Ocular migraines

[woooooo]

I'm currently having an ocular migraine. It started about 5 minutes ago as I was on MN and the screen started going fuzzy. The coloured zig zags are now spreading and there's parts of this text that I can't see when I focus on the screen. I'm doing my best to make sure everything is typed correctly!

Had my first one 2 years ago - the same year I missed my first ever period due to perimenopause.

I know it will pass in between half an hour to hour. I've has about 5 in the last 2 years. I never feel sick or get a headache but will just feel a bit 'weird' for a while afterwards.
Tell me about your ocular migraines...

Sounds pretty standard! They can be alarming the first time they happen though.
Always good for anyone with regular ocular migraines to get their blood pressure checked.

Yes my first ever one was scary, happened at about midnight, thought I was going blind! I've had 2 start whilst I was driving, that's scary too but luckily both very short car journeys so was able to get to where I was going before the zig zags were fully across my vision.

Didn't know about getting my blood pressure checked, think it's time I made a doctors appointment, thanks!

Zig zags are now fully across the top of my vision...

The first one I ever had happened at Chessington theme park. We'd been on a ride where they take your picture and the flash went off right in my face, I think that's what triggered it. When we got off the ride I assumed my vision being a bit odd was from the flash, but over the next few minutes it got worse rather than better. I didn't want to alarm DH and DD so I suggested they went on another ride while I had a sit down. By that point I was seeing psychedelic bunting fluttering in my vision. I got out my phone and googled "sudden visual disturbance" and the image which popped up with the search was exactly what I was seeing, with the words "ocular migraine" next to it.

Since then I've had a couple every year, I find for a week or two after I get very brief (as in around ten seconds) but intense dizzy spells. I've also found they're more likely to come on if I'm stressed.

Fireworks in a black sky. Or my eyesight goes like I have dipped my eyeballs in Vaseline.

At least I’m not a vomiter!

I vomit @lord now that’s FUN. Lol.

Oh that’s bad. When I’m sick usually my stomach gets sore/queasy but for some reasons these just stay in my head.

Well I picked up the phone after my last post to phone the doctors and the zig zags went! That's the shortest one I've ever had - 15/20 minutes. Got an appointment to have blood pressure checked this Friday. Feel ok now, bit nauseous but nothing major.

@BarkandCheese one of mine started off as a 'camera flash' aura when I was driving.

I think that when my blood pressure is high I get flashing lights and sore eyeballs but Dr Google says it’s not BP related.

Mine look like a kaleidoscope or a jagged shiny crack across the world that gets bigger and bigger. When I first had them the doctors thought it was a form of epilepsy as it didn’t follow what they thought a migraine should be.

I had two. The first I was staring at the TV, wondering why I couldn't focus on part of the screen, then this funny rainbow rip opened up. I had no idea what was going on and just sat there bemused until I decided I should go and lie in a darkened room. It passed and I didn't have any after effects. I googled and found out about occular migraines; and also went to the Drs who was not concerned. I had one more but now nothing for several years.

I get them every day for a week or so then they stop. I always get them when I'm on holiday. I find that a couple of aspirin, especially soluble ones with some caffeine, taken at the first sign will stop them. I very seldom get a headache now. When I was younger I used to have trouble speaking when I had a migraine, but I haven't had that in years.I had migraines from the age of 12 but since menopause I almost always just have the visual disturbance.

I think mine are hormonal, I got three in my first trimester and my blood pressure was fine. My head can feel a bit sore afterwards but I don’t get really bad pain, just blurred vision for about 20 minutes. I haven’t had one for years now.

I thought I was going blind when I had my first one, very very scary, I didnt even know they existed. It was like looking down a kaleidoscope with silver sparkly patterns, the more i tried to focus the faster they went and the sicker i felt. Only had about 3 since then - thank god.

I don't get pain, it starts with splodges of blurry areas in my vision. After a while I get the kaleidoscope rainbows at the side of my eye. It's sparkly.
I generally lie down in a dark room till it's gone.
The first time I actually thought I was going blind or having a stroke.

I get them occasionally- had one last week, last before that was at the beginning of December, I think.

I get rainbow coloured zigzags across my vision- they spread right across so I can't read and if driving when it starts I would have to stop - luckily this has never happened and they come on gradually so I have time to stop.

I normally find a pounding headache starts later in the day too. I sometimes feel queasy but lucky have never been sick.

The only way to stop it is to have a couple of painkillers and lie down in the quiet for half an hour.

I started getting these about 5yrs ago. I write it on the calender with the following details incase there is some pattern- whether I have my contacts in or glasses, what part of menstrual cycle I'm at and anything else that might be releavant (illness, other meds, headaches etc).

I get them so rarely, maybe twice a year and as such have found no pattern at all!

Mine are hormonal and started at puberty. I used to get the aura thing- mine is like a small area of blurry (like when the news tries to blur out someone’s face) that grows to skew my vision entirely sometimes. My school nurse diagnosed them and I used to get the awful headache within an hour of the aura. Now I regularly get the aura without the headache but then have residual headaches for days afterwards.
In one of my four pregnancies I got sick during migraines but thankfully that hasn’t happened since that pregnancy.

I'm 37, had my first at age 30. I get them about once a year on average. Starts as a small flashing zig zag that spreads across my vision until it sort of moves out of my vision. Lasts about 30-40 mins. I don't get the headache afterwards either, but like you, I feel a bit weird for a while.

I'm 17 weeks pregnant and not had one so far in this pregnancy. I can't seem to pinpoint any triggers, appears to be random.

I've had a few OP, thought I was going mad with the first one! Always hormone related. First time was a few weeks after my son was born and I think my cycle was trying to kick back in as I was having problems breastfeeding. Last few times it was definitely connected to my perimenopausal cycle. Last time I had one while I was working out, I just carried on because I knew what it was. Think it might be estrogen related?

I've had these for about 10 years now. The first time was when I had glandular fever, and I was driving down the M6 at the time and had to pull onto the hard shoulder

Bright sunlight seems to sometimes be a trigger, bit apart from that they're totally random.

They're not linked to a migraine or sickness for me, but I do get headaches and migraine separately and these are often hormonal (premenstrual).

I'm not perimenopausal yet.

I've only had one at age 37, triggered by bright sunlight reflecting on car windscreens as I served customers in a shop with huge windows.
I was talking to a supplier rep and realised I couldn't see half his face anymore.

I went into the basement and turned the lights off. Took paracetamol as i started to get a headache. Then I rapidly felt really ill, cold sweat, huge headache, nausea.
I realised I was too sick and had to go home. Luckily I got a seat on the tube. Felt like I was gonna puke and pass out at the same time.

it took me an age to walk off the train and up the stairs at the other end, I felt horrendous. I got home and crawled into bed, fell asleep and when I woke up felt a lot better an hour later, although I still felt weird.

I'm cautious about preventing having another one but shielding my eyes from bright sunlight.

My husband had his first ocular migraine last month. Similar kind of thing happened to him but he works from home so was able to lie down in dark room immediately.

I started getting them in my mid twenties - doctor yanked me off of hormonal birth control as he said it was dangerous to keep taking it; the hormones cause blood pressure increases. Since I've come off it they are much more rare though do happen just before my period if I get them. If you're on the combined pill it's worth investigating that as a trigger.

I get the zigzigs too can last 15 mins to an hour and always move right to left. Sometimes my cheek goes numb. No headaches though.

I get them more if tired. Bright lights can trigger or even reading black print on bright white paper.

I always have a can of ice cold coke handy as it seems to shift them quicker. Sunglasses if bright out and make she the blue light filter is on on any devices and brightness always low.

Keep off screens if you're having one! And stay off for at least a few hours afterwards. They can trigger a second dose of aura...and once is quite enough.

Been there and done that.