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Ocular Migraine / Aura - have you ever wondered?

Rhea said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
I had issues with reading due to the blind spot, but I meant having great difficulty in reading comprehension for about a half hour after the event. I could read the words, but I couldn't understand the sentence well at all.
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Yes, this. You are exhausted and unnerved for an hour afterwards. Your body acts as if it had a migraine headache but didn't tell you. Like the adrenaline after a car wreck that didn't hurt you. Very difficult to concentrate.
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Ahhhh.
 
Agree about the peripheral angle.


Rhea said:
Playball40 said:
I hate hate hate when this happens. I've found they are brought on by catching a glimpse of a very bright but dense light by accident.
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Interesting, that matches many of mine, but not all. And it's usually a glimpse from peripheral angles. Other correlations include being very hungry while also fighting a virus, or being low on iron. (I get them more often after giving blood.)
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I've been told if you take headache medicine (ibuprofen, Tylenol or whatever works for you) the moment you notice flashing you can ward off the headache part.
Jimmy Higgins said:
I had two ocular migraines in a period of three days last year. They were the only migraines I've ever had (that I'm aware of). It was bizarre! I was watching a movie at home, in the dark, and all of a sudden I noticed I couldn't see one corner of the TV screen. I reacted and thought something was obscuring my vision in front of me but realized it was me. I saw shimmering out of the side of my to the upper right. The loss of vision grew, and then diminished.

I had a headache afterwards and was trying to read up on what in the heck just happened, but had difficulty reading for about a half-hour as in it was tough to process the words.

Two days later, same thing, though the loss of vision was more the left. In both cases, it occurred in dimly lit areas. Haven't had one since.
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I still hate them. I feel helpless and out of control - like all I can do is stare at that stupid flashing picture. I wish I could 'sit back and enjoy the show' but I can't. Gladly it doesn't happen often and only had a headache follow once. It sure as hell never felt 'divine' though.....
 
Wish my migraines were as simple as you guys. Mine are usually me balled up in a fetal position with my arms over my head trying to keep my brain from cracking open my skull and spilling out.
 
I used to get those a lot. I just realized I haven't had one in years. To me the aura looks like what you see when you press on your eyeball.

Ocular migraines are vascular in nature, so maybe that's why you get them after donating blood.
 
Rhea said:
Playball40 said:
I hate hate hate when this happens. I've found they are brought on by catching a glimpse of a very bright but dense light by accident.
Click to expand...

Interesting, that matches many of mine, but not all. And it's usually a glimpse from peripheral angles. Other correlations include being very hungry while also fighting a virus, or being low on iron. (I get them more often after giving blood.)
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A friend of mine was always chewing on ice. We found out it was Iron deficiency! She was prescribed an Iron supplement and the ice chewing stopped! :)
 
Playball40 said:
I've been told if you take headache medicine (ibuprofen, Tylenol or whatever works for you) the moment you notice flashing you can ward off the headache part.
Jimmy Higgins said:
I had two ocular migraines in a period of three days last year. They were the only migraines I've ever had (that I'm aware of). It was bizarre! I was watching a movie at home, in the dark, and all of a sudden I noticed I couldn't see one corner of the TV screen. I reacted and thought something was obscuring my vision in front of me but realized it was me. I saw shimmering out of the side of my to the upper right. The loss of vision grew, and then diminished.

I had a headache afterwards and was trying to read up on what in the heck just happened, but had difficulty reading for about a half-hour as in it was tough to process the words.

Two days later, same thing, though the loss of vision was more the left. In both cases, it occurred in dimly lit areas. Haven't had one since.
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I'll try to remember that next time, took 39 years to have them the first time, and I think it has been about a year since I had the two of them. I'm surprised that people still have migraine migraines, because I thought they had come up with a super awesome drug to take upon onset of symptoms. But maybe that only works for a certain type of migraine.
 
That's really interesting. Migraines are often association with PMS and/or having your period. Wonder if iron deficiency is the reason.

Thomas II said:
Rhea said:
Interesting, that matches many of mine, but not all. And it's usually a glimpse from peripheral angles. Other correlations include being very hungry while also fighting a virus, or being low on iron. (I get them more often after giving blood.)
Click to expand...

A friend of mine was always chewing on ice. We found out it was Iron deficiency! She was prescribed an Iron supplement and the ice chewing stopped! :)
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Playball40 said:
That's really interesting. Migraines are often association with PMS and/or having your period. Wonder if iron deficiency is the reason.

Thomas II said:
A friend of mine was always chewing on ice. We found out it was Iron deficiency! She was prescribed an Iron supplement and the ice chewing stopped! :)
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Yes to craving ice because of iron deficiency. Easy fix once you know.

And yes, big triggers for women for migraines include PMS, stress, sleep deprivation. That trifecta was usually required for a full on migraine to occur.

Other big triggers for some people include some weather patterns/changing atmospheric air pressure. Impending snow used to cause them sometimes for me.

Generally speaking, hunger never was a trigger for me nor were any foods that I discovered.

Some people have migraines that are controlled via prophylactic drugs or botox; some people respond well to a variety of medications. For me, meds could take care of the light/noise sensitivity pretty decently, and the pain and nausea, but I still could feel....something not quite myself. That would last until I had some quiet time with reduced light or darkness (better) and preferably some sleep. Otherwise, it was kind of like having a hangover.

Looking back, I realize now that I had them from adolescence, onward. Mild usually during teen years but they did not respond to tylenol or aspirin and my mother would get frustrated because I was so cranky with such a head ache and would refuse to take an aspirin because it didn't help. I was just frustrated because people wouldn't leave me alone and kept making noise. My sister breathed so loud!
 
I've had them for over 35 years. On average they happen about twice a year. As far as I can tell, nothing in particular brings them on. There's no headache involved, just the bright 'light' blocking part of my peripheral vision for about 30-45 minutes.
The first one I remember having was also the worst one: When I was 20, I had one in which I was pretty much totally blind for over 30 minutes.
 
couch_sloth said:
I've had them for over 35 years. On average they happen about twice a year. As far as I can tell, nothing in particular brings them on. There's no headache involved, just the bright 'light' blocking part of my peripheral vision for about 30-45 minutes.
The first one I remember having was also the worst one: When I was 20, I had one in which I was pretty much totally blind for over 30 minutes.
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Wow. That could definitely, dangerously cramp your style. I suppose we're lucky not to have the associated migraine.

They happen infrequently for me but frequently enough that I can't remember the very last one. I definitely remember having one last September after consuming too much alcohol and being rather sleep deprived.
 
joedad said:
couch_sloth said:
I've had them for over 35 years. On average they happen about twice a year. As far as I can tell, nothing in particular brings them on. There's no headache involved, just the bright 'light' blocking part of my peripheral vision for about 30-45 minutes.
The first one I remember having was also the worst one: When I was 20, I had one in which I was pretty much totally blind for over 30 minutes.
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Wow. That could definitely, dangerously cramp your style. I suppose we're lucky not to have the associated migraine.

They happen infrequently for me but frequently enough that I can't remember the very last one. I definitely remember having one last September after consuming too much alcohol and being rather sleep deprived.
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Since that first one, they haven't been nearly as bad. Usually only 1/4 to 1/8 of my peripheral vision is effected.
 
couch_sloth said:
I've had them for over 35 years. On average they happen about twice a year. As far as I can tell, nothing in particular brings them on. There's no headache involved, just the bright 'light' blocking part of my peripheral vision for about 30-45 minutes.
The first one I remember having was also the worst one: When I was 20, I had one in which I was pretty much totally blind for over 30 minutes.
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Yeah, my wife is effectively blinded, but only for a few minutes.
 
Had one at work this evening, I think from eating a chocolate bar. Nothing else unusual I can think of.

The aura is like that old Bonanza TV show where the map catches fire and starts to burn from a point near the center then out toward the edges, only more colorful.
 
I get the jaggedy rainbow about once a month, but with no other symptoms. The first time was a bit scary.
 
I first got a "Scintillating scotoma" when I was sixteen. Scared the shit out of me, then it went away and I proceeded to forget about it. Next time was in my mid-thirties, also scared me because I was living deep in the bush, miles from any help. It also went away. Lately (in this time scale) they have been more frequent, every couple of years, then yearly. The penny finally dropped, I looked up "migraine" in Wikipedia, and there it was, amongst the symptoms. I do get headaches, but fortunately not associated with the aura.
Scotoma can have a number of causes, but I'm guessing that mine is a migraine -type, mainly because I haven't developed anything else over the years.
From Wikipedia: "Common causes of scotomata include demyelinating disease such as multiple sclerosis (retrobulbar neuritis), damage to nerve fiber layer in the retina (seen as cotton wool spots[3]) due to hypertension, toxic substances such as methyl alcohol, ethambutol and quinine, nutritional deficiencies, vascular blockages either in the retina or in the optic nerve, stroke or other brain injury, and macular degeneration, often associated with aging. Scintillating scotoma is a common visual aura in migraine.[4] Less common, but important because they are sometimes reversible or curable by surgery, are scotomata due to tumors such as those arising from the pituitary gland, which may compress the optic nerve or interfere with its blood supply."
Let's hope yours is as seemingly harmless.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotoma
 
I just scanned through the rest of the thread and was surprised at how many here have those symptoms, seemingly without the headache. Perhaps somebody should do a survey of migraine patients and find out how many are atheists who have only the scotoma, because, after all, correlation means causation.
 
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