Severe visual disturbance this morning very scary - help

[citylover]

OK got up this morning as usual and after a short while realised tht I couldn't see properly - bit blurry and two large black floater type things in each eye.

My vision got blurrier and blurrier and my head was really swimming and I felt very confused - really was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Nothing made it better and it went on for best part of half an hour. Was also worried I was going to pass out but not a usual faint feeling. Just felt completely incapacited. Also unlike panic attack which I have also had before.

Called NHS direct who got me an ambulance, have been to local A&E who dismissed anything to do with diabetes (am not diabetic but have impaired glucose tolerance) and referred me to a walk in ophthlamic a & E at another hosp.

We went there but they don't actually have one!! Am back home now feeling a bit better rather drained. Will go to Moorfields if it happens again.

Spoke to my mum who said she experienced random episodes like this at my age. So possibly hormonal?

I would imagine it might be like the symptoms that migraine sufferers get but without headache. I have heard of this existing.

If anyone had any ideas as to what it might have been I would be really grateful. Thought I was on my way out!!

Will get checked at GP as well.

Sounds like migraine type thing to me CL. I once had an inner ear infection tho' and had similar symptoms & felt faint but it didn't pass obviously, just got worse.

I sometimes get migraine 'aura' without headache but first time I certainly had pain, but then everybody is different so could be. Would have thoguht hospital might have suggested that tho'.

Hope you feel better.

Sounds like a migraine to me, too. Horrible.

sounds like migrane eyes

I always get the floaty things and cn't see anything and all i want to do is lie down. Its like the whole world is one big pattern making your eyes go funny. Sometimes the headache follows and sometimes it doesnt.

Sounds very scary for you, do you feel drained now?

Hi CL... I have had this (or similar) and it was diagnosed as an optical (or ocular) migraine. Have only had it once or twice but it's quite scary. If your sight has gone back to normal it's unlikely to be anything worrying, but it's a good idea to get it checked out anyway, just in case. (I was a bit freaked as am at increased risk of detached retina, but it was nothing to do with that.) I felt weak for about 24 hours afterwards, so take it easy for a bit.

Hope you're OK.

I have migraines without the pain. My vision goes blurry and flashy and I feel extremely weak. I also become slightly confused after about half an hour and struggle to get my words out. Afterwards I feel fuzzy, tired and often hungry. I have always had a couple of migraines a year but it is since having dd that they present like this. It's terrifying at first but I find (if it is a migraine) that going to bed and sleeping for a while and then having something very sugary/fatty can help. It usually happens if I'm tired or dehydrated.

Sounds like ocular migraine. I'm an optometrist and get a few cases of this a year, very frightening if you haven't had it before.
I get episodes like this myself since I turned about 30, and when I told my Dad he said he had had similar at the same age but didn't tell anyone as he thought it was a brain tumour!
Can run in families, can be hormonal in that most female sufferers get them from puberty to menopause but not after that.

It could be what's sometimes called retinal migraine (I get this): flashing lights, blurred vision, tiredness, no actual pain and passes off within about half an hour. But it's best to get checked out if you have any other health problems, just in case.
(THe first time I had retinal migraine I ended up going to facking casualty and felt a right knob).

yes I've had something similar, an ocular migraine. I had my first one two days after giving birth (when I was utterly exhausted). Since then I've had them during pregnancy and just before a miscarriage, so I do wonder if they are hormone related. I think they can also be related to tiredness and bright lights.

Good though to get it thouroughly checked out.

did you see that sainsbury's thread, OP? an MNer had a similar thing and fainted in 'burys just last week. hope you feel better soon.

Could it be that you were about to faint.

I had this on a couple of occasions and I thought I was having a stroke. I have very low blood pressure and felt really out of it and like someone was sitting on my head and my sight started to go grey and then dark.

I was told I was trying to faint but instead of letting it happen, was holding on. This lasted a couple of hours.

Get your PB checked as well.

I used to have the ocular migraines - very weird experience, and terrifying the first time as my dad had just lost the sight in one eye.

With time, mine developed into the full shebang, but if I take Migraleve early I can head them off.

Thanks all well I rang Moorfields Eye Hospital and they told me to come in right away.

So I have been in and tested etc and that's what it was an ocular migraine. Apparently no reason why they happen, can't predicit how often and there is no remedy for them.

At one level nothing to worry about and if it happens again will know what it is and can lie down or something and let it pass.

I do also have an aversion to bright lights as well and tend to avoid supermarkets.

Thanks all.

i've suffered with this for some time now, but it had never occurred to me that having an aversion to bright lights could be part of this. I've got my sunglasses on an awful lot of the time, because i just squint and get very sore/tired eyes otherwise....

QR I am not sure whether the two are linked at all.

I think the doc at Moorfields did not think it was relevant.

How often do you get your migraines?

Yes I get this - the GP calls it migralgia or something. It is farking annoying, and the first time I thought I was DYING. Now I just lie down in a dark room for an hour and it goes.

Yes I thought I was dying as well and my poor DSs were very scared.

Oh well at least I will know what it is next time!!

citylover, I am fairly sure that there is a link between the light sensitivity and the ocular migraine. I would avoid sitting facing the sun and get good sunglasses for driving.

Thankyou CM that's very helpful. I know that I have problems with artificial lighting - I just cannot bear it anymore (really since DS2 was born) and always wear glasses in strong sun light and sometimes indoors.

I'm sure there is a link with bright lights. I also have very sensitive eyes to light - I need my sunglasses far more then my dh, and I can't sunbathe because of it.

It says here that there can be a link with flashing lights:

'Migraines can be produced by the body's neurological responses to certain triggers such as hormonal changes, flashing lights or chemicals in foods or medications'

My dad who can never resist having a pop asked me whether the hospital had said that my working full time had contributed to the migraine!

The irony is that my mum who worked pt as a dinner lady and did not have much stress in her life also had them.

I am pretty worried at the moment about having another one but am sure I will overcome this with time.

I get ocular migraine with no headaches. Sudden flashes of bright light trigger mine. Very annoying.