Ocular Migraine

[winniesanderson]

I've just had what I think was an ocular migraine for the first time (I'm 40). It was like a rainbow coloured lightning bolt that flashed and kept getting bigger and bigger. Absolutely terrified me - thank god for Google. But I was wondering if anyone else has had them did/do you feel really cold afterwards? I'm not normally one for feeling the cold but even now 20 mins later I'm shaking and can't warm up.

Also any idea on what triggers them? It's been an insanely stressful day here and I've had about 3 hours sleep since 3am Saturday morning so I'm guessing this might be what's caused it. But I've been sleep deprived plenty before and never experienced anything like it.

Yes, I get them exactly as described in the pic above. Always triggered by exercise and can sometimes see it off by eating sugary food (I keep fruit pastilles in the car)

I get them and they usually present as a blind spot and then loss of peripheral vision. I sometimes get flashing lights but not always. I mentioned it to an optician and they said as long as they resolve within about half an hour (which mine normally do) there isn't too much cause for concern.

I'm keeping a diary of them detailing symptoms, date, time and duration so I can mention it at my next eye test.

Low blood sugar triggers mine - that would fit in with your shaking too.

I get these, they start as a tiny shimmering area in the centre which gets bigger and bigger. I usually then lose all or part of my vision for about an hour. Sometimes they present as a gap in my vision, where it looks like I can see everything, but if I look at my hand or try to read anything there is a part that I just can't see, although it feels like I'm seeing it all, it's really weird and hard to explain. The first time I had it I was online shopping and couldn't understand why the shop was only displaying parts of the price!

Once I emailed my boss while having one. The resulting text had lots of systematic spelling errors, like it was caused by a brain thing, not an eye thing.

Sounds like migraine with visual aura. They can be with or without a headache not heard people getting cold though from my experience. It's not normally eye sight related at all, triggers as pps have said cause them rather than actual eye disease or prescriptions.

I used to get them a lot when dd had swimming lessons especially in summer. For some reason the sunlight on the ripples would often seem to set them off

Mine are really similar - I get visual disturbances, then visual gaps, then a migraine, then I sleeeeeeep.

I've only ever had one and saw a rainbow in the living room.. scared me to death, but I went to the optician and she explained what it was. This was was about six years ago and it's never happened since.

I get them exactly like the image above. Mine start by me noticing I can't quite see properly like there is a gap in my sight. Quickly progress to the image then disperse. About 75% of the time I then get intense headache and occasionally nausea.

If I quickly get to neurofen and darkness I can shut them down and avoid the headache. Had them once or twice a year since I was mid 20s and triggered by funny light but generally I'm stressed or tired before hand. Now on my late 40s and peri, I get them much more frequently (dr not bothered) and linked to tiredness, stress, if I'm run down and where I am in my cycle.

I feel dreadful after - really hungover. They are a menace as I can't work through them because I can't see properly then get wiped out.

I get them every couple of months - put them down to stress or dehydration or low blood pressure or possibly hormone fluctuations.

I'm post menopausal but used to get actual migraines when I first began my periods as a teenager.

Mine last 10-20 mins are are totally debilitating.

I had something like this only once, trigger was being dazzled repeatedly from bright sunlight bouncing off car windscreens passing by.

I realised I couldn't see one side of the person I was talking to, it was all just grey, a very strange experience. Then 10 minutes or so later I felt incredibly sick, like I was going to vomit, I was shivering and shaking, could barely move, still couldnt see half of anything, but somehow I managed to commute to my home station and begged my dad to collect me in the car.

He told me it was occular migraine as he used to have them, same symptoms as his. I went to bed and slept for an hour, was back to normal, but exhausted when I woke up.

I had my first one about 12 years ago, and went to A&E - who told me it was a posterior vitreous detachment and to see the optician to check my retinas. As soon as I described what I could see (like a bright light being shone through broken glass/kaleidoscope, starting slowly, building to a crescendo, then dying away) the optician said No, that’s a visual migraine.

I tend to have them in clusters, several over a few weeks, then none for months/years.

They go away in about 20 minutes and I have no after effects.

I’ve never really been able to identify any triggers. I had one a few weeks ago after several years without. It came on after I’d had my diabetic retinopathy check, so at first I thought the drops had done something weird to my eyes. But when you can see the disturbance the same in both eyes, and also with your eyes closed, you know that the problem is in your brain, not your eyes!

Me too!

It is a brain thing rather than an eye thing according to my optician ,he did explain and I promptly forgot 🙄😂

I’ve started getting them as a result of the peri menopause - they’re horrible. They start off like small patches of what looks like the bottom of these children’s kaleidoscope toy things and then spreads across my entire vision - I’m petrified I’m going to get one when driving and unable to pull in safely. I feel really sick and v tired afterwards.

if I come into a dim room from sunlight I get them,also stress, flickering lights, etc. I get a warning of circles of pale light on thecwall, can't read properly then flickers and sparkles. Once or twice I've had speech disturbance which was very scary. The optician found nothing wrong, If I can act fast enough, a dab of tiger balm round my temples seems to shorten or stop it, perhaps something like Vicks might do the same. It's horrid, anyway.

There was this nice cheese and wine bar in town where I used to live. I went a few times and I used to drink red wine and eat cheese (as you might have guessed) which I don't do very often. When I got home that night, every time without fail I used to see a sort of cloudy, halfmoon thing. Absolutely freaked me out the first time I saw it, thought I was going to have a stroke or something. Anyway, turns out ocular migraines can be triggered by red wine and cheese. I never actually had a migraine or any other symptoms luckily, the weird moon thing went away on its own after a few hours.

Sometimes they present as a gap in my vision, where it looks like I can see everything, but if I look at my hand or try to read anything there is a part that I just can't see, although it feels like I'm seeing it all, it's really weird and hard to explain

This is how mine present and yes it really is difficult to explain but I know exactly what you mean! Most noticible with reading, the second half of each word you focus on just isn't there...but not a black spot or dark or anything, just...missing. Its very odd and disconcerting and frightening if you don't know what's happening.

The first time I had one it scared the shit out of me, DH rushed me to A&E because I thought I was having a stroke or something. I've had several since though and they always go within an hour, sometimes followed by a banging headache and sometimes not. It's always at times of acute stress for me. Once the night before a professional exam, another when my mum was in hospital, another a few days after DH was made redundant.

Ive been having these for 30 years. On and off. No trigger. It just happens. When it does, i take time out to let it pass.

i like a short nap after one sometimes but other than that, nothing.

Yes and triggered by stress apparently. I actually asked a neurologist about this. They normally last around 15 mins. The first one I had I thought I was having a stroke. Quite frightening. Not had one for a while as I manage my stress better and make sure I eat and drink regularly. All the best to you.

I get them very rarely but it's like a tiny lightning bolt worm that starts off small and gets bigger and moves across one eye. I have never felt anything physical before, during or after them. It takes 30 mins or so to go across my eye. My classic migraines are hideous and getting progressively worse. However after a hospital stay and a course of amitriptyline I haven't had for years. It might sound bonkers but as they are mostly stress related I do feel I can "choose" to not have them / talk myself out of that stress.

I get that. Just one eye. Bloody terrifying

Retinal migraine - it's a type but a bit different to occular migraine

This is just what mine are like! I've only had a handful, but started a few years ago. I feel drained afterwards for the rest of the day, almost like a hangover

Blind spots and pixelated kaleidoscope vision which gets bigger, usually screen time or alcohol related.
Now that I know what they are, and that I'm not dying or in pain, there are super fun but I have to leave my work for couple hours.