Visual disturbance/migraine(?)

[2kidsintow]

I don't get migraines, although my Mum once went through a phase of suffering from them. When I had my DD1 (now 11) I had an horrendous week of them. One after another for a week, getting slightly less intense each time. I put it down to hormones.

Every now and again (6 months to a year or so) I get a short spell where I have visual disturbances. It starts like the aftereffect of looking at a lightbulb, then grows and spreads. I can't see very well and what I can see is over bright. I have trouble focusing and reading as a lot of my sight is interrupted by tv-interference style flashy zig zag lines.

When they were every now and again I didn't worry about it, but today I had my second one in a matter of weeks. They are short lived and annoying. I'm wondering how frequently they have to occur to be a concern.

(Selfishly I am aware that one of the first things that would happen if I went to a GP would be to be taken off the pill- which would be an inconvenience to say the least)

Yep, sounds like occular migraines to me ( worry someone will come along and tell me my terminology is wrong though-)

Ive realised that I get a spate of them at this time of year.. no idea why. I take triptans to ware the symptoms.

Are you on any other medication? I can't take the pill because of migraines, doc said contraindicated

Ward, not ware.

Should say - mine turn into crippling pain if I don't take the meds and usually floor me for 24 hours. If its just the visual disturbance then triptans may well sort you out.

Avoid caffeine for a while and see if it helps

I get them too, chocolate can be a trigger. I just get the visual disturbances, can last anything up to an hour as they pass across my vision. Sometimes I get them weekly, then nothing for months.

GP suggested that I make sure I keep my fluids up as dehydration can also trigger.

Jareth, I get them too at this time of year. I think it is something to do with barometric pressure; if you follow the daily readings it I up and down like crazy at the moment...

I've had a couple just as you describe, starts like the aftermath of a camera flash, then spreads out and twinkles, keeps spreading till I can see through the middle and it gradually passes out of my vision.

GP described it as migraine without headache.

I had visual migraines. It would be like a moving staircase in the upper corner of my eye, neon color and flashing. At first I thought I had a retinal detachment. it would last about 45 minutes, I would lie down and close eyes. No pain at all. Once it happened when I was shopping for lights under the display at Home Depot. I do not like garish lighting as in a casino, or flashing images on TV. I no longer get them.

I get these, i was terrified the first time. Now, they last for 20 minutes and leave me with a dull headache.

Sometimes it affects my ability to get my words out.

Can't you go to the GP and get another type of contraceptive pill? Not all contraceptive pills cause the same degree of symptoms and I don't think the mini pill is supposed to exacerbate migraines. It's silly to take the combined pill if you get migraines, even if the increased risk of stroke is very small. Amongst other things, what would you do if one started when you were driving down the motorway or doing something else for which your full visual field was necessary???? You really don't want to take a pill that hugely increases the incidence of your migraines happening.

ps you are getting migraines - migraine aura without headache is still a type of migraine.

pps do you get the symptoms in both eyes or just one? I think ocular migraine and migraine aura without headache are a bit different. I get the migraine aura but not the headache and both eyes are affected. Either way, if you've never had your migraine aura properly diagnosed, you ought to go to the GP to rule out other causes (although your symptoms sound identical to mine).

Always the left for me.

Always the left for me too .... which is a bummer as that is my good eye. I haven't been on the pill for years [too old]

Found that this short good way to describe it to people who don't understand. There are other clips under optical migraine including one of someone driving.

I don't get headache either. Just sit quietly until it crosses the field of vision (bottom right to top left). Although I did have one about a year ago which occurred as I was walking DS the 20 minute walk home from school - bit scary, usually they are later in the evening. He is a good sensible lad and understood to be good as mummy had her dodgy eye thing [busmile]

That's exactly it oldsilver.

Left here too.

God, that youtube thing has made my eyes go funny. V similar to what I get, but I get huge blind spots as well - cant read or see all the keys on a keyboard.

Mine is like seeing half of things Jareth, especially faces.

Oh yes - when I look at my own face in a mirror and one of my ears and half my mouth just aren't there

V freaky

I've had these a couple of times in the past year, with no headache. Would my GP be likely to take me off the contraceptive depo-vera injection if I were to tell her? I know you shouldn't be on Dianette pill with migranes but not sure about the injection?

I think if the effect is only in one eye (ie if you close the affected eye, your vision in the other eye is normal) then that is a retinal migraine and relates to temporarily reduced blood supply to that retina (due to vascular spasm). If you have the same effect, even if it starts over to one side of your vision or the sparkling lights, etc, are more on one side of your vision, but the effect is actually in both eyes (ie closing the eye you think is affected doesn't get rid of the problem), then it's a migraine aura. If you are getting symptoms of retinal migraine, you should check you don't have a pituitary tumour, blood clots, the start of a detached retina, etc - ie check there isn't a more serious cause.

I get both normal and ocular. As I have got older I get less full on migraines thankfully. That little film freaked me out looking at it is just like having one.I switched it off pdq!

Sorry noddy and others ... it's just I found it so difficult to explain to other people what it was like.

An optometrist told me it was my eyes playing tricks on me

Although it is my left eye and travels - it does affect my right, just always seen it in my left.

I had lots (and they lasted quite a bit longer) a few months after I had DS (6). I put it down to tiredness, probably not eating properly and not drinking enough. BIL (who is a doctor) sent me to A&E to get it checked out, they just put me on a drip and sent me home after a few hours as I didn't have a headache and I wanted to get home to my baby They didn't seem too concerned to be honest

The first started when I was in my early 30's.

No need to apologise I have just never seen it like that before! I ahve tried to explain it to dp and he can't visualise it. The oddest thing for me is how it just 'stops'

Yes, mine just stops. i have to keep looking at things to check it really has.

I know I follow it around too

You do don't you, I know when it's about to start and find myself looking at white walls/ceilings just to check for the initial "blank" blob that appears before the flashing starts!! Then afterwards doing the same to make sure it's really finished

I've had a few of these, once it was like a halo another couple of times like a kelidoscope. Once i've calmed down and realised I'm not going blind I realise they look quite pretty!

I always get them in my left eye too.