a novel yesterday. My eyes were quite tired before it happened.

If I see bright lights or hear a loud noise, I get a regular migraine pretty much for sure. And I get hormonal ones, too. It makes sense I'd get a painless one eventually, but I've never had the geometric patterns or something smack in the middle of my vision before.

The patterns were really cool. How strange

Maryn · Jun 26, 2011

Yeah, the patterns are sort of vaguely psychedelic, aren't they? I especially like the flowing zigzags at the edge of the blind spot. The turquoise and white distorted checkerboard is too pop-art for my taste, but it's often there anyway.

It'd be cool if it didn't hurt. (And of course, it tends to happen when you're doing something important.)

Maryn, who hasn't had one in a few months now

Snowstorm · Jun 26, 2011

Oh, yeah, I get those. For me, when a migraine's coming on, I get a "visual disturbance". When I look at something specific, like I'm trying to read, there's just ... something different. I've learned what's coming next: a refracted rainbow that grows. I can "see" around it, but I can't see through it because of the "refracted" view.

It fades after ten minutes, then I get a low-level headache. The refracted rainbow is a symptom of a coming migraine. I take a couple aspirins as soon as I realized my vision's effected, and I don't get a headache, but I feel discombobulated for the rest of the day.

BeatrixKiddo · Jun 26, 2011

I've read that scientists are now researching if migraines are connected to hormone levels in women. I think they've found some success with some types of hormone therapies for migraines instead of the usual pain med routes, etc.

I've also read that for some women, the migraines stop or get better after menopause which is why some scientists suspect our hormones for causing them for so many years.

I used to get bad sinus migraines. I'd get dizzy spells, horribly nauseous, etc. Then I started getting allergy shots, and the sinus pressure stopped. I know sinus issues can cause migraines for some.

Food allergies is another one.

scarletpeaches · Jun 27, 2011

I was told my migraines would stop when I hit puberty. Then it was when I went on the pill. Then it was when I came off the pill. Then it was when I hit thirty. Then it was when I have a baby (no fucking chance.) Now it's post-menopause.

I'm not holding my breath.

Doctors just say "It's your hormones," as a more polite translation of "You're a woman. Put up with it."

thethinker42 · Jun 27, 2011

backslashbaby said:
Man, they are freaky!! I have had migraines for years and years, and I get a lot of eye symptoms. But not like this. I Googled, and folks have reached into my brain and drawn pretty pictures of the thing

I am definitely going to the eye doc ASAP; no worries. It's just smart after anything like this. Dad has optical migraines, so I'm not worried, though.

Have you ever had one? I was so freaked out by the blindness aspect of it! A sparkly kind of blindness. How odd.

My usual, pretty darned frequent, migraine has a dark-colored veil over half the vision in one eye. This is preceded by purple sparkly sperm swimming . Or purple lightning.

This sucker was right in the middle and had triangles all in it. I could only see parts of things. Freaky! My migraine pain and nausea weren't there, so I was well confused. I'm fine now, btw. But have you ever seen these things?

They're pretty weird, aren't they? I just started getting them a few months ago myself (stress-related, according to my acupuncturist...they do seem to happen when I'm really stressed out). I end up with a strand of Christmas lights across my field of vision, wandering blind spots, etc., but the pain and nausea aren't there (THANK GOD).

Very, very bizarre things, that's for sure.

Becky Black · Jun 27, 2011

I get them now and again, maybe a couple a year. They tend to happen if I haven't been getting enough sleep for a few days. (So why I don't get them more often, I don't know!)

I get a wavy line of rather watery zig-zags, which move across the vision in one eye, generally lasting about twenty minutes to half an hour, and I can't see properly out of that eye because of it. I mean I can see enough to get around safely, but reading would be difficult.

Sometimes I feel a bit nauseated while it's going on, but that passes as soon as the visual disturbance ends and I never get migraine headaches. (Thankfully!) I told the optician about them and he's the one who said they're neurological, related to migraines, nothing to do with my eyes as such.

Vito · Jun 27, 2011

backslashbaby said:
The patterns were really cool. How strange

Hey, backslash -- Are you absolutely sure that it was caused by a migraine? Maybe you accidentally caught a glimpse of some dude wearing a Jerry Garcia necktie:

backslashbaby · Jun 27, 2011

Hey, mine did look like the one on the far right! In black, white and silver-purple sparkles.

Vito · Jun 27, 2011

backslashbaby said:
Hey, mine did look like the one on the far right! In black, white and silver-purple sparkles.

What a trip!

My first occular migraine... ever have those?

backslashbaby

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firedrake

practical experience, FTW

Maryn

Baaa!

Alessandra Kelley

Sophipygian

Maryn

Baaa!

rhymegirl

It's a New Year!

rugcat

Lost in the Fog

backslashbaby

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Maryn

Baaa!

Snowstorm

Baby plot bunneh sniffs out a clue

BeatrixKiddo

Is it summer yet???

scarletpeaches

thethinker42

Abnormal Romance Author

Becky Black

Writing my way off the B Ark

Vito

Recalled to life

backslashbaby

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Vito

Recalled to life

My first occular migraine... ever have those?

~~~~*~~~~

practical experience, FTW

Baaa!

Sophipygian

Baaa!

It's a New Year!

Lost in the Fog

~~~~*~~~~

Baaa!

Baby plot bunneh sniffs out a clue

Is it summer yet???

Abnormal Romance Author

Writing my way off the B Ark

Recalled to life

~~~~*~~~~

Recalled to life

*

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