ocular migraines

[Flute56]

Several years ago when I started the menopause, I began to get ocular migraines. In case anyone doesnt know what these are, they are not the normal type of migraines. You get no headache, but instead you get flashing or zig zag lines in the corner of one of your eyes. This does not last long. Maximum about 20 minutes. I was getting these every few years. Then they progressed to every few months. I never bothered to seek any advice from my GP because they were so infrequenr.

However this year during Easter, I had one on the Friday before Good Friday. I then had another one on the following Sunday morning which I was alarmed about because I do not usually get one so soon after the other. Then we had Easter and on the Bank Holiday Monday, I woke up and had one again but this time it kept coming and going for most of the day and I was so concerned and worried because when I had these before I have never had them going on and off for about 6 hours. I went to casualty and was told see the optician. I went to my GP and she again said she could not help me because ocular migraines are to do with the eyes not the head so see the optician.

I saw a new optician as recommended by a friend who said the optician was very good and explained to the optision what had been going on. She checked my eyes and said not was amiss so I said why do you think they happened and she said sometimes it is just one of those things and they happen for no apparent reason.

When I spoke to a friend of mine who wanted to know the outcome of the opticians appointment she said to me the optomertrist should not have fobbed off the migraines as just one of those things because migraines whether they are the painful ones or the ocular ones, happen for a reason (and my friend is a nurse). Either it is due to being dehydrated or eating too much chocolate or cheese or something else and my friend said I need to go back to my GP and get this investigated because unless I find out the root cause and change my diet or drink more water or whatever these migraines are going to keep coming back.

I am therefore going to phone my doctors surgery in the morning and book an appointment with the same GP I saw in the beginning about them and say I did go to the opticians but she did not give me any clear answer and I am none the wiser so I want this investigated by way of some test to see what is causing these migraines because if I dont they will just keep going on and on.

Anyone got any advice?

I had one of these a few weeks ago - I thought it was because I'd been in a building with a lot of strip lighting as as soon as I went outside, they stopped, but very concerning at the time. I mentioned to my optician when I had a sight test the other week and he said dehydration, stress or diabetes... none of which particularly apply but I'm just hoping it was a one-off. Hop you get some answers

I used to get them every few months when I worked in offices.
I think it was the glare from my screen along with strip-lighting.
Oddly enough, I haven't had one in years, and don't work in an office anymore.
Hope this helps op.

I've suffered from this type of migraine off and on for years. It started when I was a child. It's really quite debilitating. The thought of having an attack in a situation where I can't easily get home is frightening because the vision is so badly affected.
When I was younger the visual disturbance was usually followed by an intense pain in the eye and then I would vomit and be totally OK. These days I just get the visual disturbance and it clears after a short time lying down in a darkened room.
Mine can be triggered by bright lights or bright sunshine, sometimes by what I've eaten and quite often by stress.
I think if there is a change in the nature and frequency of your attacks you would do right to go back to your gp. I'm assuming the optometrist checked for and ruled out detached retina and vitreous detachment? I know "flashing lights" can be a symptom of vitreous detachment though not sure about detached retina.
So I think your friend is right that you should ask for further investigation by your gp.

I have these the last one being in October so I'm def due another! My hairdresser says a sugary drinks stops hers very quickly but have yet to test that theory

I've suffered migraine since I was four. Disturbed vision, numbness in face and hands. Then the pain, after the vision has cleared. When I was younger I used to be sick, then start to feel better immediately afterwards. Sometimes it would take a couple of vomiting sessions before I was ok.

My parents were advised that I should avoid certain foods such as fish, cheese, oranges and chocolate (also red wine and coffee, but I didn't drink much of either at four ) but it never made that much difference to me. I now eat and drink all of the above without ill effect.

Stress and lack of sleep are my triggers. If I get overtired or am struggling to cope with a lot of stress, it's as if my body takes over and knocks me out for a day.

Ds diagnosed recently and optician wrote to gp . Ds saw gp and we are looking at possible triggers and if needed he will see a consultant. I would speak to your gp.

I get these op, a migraine diary is helpful as it will help you to figure out triggers. You can download one from the migraine trust website.

Has them on and off for years. Often in clusters
Stress, overtired (or too much sleep), dehydration.
Much more rare for me these days since I retired but still occasionally get a cluster, where they can be daily for 4 or 5 days - and then that's it again for months.

I used to suffer a lot from ocular migraines for about 20 years with various reasons given by opticians and GOs. They used to last about 29 mins and got to the point where I couldn't actually see during that time. The cure was to simply sit in a dark room for about 10 mins or loo.

Anyway I decided to finally use my company health insurance for once and get to the bottom of it.

After various specialist appointments the cause turned out to be looking at different levels and different types of light at the same time. For example if you were sat in front of a computer screen, by a window with natural light with fluorescent office lights overhead.

Once I figured that out I could close the blinds on a bright day or turn off the office light and now only have them once or twice a year.

I have had a few and I find downing lots of water quite quickly really helps, as well as a little lie down for 15 mins.

I used to get them very frequently in my previous job, where I was miserable and extremely stressed. I left that job and have been in my current one for a year, and I've had exactly one. Stress is definitely a factor. They are extremely unpleasant.

Thanks for the responses. I find it bizare because the optician said it could be the menopause but I have known people who have lived their whole lives and never had a migraine. My mum never had a migraine in her entire life and she live to 93 and my dad only ever had one which was brought on my painting our house without having the window open. That was the only migraine he ever had in his entire life. With me, I do not have to go into a dark room. I can just be anhwhere and just sit down until it goes away. On the bank holiday Monday I had a very good nights sleep the night before and woke up and had some tea and toast and then out of the blue got this migrain that lasted for houkrs on and off. I was not stressed, I had not been looking at a computer screen for hours, I had not been using any chemicals.. My optician said these types of headaches that seem to just happen when you are at your most calm state can just happen when it seems that there is no trigger factor.

My GP wanted me to see the optician about them to rule out a serious eye condition because a friend of mine had these flashing lights and when she had her eyes checked they discovered that she had a bleed behind the eye which they had to treat or flashing lights could be a sign of a detached retina. However, with my friend, her flashing lights were continuous all day every day which is a bit different to what I had been having. Anyway i do not have a bleed or a detached retina so there is nothing the optician can do so its back to the doctor.

I dont think either of my parents got headaches either. I know my mum rarely got headaches because she told me but not sure about my dad.. He never ever complained of a headache. I dont think I ever heard my dad say oh ive got a headache i need to take paracetamol. Maybe he was raised not to complain and just suffer in silence

I work in an open plan office and so cannot turn off the office lights because it wokuld affect other people

The thing is though, we all know that some trigger factors are eating too much chocolate or cheese and one of my colleagues at work used to get a lot of migraines and he said when he stopped eating chocolate they stopped and he has not had a migraine for years.

I would love to know how he found out chocolate was the trigger factor. Someone said to me whenever I get a migraine keep a diary so I cak back track and see what I was doing prior to the migraine to see what the trigger factors could be. If I assume its chocolate and cut out chocolate, it may not be chocolate and I like eating chocolate so I would be cutting out eating something I enjoy all for nothing if it turns out that is not the trigger. It is so random and I may never find the answer

Having said that, I used to suffer from blackouts as a teenager and into my early 20s. I had a lot of brins scans and tests and they found nothin wrong with me. Suddenly they stopped and I have not had a seizure for 35 years

I have been getting these since childhood, triggered by absolutely nothing! I also have MS, my consultant says there is no connection, and my optician says there is no connection. I get them randomly, shopping, watching TV or on the computer. I once thought they were caused by stress but that isn't so. I know that when I do get them I am unable to use the computer, read or watch TV. It takes about 20 minutes for the flashing to travel from my right prereferral vision to disappear at the left side. After that, I feel much lighter, energised and in great form. I cannot explain it but I no longer hate them, knowing that afterwards I will feel good.

I get them , sometimes regularly , I’ve had them in both of my eyes and mine are like a kaleidoscope effect . I told the optician and got a similar response to yourself . I’ve never found the trigger for mine

Mine were hormonal. I didn't have any migraines until I had DD and then I had a week of excruciating full on migraines. Then I would regularly have occular migraines from then on, for over 10 years, often triggered by looking at a glare of light reflecting on something.

I was taken off the combined pill as they can be a trigger, but also migraines of any variety are a risk factor, and put onto the progesterone only ones. That was 9 years ago and I've not had another migraine since.

I'm a regular migraine sufferer, purely related to my hormones. The only time I've experienced ocular migraines was also hormonal, I had recently come off the pill. I was absolutely petrified with the first one. It's most likely hormonal, it often is with women, although you can have particular triggers. When I'm very stressed I get migraines too. Sometimes I don't really feel like I should be stressed but then when I step back and look at what is going on I realise I am.

I started getting them exactly as you describe about 8 years ago, the day after I'd finished an online training course which involved lots of whizzing back and forth on the computer. I now find I get them when I watch a TV programme with camera shots that jump too quickly, before my eyes have had time to settle on what they're seeing before it changes. So if that happens I look away. I think there is also an element of stress involved. So I don't think mine are food-related at all.

well I grew up in a household with a lot of stress. My dad was an alcoholic and got us in a lot of debt. My mother was very stressed by it all and almost had a nervous breakdown. Despite this, she never got a migraine. She also had to work 24/7 to try and pay off our dents. Again never getting a migraine

I get them about twice a month. They are harmless and I just wait them out.

The last one i was leading a training for hundreds of people and just faked normal until it passed.

I used to get pain migraines with my period, and I prefer these.

I get these along side chronic migraine with the pain and hemiplegic migraines with one side muscle weakness.
My hands go numb .. my tongue goes numb... l vomit.. these can last 3 days.
I've been to the migraine clinic when l was 21 years old due to a TIA migraine ( mini stroke). I did visual tests.. food intolerance test.. all kinds of tests.. kept a diary.. and my conclusion was a sudden change in the weather.. Spring and autumn being the worse.. and the only pain medication I can take is paracetamol.
I first started when l was five years old.. it's hereditary in my family.( I'm now 66 and still suffer).

I got regular ocular migraines during pregnancy, various tests etc put it down to hormonal imbalance.

I wonder if menopause hormonal imbalance causing these?

Mine hit in meno and I was told that although the main symptom had passed ie the zig zags the attack actually takes a few days to recover so another session of the sight disturbance within 7 days wasn’t anything to worry about. But mine are stress related