Retinal migraines? Anyone had these?

[Auramigraine]

Hi all

First post here. Since my teens I have suffered with headaches, some mild, some severe etc. Anyways yesterday I was doing housework and was bent over for a good 5 mins clearing something off the floor when suddenly in the corner of my eye I was seeing wiggly lines, at first I thought what’s crawling around and stood up to see nothing there and realised it was coming from my eye. It lasted about 4-5 mins and then stopped. Terrifying. Looking up on nhs I’m convinced it was a retinal migraine as it only happened after bending over and nhs says that can cause it. Sod’s law it happened late afternoon when my opticians was closed and now with Xmas I assume will be closed until maybe end of next week so I plan to make an appointment ASAP.
Just wondered if anyone has any experiences of these :( I’m a little scared, also read they put you at higher risk of stroke which runs all through my dads family (he has 6 siblings and 5 have had stroke)
Im feeling a little worried today.

Is a retinal migraine the same as getting a migraine aura? I get those, have done since I was a teenager. There's not a lot of point worrying about them.

Ah scratch that. Just looked it up and they're not the sane thing. However, I'm not sure there is any point panicking about it. I'm sorry you're upset, though. Maybe see the GP after Xmas?

Yes, I've recently started having these and I panicked massively the first time it happened. I've had quite a few in a short space of time and always feel out of sorts for quite a while after. Mine last for around half an hour. I've seen the optician who had a good look in and behind my eyes and said everything looks good. She recommended seeing the gp if they continue at a frequent rate but basically said there's not much that can be done.

One thing I read you should do when it's happening is cover the eye you're seeing the aura with. If you can still see the weird shapes then it's not a problem with your eye but with the brain (as in it's a retinal migraine and not a detached retina or anything more serious).

I feel for you, its not a nice experience at all!

I get them now & then. Looks like a kaleidoscope for me. I've never been to see anyone especially about them. Just a but of dark, close eye time usually works for me.

I get them.

I was so worried when I had my first one as I was unable to see anything apart from the lines and colours.

I did call my GP but was told not to worry.

I have to sit somewhere quiet for around an hour and then I can see again.

My ds gets these (mostly when he's tired or after a cold). He has had severe migraines since he was 9 or 10 and then cyclical vomiting and chronic fatigue and was eventually diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease and put on a "cocktail" of supplements which helped enormously. He is at high risk for stroke and there are certain things we he must avoid...the most important one is to not take medications which are vasodilators (ironically most of the migraine medications are in this category). You can find lots more information at these two websites: www.mitoaction.org/ and www.umdf.org/ and google Dr. Richard Boles and his research on mitochondrial disease and migraines.
Probably bending over a lot is not a good idea....ds (and our whole family) get very faint easily and have to be careful about standing up too quickly or bending over for too long....

Yes I get these. My optician diagnosed it then sent me to GP. The GP took me off combined pill immediately due to stroke risk. Apart from that, just carried on as normal until they got so frequent and painful that I had to ask GP for medication. Now mostly under control. Scary the first few times but now I’m used to them.

Yes I get them also, tend to go with no lasting affects (effects?) after 10 mins or so

Yes, I get them quite often now - probably once a month. Annoying but at least they're painless for the most part.

Thanks all, feeling a lot more reassured as no one I know had any experience of them and of course dr google makes you feel like you are about to go blind. I had no headache afterwards which I was waiting for just felt a little off but nothing I couldn’t carry on looking after kids etc with. I already avoid sweeteners, coffee and very strong perfume as these I find are triggers. Just scary first time experiencing it especially at this time of year when opticians shut for Xmas. Thanks again

I have them. I get a doughnut shape of neon wiggly lines. It starts in the far distance and slowly gets bigger as if it's coming closer to me. When it feels like I'm passing through the centre, then it goes. Sometimes 10 mins, but can be up to an hour. Usually triggered by tiredness. I get them in clusters so the quicker I get extra sleep, the less I get.

No-one has ever mentioned stroke to me about them.

I had my first one Thursday morning. It lasted 15 minutes and was kaleidoscopic. I had a headache afterwards for the rest of the day (I was also stressed a bit). It was unnerving because I kept thinking my vision would right itself any second and it didn't.

I get them (used to be frequently, now quite rarely). Mine were always followed with a stinking headache and sickness.

I found stopping working as a teacher helped. Although that’s not why I stopped.

They’re called ocular migraines and you don’t need to get the headache with them. I had it once but my dd suffers frequent migraines.

I get them! It is quite common to experience the visual distortion (aura) without the pain of the headache. I have a combination of these “silent” migraines and normal migraines with aura.

Absolutely horrible and can become really debilitating. The first time I had one I thought I was having a stroke as I suffer leftside weakness and slurring along with the visual elements. They started when I was a teenager.
I am on beta blockers as was suffering chronically (20 odd days out the month) and have rescue medication for when they hit (sumatriptan).
Advice is to go and lie down in a dark room and wait for the aura to pass (it usually does within a few hours) if that pain hits I would recommend migralieve (you can get from the pharmacy) as you would need to see a GP for other relief meds. If you suffer any paralysis or slurring ring 111 and get seen today just in case.
Migraines are a total bitch so sending

I’ve had two so far, both lasting around 5 minutes and followed by a really bad headache.
First was terrifying as it happened a few hours after crash landing on a fence after being thrown by my horse (bruised ribs too). Second was for no known reason though.

I get these and other migraines too. Because they are so frequent I have sumitriptan (sp?) for attacks and take topirimate to reduce frequency. I had to go back a million times to get any sort of treatment though. And ten years on they still won’t send me to a neurologist! Don’t buy any over the counter stuff it doesn’t work.

I get these, did you experience it in one or both eyes? It's usual for them to start in one eye, often as a small blind or blurred spot in the centre of one eye, before getting the weird jagged lightshow (called a scintillating scotoma) but I believe if it continues so that both eyes are affected, it's an ocular migraine, and AFAIK there is no increased risk of stroke.
These are different from retinal migraines which I think only affect one eye.

I had one hit when I was driving on an American highway. The right eye started swirling away so I pulled into the nearest parlkig lot and sit it out.
I had ny first aged about 10. Always stress triggered. Occasionally I would have a headache afterwards but I would also feel quite nauseated.

I never told anyone as if couldn't explain what was going in and I was honestly too frightened and didn't expect to be believed.
I called it fuzzy eye. My youngest ow experiences something similar and I think she has her dad's migraine gift as an aďded bonus. She calls it spikey forehead and can't look at bright light etc.
DHs brother suffers the same.
I had no idea until a couple of years ago that this was something other people experienced

I get these sometimes. They are called ocular migraines and as far as I know it's just a thing and there's not usually any underlying cause. I certainly have no other issues. I do always feel awful once they pass - that lasts about an hour or so.

I had one this year when I had a really bad stomach bug. I honestly
thought I’d vomited so hard is damaged my eyes permanently. It was VERY scary as the kaleidascope effect moved outwards to cover my entire vision and I couldn’t even see to google.

The next day my mum was like “oh I get those they’re totally harmless” and I googled and was so relieved!

They’re called ocular migraines.

MayhemandMadness01

I've always had migraines but started having the squiggly lines in a circle after starting a new medication. I think they are called scintillating scotoma

I get these. I find they're often triggered by a sudden bright light, such as walking past a window & the bright sunlight suddenly hits my eyes. The blurry shapes usually last up to half an hour then fade, rarely get a headache with it. GP & optician haven't mentioned any health risks connected with it.

I started getting these 19 years ago after my DD was born and I get them maybe 2-3 times a year. I usually take a paracetamol and shut my eyes for 10 mins and it disappears.

I used to get these too, quite regularly and my GP changed the contraceptive pill I was on and I maybe get them once a year now at the most. Saying that, with any visual symptoms it's best to get your eyes checked, most opticians only actually close for Christmas day and maybe boxing day and are usually quieter over Christmas so you'd probably get an appointment today or tomorrow especially in the bigger chain opticians.