Has anyone had migraine visual disturbances without a headache?

[misselizabethbennett]

Occasionally I get a weird thing in my vision where I can see a sort of crescent with zig-zag black and white lines. It goes away after about 10 minutes. My doc said it was occular migraine. I've hardly ever had a headache in my life, btw. Has anyone else had this?

But even weirder, for about a minute yesterday I had double vision - I was driving and had to stop the car. It was really scary!

I'm prone to panic/anxiety about my health anyway, so try not to scare me. I was deffo not anxious yesterday though (until this happened). Has anyone heard of this happening in connection with migraine?

Yes, I get exactly this often. I also get 'proper' migraines. I take naramig as soon as the zigzags come and it's usually OK. I also eat a banana or live natural yoghurt afterwards, not really sure why, but it does seem to make me feel better - placebo effect?

I have had this for years. My first awareness is that my hand somehow feels not part of me then i get the prisms in my vision. I've never had a headache but I then feel totally washed out and could sleep for ever! Touch wood I only ever get a couple a year and they are normally at the end of term when I am starting to wind down after being very busy.

Yes, I have never had a migraine headache (or many headaches at all) but I get symptoms including:

• weird jaggy c shape thing across my vision
• missing patches of my vision that can go on for several days
• numbness down one side
• being clumsy and forgetful for a day after some of the other symptoms have happened

I have had 2 MRI scans and load of other tests over the last few years just to rule out anything else and have a clean bill of health. It is worth getting it checked out of course as many of these symptoms could indicate something else, but the visual symptoms without headache definitely do happen.

I used to get both visual disturbances without migraine and visual disturbances with migraine. Would normally be a swirling pattern surrounding my peripheral vision and if I was going to get a headache, it would start within 10 mins.
Occasionally vision would go very dark with stripes and would always have a headache with this.
Touch wood, have not had one since DD1 was born 3 years ago.
Would, as others have said, get the double vision checked out. I would suggest going to both an optician and your gp.

I started to get the zig-zag flashing lights when I was pregnant. It would start as a tiny blind spot in my peripheral vision which would spread over the next 20-25 minutes until it obscured my whole vision, then disappear. Occasionally, I would get a mild headache.

After giving birth they stopped until I went back on the pill and they started again. There did seem to be a link with stress or lack of food.

Had my eyes tested, had an MRI scan, saw a neurologist etc etc. He concluded that they were ocular migraines linked to hormones and recommended I stop the pill as there would be an increased risk of stroke. EEk !!

He was right, I stopped the pill several years ago and VOILA-no more.

Misselizabeth, symptoms of anxiety can strike at the oddest times, when you may not actually be "feeling" anxious. What I'm trying to say is yes, get the double vision thing checked, but do try not to get too worked up about it, it's unlikely to be anything serious.

Yes, I get aura migraines which might or might not have a headache attached.

I get both the double vision adn the visual disturnbances with migraine. Ususally it goes on to also give me the headache, but not always. My disturbances are more like sparklers going off on the edge of sight, getting brighter and brighter, and, like someone else said, like a kaleidoscope.

I also once totally lost the vision in one eye. Doc was worried it was optic neuritis, which can be a makrker for MS, but I was clear on a scan and anyway, went on to develop a really nasty headache in about 4 hours, so even before the scan they were pretty sure it was migraine. Its never happened since, though there have been a couple of times I have felt like it might be going to ( how do I know, not sure, migraine is so weird) but it hasnt.