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Original poster

Occular migraines/zig zags in vision

78 replies

Mrstiggywinkle44 · 09/10/2022 19:09

Do any of you get these attacks??
I'm 44 and very peri menopausal and this new horribleness started this year. Had 3 "attacks" now where I get zig zag fluttering in vision, feel extremely drained and emotional afterwards. I don't get any head pain

Gp said classic occular migraine which is a type of aura migraine without the severe headache. He sent me for a visual scan at the opticians to double check and all fine.

They are horrible and really make you feel wiped out afterwards
Still need to work out my triggers. Tmi but I did pinpoint the last 2 attacks came on after sex, I got the zig zagging about 15 mins after so I'm guessing it's blood vessel related???

Anyone else get these??

OP posts:
AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 09/10/2022 19:13

I do and it tends to be when I'm over tired and/or have missed a meal. I had them for ages but didnt know what it was until I read a thread on here

I can make it go away by calm breathing and keeping my eyes closed but if that doesn't work an ibuprofen is enough. I feel fine afterwards though, I don't get any kind of tiredness

CandyLeBonBon · 09/10/2022 19:14

Yeah I get them op. Horrible. I get the nausea too sometimes with headaches, sometimes without.

helpfulperson · 09/10/2022 19:16

Missed meals is my trigger. Even with no pain painkillers work.

AnyFucker · 09/10/2022 19:17

Yep. I started with them during my 1st pregnancy when I was 30. The first time I was alone and convinced I was having a stroke !

With me, they are hormone and stress related. Now I am post menopausal they are less often but I still get them if I am stressed, have low blood sugar or if I am overstimulated eg. very busy in a rapidly changing environment in bright or fluctuating light

When they happen I have to lie down in a quiet area and they slowly pass out of vision within about 20-30 minutes. I have often wondered what would happen if I was driving but never happened yet

Original poster
Mrstiggywinkle44 · 09/10/2022 19:18

Thanks all sorry you get them too they are horrid.

The first one I had back in feb was so scary I thought I was having a stroke. I feel quite confused after them too aparently this is common also. They just come on so suddenly xx

OP posts:
lannistunut · 09/10/2022 19:18

I had these and learnt to manage them with proper rest, food and hydration. I can now tell a couple of days ahead if one is likely and can head it off. They are horrid but the basics really work if you are lucky.

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 09/10/2022 19:20

Interesting that missed meals are a trigger for others too, I forgot about funny light conditions @AnyFucker that affects me too. Just the other week the sun was shiining in strange way through a window at work and that started one for me

JessesMum777888 · 09/10/2022 19:20

42 now first one at 12.
2 years ago , a million food diaries later a clever friend of mine saw the link between migraines and MSG. Googled it and now avoid food with it in. Not going to pretend I don’t have the odd one maybe once every 6 months or so but they seem to be much less frequent and brutal x

SirChenjins · 09/10/2022 19:21

I get them from time to time - horrible things esp as they come on so quickly. I was driving when I got my first one, thought I was having a stroke but fortunately was v near a GP practice and they saw me within minutes. Another delightful symptom of the perimenopause.

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 09/10/2022 19:22

JessesMum777888 · 09/10/2022 19:20

42 now first one at 12.
2 years ago , a million food diaries later a clever friend of mine saw the link between migraines and MSG. Googled it and now avoid food with it in. Not going to pretend I don’t have the odd one maybe once every 6 months or so but they seem to be much less frequent and brutal x

My ex SIL suffers with normal migraines so I knew about MSG but didnt know it was also a trigger for ocular ones, I'll watch out for that.

Gobowen · 09/10/2022 19:22

I get these, just as you describe. They started in my early 30s. My triggers are bright sunlight, and being tired or dehydrated or hungover.

I also get regular migraines without aura, although they're aren't massively painful, they are much more frequent than the aura ones.

lulalulalula · 09/10/2022 19:26

I get these, they used to be accompanied by a crushing headache but as I've gotten older the pattern has changed and become scarier. I get the zigzags (or sometimes more like greatly increased peripheral vision) followed by loss of ability to speak - it comes out as gobbledegook as I can't draw the words for things from my brain, even to type a message) and then my arms go numb followed by my tongue. It feels like a complete malfunction of my body when it happens and I just dread the zigzags as it's always the first sign of an attack starting. I feel sorry for anyone who has the misfortune to experience them.

BlackCatTabbyCat · 09/10/2022 19:28

I'm 31 and have been having these for about 10 years. I'd get them once or twice a year and then last May I started getting about twice a month up until around February/March this year. Before then I had put them down to stress but after experiencing them every couple of weeks I couldn't pinpoint any trigger although like others it can happen with certain lights. While I was going through the stage of having them regularly I had one happen at night as I got into bed which had never happened before or since, I always got them through the day. Also around the same time I had one and once it eased off another one started straight after, again first time that happened and never happened since. I actually haven't had one for months now.

Gobowen · 09/10/2022 19:29

SirChenjins · 09/10/2022 19:21

I get them from time to time - horrible things esp as they come on so quickly. I was driving when I got my first one, thought I was having a stroke but fortunately was v near a GP practice and they saw me within minutes. Another delightful symptom of the perimenopause.

My first one was when I was driving too. I was on the M6 driving down from a holiday in the Lake District. I had to pull onto hard shoulder, and DH took over the driving.

Olivesandanchovies · 09/10/2022 19:31

Yes I get these too. I tend to get them when I am anaemic. I had many soon after having my son, as I experienced quite a large blood loss at the birth.
As others have said, lie down and rest in a dark quiet place and take ibuprofen to get rid.

Wallywobbles · 09/10/2022 19:31

I get them. No pain. Take pain killers and they go. No painkillers and I'll get a headache later.

Original poster
Mrstiggywinkle44 · 09/10/2022 19:32

lulalulalula · 09/10/2022 19:26

I get these, they used to be accompanied by a crushing headache but as I've gotten older the pattern has changed and become scarier. I get the zigzags (or sometimes more like greatly increased peripheral vision) followed by loss of ability to speak - it comes out as gobbledegook as I can't draw the words for things from my brain, even to type a message) and then my arms go numb followed by my tongue. It feels like a complete malfunction of my body when it happens and I just dread the zigzags as it's always the first sign of an attack starting. I feel sorry for anyone who has the misfortune to experience them.

This is what I've had after the zig zag attack the speech thing. It's awful. Lasts about ten min then goes away then I just feel extremely drained and emotional

OP posts:
ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 09/10/2022 19:32

I started them around the menopause. I don’t get any pain. Once l knew what they were l kind of enjoyed ‘looking’ at them

Guess I’m just weird.

Original poster
Mrstiggywinkle44 · 09/10/2022 19:33

JessesMum777888 · 09/10/2022 19:20

42 now first one at 12.
2 years ago , a million food diaries later a clever friend of mine saw the link between migraines and MSG. Googled it and now avoid food with it in. Not going to pretend I don’t have the odd one maybe once every 6 months or so but they seem to be much less frequent and brutal x

Thank you I will look into this as I have lots of intolerances also. X

OP posts:
7Worfs · 09/10/2022 19:36

I’ve had these since secondary school.

My triggers - blue cheese, red wine, bright sun or computer screen.

Gherkingreen · 09/10/2022 19:36

I had my first one at 14, can remember the exact moment, I in maths class, but I don't recall getting many after the age of about 16, until my late 20s when I had them regularly during two pregnancies.
Am 47 now, in perimenopause and have had a couple recently - so my un-medically backed diagnosis is that for me, they are hormone related.
Mine start with tartan flashing crescents and strips across one eye that get gradually worse. I take ibuprofen and block out all light, and go to sleep. When I wake up I feel drained but otherwise fine.

Toothpastestain · 09/10/2022 19:38

My Mum has always suffered with these, avoiding cheese has made a massive difference for her.

DoubleNit · 09/10/2022 19:38

Me. I've had them since I was pregnant 8 years ago, they are definitely hormonal with me.
It seems to be the object I'm looking at, so if talking to someone they become very hard to see but I can still see around the edges. I'll sometimes also confuse words and then it's all over apart from the feeling I could just lay down where I am and sleep.
I will very very occasionally get a migraine with the sore head but I had no clue that they were migraines until these others started and I looked into it a bit more.

SummerHouse · 09/10/2022 19:39

I read am article recently that said symptoms can be mistaken for triggers. So light, wind, smell could be migraine making you extra sensitive to these things but making you think that they set the migraine off. They are horrible. DS 10 has been referred but will likely be diagnosed. His is intense eye pain and vomiting - it's really cruel.

Bearsporridge · 09/10/2022 19:44

@lulalulalula mine sound very similar to yours. Utterly debilitating.

The thing that works best for me is sleep. It feels like switching the computer off and n again. I wake up with a ferocious headache and light sensitivity but I can think and talk.