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Ever have an ocular migraine?

#22
I used to get them all the time. But I had a cure for them. I could tell when one startsd coming on as I could sense my vision start narrowing down to tunnel vision. 2 Motrin right then and it'll go away in about 15 min. - avoiding the tunnel of color. Had to be Motrin, other types didn't work (for me). They stopped happening a couple years ago all on their own for whatever reason.
 
#23
I'm surprised that nobody had mentioned having one while driving. The first one I had, I thought I was going blind while in traffic. I couldn't figure out what was happening because I could see unless I looked at something. My periphery was fine, but the center of my field of vision was blurred and there were crazy lights and zigzags at the edge of it. Frightening experience. I've only had one a handful of times, but never had the traditional migraine headache.
 
#25
I get them maybe twice a year. Vision goes soft in the center so I know it's coming and then the squiggles start. I never get a headache, just the light show. Not certain what triggers them, but I had one triggered when I looked down at a pot of boiling water that was lit from above by a bright hood light. It looked similar to a migraine with aura and kicked it off.
 
#26
Only had that happen to me one time. I remember typing messages to my boss explaining that I was going to lay down, but I just had to hope my typing was reasonable because I really couldn't see the screen in front of me. Thankfully it wasn't a painful migraine, but it was definitely weird. I'm glad I had heard of ocular migraines before it happened to me or it would've been even freakier.
 
#27
Yep. A few times a year. It's always a black and white zigzag pattern. I think the trigger is moving from one area to another where there's an extreme change of light. Also sometime I get them looking at the computer screen when it's displaying something very bright.
 
#28
I experience these from time to time. Generally when i start to see things, i immediately take dolipran and it helps avoiding the pain. I feel the migraine is here, but if i don't shake my head, i don't have pain, at least so far.

BismarckHerring said:
I have these sometimes, always followed by migraine headaches. Thankfully, they’ve getting less frequent and less intense as I get older.

I’ve also had a different kind of migraine aura called hemianopia a couple of times, where the left half of my visual field just disappeared. That really freaked me out the first time. Things suddenly just stopped having a left side. It wasn’t like I couldn’t see what was there, there was no ‘there’. A bit like the blind spot, but for half of the world. I remember reading something and getting very confused because all the words were weird. Then I realized I couldn’t see the first letters of the words.

So that last sentence would read something like ‘hen I lized I uldn’t ee he rst tters f he rds’.

Very scary, but it only lasted a couple of minutes. By the time I called a doctor it was gone and I had a one sided headache, and he quickly diagnosed it as a migraine with an aura.
Click to expand...
You're right to be scary: what you describes is also a stroke symptom. If one day it happens and doesn't stop quickly, call immediately a doctor for stroke suspicion.
I had a stroke in 2018, small one hopefully. I lost half my speaking hability for an hour, and had the chance to be treated quickly, cause my job is 10 minuts driving from the main hospital here.
After that, i followed a training program explaining among another what is a stroke, what's happening, and what are the possible symptoms. Losing suddenly half the vision and having trouble reading words is one of them.
And not to be the black bird here, but they also told us that migraine with aura increase stoke risk versus people that don't have these kind of migraine. So take care of you all gals & guys.
 
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#29
I've gotten these for many years. They were originally accompanied by a bad migraine, but after a year or so of acupuncture focusing on that issue, I only get the vision part now, with a small manageable lingering headache after. Usually takes about 30 mins for the visuals to clear. My father gets them too but he never got the migraine part. IME they are usually triggered by dehydration, stress, and then some kind of visual trigger like a glare or weird light in a room. So long as I don't have to be "on" (like presenting or performing), it's kind of a nice reminder to go sit somewhere dark for 20 mins and not look at a screen.
 
#30
Reading through these posts, seems there are different versions of this. Mine are just zigzag distortions in revolving ring surrounding central vision, but I can still see clearly what is in center. I've never felt pain.
 
#31
I do maybe once a year. Basically it makes my peripheral vision blurry and I can’t focus on anything unless I’m looking right at it. Kind of gives my vision an antigua burst if that makes sense. But yeah, they shut my whole day down and ruin my plans. I get weird vision for about an hour or 2 then I get a head splitting headache for the rest of the day. If I have one, I have to stop what I’m doing no matter how important or what time of day and go straight to bed, as the whole day is basically gone. As a result I drink stupid amounts of water.
 
#33
BassicJazzy said:
Reading through these posts, seems there are different versions of this. Mine are just zigzag distortions in revolving ring surrounding central vision, but I can still see clearly what is in center. I've never felt pain.
Click to expand...
If you watch the video linked in the OP, there are two similar but distinct things that happen, involving different parts of the visual system. Reading the accounts from so many here, it seems even these two phenomena are manifest differently in individuals.
 
#39
I'm in the club. 2012 was a rough year for me, I had some actual migraines that year. Since then, I've only had the ocular type that have never become true migraines, though when they occur I do feel some pressure (my term for it) in my head.

My first optical migraine was scary for sure, but my opthalmologist told me not to worry. I get them a couple/few times a year. It's unfortunate, but I'd rather have optical distortion than the intense pain of a true migraine.
 
#40
I get them occasionally. The first time I had no idea what was going on and could barely see my phone to call my wife. Woke up the next day with a headache which lasted 2 days.
Had a few over a few months after that then nothing.
Just had one about a month ago after not having had one for 10 years.
Once the vision thing stops is when my headaches would start.
 
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