Ocular Migraine - Flashing Lights And Zigzag Like Having Stroke
Jun 17, 2014
I am 46 and have just started having these strange migraines, the first time I had one a couple of weeks ago , I thought I was having a stroke, saw flashing lights and zigzags and things were distorted like looking through broken glass but only one eye, that lasted about 15 mins then I felt sick and then I had a bad head which lasted a few hours , I went to the opticians who checked my eyes and said they were fine and then went to the GP who didn't even examine me just said these are ocular migraines, I have had two more this week, has anyone else had these or similar.
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Each day for the past three days I experienced a little disturbance in the middle of my vision which developed into a jagged zig-zaggy circle that eventually extended outwards and within 30 minutes it had disappeared.
I had something like this a couple of times in the past and the optometrist said "ocular migraine" and there was nothing to do for it but to let it pass and if I was driving just pull over.
So, for the past three days in a row I have gotten one of these all of a sudden. The visual disturbance goes away with 30 minutes, but now I get a headache afterwards. It is not a nauseating, leave work, drop everything type of headache, but it still thumps and on each time it was thumping in a different location on my head. It lasts about 3-4 hours, although last night it was longer. I still have a "heavy head" today but no flashes of light so far.
I have been researching and do you think I may have (rather than a ocular migraine), a classic migraine with aura? That may be stretching it. I am at a loss.
I can't get in to see a doctor for 5 weeks and my ophthalmologist is not available either. My only choice is the ER to hope they have an eye doctor on call. A general doctor won't even touch this here.
Please, I'm getting desperate and scared. What do you think it could be? By the way I forgot to mention , the lights I see are in both eyes, not just one.
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Last week I had my first ocular migraine. I was sitting on my phone and noticed a small flashing dot in the center of my vision. It was like when you look at something bright then look away. I thought it was from starring at my phone to long. So I got up, and tried calming down. I tried texting my husband and noticed there were missing letters that I could not see. I also had these blurry lines running across my vision. I called 911 and had a massive panic attack thinking I was having a stroke or going blind. By the time they got to my house they had gone away. I also went outside to get air, and came back inside and that made it 100x worse. My entire peripheral vision was flashing. Anyways they ran blood work, ekg and monitored my heart for two hours. Diagnosed ocular migraine and he told me the first one is always scary and nothing to worry about. ( I see my regular dr tomorrow) Now I am having insane anxiety thinking something is really wrong like I am gonna go blind, have another attack or I have a brain tumor. I am terrified of getting another one of these. I don't even want to leave my house in case it happens and I am alone. Can anyone help alleviate some of this fear for me? I am going mad concentrating on my vision 24.7
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I've had migraines throughout my life. Mine really peeked in my early 40s going through peri menopause they would be 3 days long. Now the painful migraines have gotten so much better and shorter. I also use Imitrex as needed.
I would also get an Ocular Migraine (visual disturbances such a bright zig zag lines, vibrating bright lines in vision) about every 4-5 years. They were checked out the first time and the doc said they were not harmful.
Recently my dog decided to put me on Atenolol to prevent migraines. After 3 days of being on them I started to have the Ocular Migraines every single day now! I've never had that happen. The Atenolol has stopped the painful migraines completely but I don't think I can handle something like an LSD trip every single day. This doesn't seem right. My doc doesn't think it's causing it but suggested I go off of it to see.
Anyone else with Ocular migraines?
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I'm wondering if anyone has this condition if they have found vit b12 injections have helped their symptoms of ocular migraine
I was getting shimmering most mornings when I woke and sometimes going from light to dark or dark to light and occasionally zigzags and even blank bits! Dr said it was probably ocular migraines.
I have just finished my loading dose and they have improved significantly.
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This has happened a few times and usually it comes and goes. I can have a few in the matter of a couple weeks and then not have it happen for a couple of months and then it rarely appear again. The first time it happened was after a big exam and I started having trouble focusing in class and then gradually a blind spot appeared in my central vision. It then became bright a multi-colored zig zag half circle in my peripheral vision and lasted about twenty minutes before floating out of my peripheral. There was no pain and no other symptoms rather than the visual distortion and I was completely panicked by the whole thing. I have noticed that it comes on during stressful times..and sometimes it will be just random. Because there is no pain I'm wondering if this is possibly an ocular migraine?... as opposed to a migraine aura. The weird thing is, is that I've never had an actual migraine with pain but my mom gets them so maybe family history could come into play. I've seen a NP about this but she was confused by it and just referred me to a neuro and said I would probably need a CT or MRI. She told me that ocular migraines always occur with pain but from what I have researched this isn't true. I currently don't have insurance so I probably won't be going to the neuro. I also take birth control so now I'm freaked out about the whole stroke thing but she assured me that I should continue (young age no other health issues). I was just wondering if anyone else has ever experienced this without the pain? and from experience is it dangerous or something to seriously be worried about?
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It was very rare for me to get migraines no other symptoms. But over past 3 years I have been getting them along with flashing lights, numbness in fingers, mouth and chin and my tongue goes tingly,, sometimes my arm can feel heavy but thing that scares me the most is I don't fell like myself its hard to explain. But recently getting more often, Nothing specific that I am doing that brings them on.
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I am not diagnosed as of yet. I do know that I have a chiari malformation 1. About 7-8 days ago I started noticing some visual changes in my left eye. I do notice intermittent pain/ pressure to my left eye and forehead. The best way I can describe the visual changes are as an ocular migraine- everything looks really bright, some blurriness, flashing lights, and the black letters on the bright white screen of my phone look a little dull- however these symptoms come and go over the day, they are not constant. I do notice that the symptoms come on with activity, bright lights/colors, heat. I did have a sinus infection 2 weeks ago and continue with the sinus pressure. I saw my eye doctor who completed a dilated eye exam and said all was normal. Has anyone else had these symptoms with optic neuritis? These symptoms are very concerning to me- didn't feel the eye doctor took me very serious.
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Does anyone else have migraines which start with lights in right eye then go confused I went doctors and my speech went funny I couldn't think what tablets I was on so I ended up in hospital thinking I was having a stroke had mri scan that was ok so they said it's just a migraine but I'm still feeling terrible days later anyone else have these please help so worried oh and my right side of cheek goes numb.
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In my jaw, it can sometimes be painful which seems to trigger neck pain and a headache that covers specifically the right side of my neck, the upper right-middle part of my head, and pressure on the right side of my face behind and under my right eye. My vision then goes blurry/hazy. On a side note, sometimes my jaw on the ride side makes a crackling noise when I open it slowly and focus on the area.
My symptoms started about 4 years ago when I woke up one morning to find that the vision in my right eye was blurred. The symptom would occur at random, day and night. I've seen multiple optometrists, an ophthalmologist, a general physician and a neurologist and no would has found anything wrong as of yet. I have found a few things though. (posting more below as i've run out of characters)
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Is anyone else experiencing ocular migraines and how frequently do they occur? My eye doctor wants me to have an MRI and my medical doctor prescribed propranolol.
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This is just a post to ease some peoples worries as i was very worried when this happened to me. I'm male 23 and i've been having ocular migraine on and off since i was about 15. normally i just got the usual aura in my right eye which went after about an hour and then i just got a long dull headache, not that painful, just making me feel run down and tired. But my most recent migraine was different: had the aura, then the headache, but i was left with a small shimmer across my right eye which would not got away! waited a few days, then went the optician who said there was nothing visibly wrong with my eye. i then went to my gp who told be to go to eye casualty as soon as poss, which scared me a lot! went to eye casualty and was again told there was nothing wrong with my eye and they did not know what it could be but it was too early for a brain scan and they hoped it would go away or i may have to live with it! basically i was fobbed off. this was now a week in and my eye still had this annoying shimmer across it. so i decided to wait another week. after two weeks in it eventually began to fade and now after 3 weeks in my site is back to normal. So if this happens to you, don't worry, it can happen and although it is not the norm for ocular migraines it is obviously some sort of side effect. hope this helps others to ease their worries and not to think the worst all the time like me!
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I have had silent migraines 24 years.. and recently had the first ocular one. With no warning, went blind for a few seconds, twice in ten minutes. The doctor confirmed it was not a stroke, ''just ocular migraine''. For most people, if the temporary blindness recurs, does the the time of the blindness usually last longer than a few seconds or for most people, does it stay at a few seconds? I am in my seventies.
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For years now I have experienced pretty regular headaches and occasionally I would get migraines. But when I was in a car accident in June, where I fractured my skull, had right temporal lobe hemorrhaging, and about a 9 day laps of time that I remember nothing off, I of course had terrible headaches right after the accident but when those went away I began to get frequent migraines. My mother, being a nurse told me to keep track of them because my injuries and symptoms put my at risk for seizures. Last week and this week I have experienced severe headaches or migraines almost every night but something has been different. These headaches have only been coming late at night, almost early morning, and when they happen I try to go to sleep. When I close my eyes (while the headache is still happening) I see flashes of light, like a strobe. They are very fast, one after the other. The flashes only stop when I open my eyes or when I finally drift off to sleep. I've never experienced anything like this. I am aware that many migraines can cause auras and flashes of light but I have never had that happen before and it's never when my eyes are open. My vision itself is never effected. Only when I close my eyes. Is this something I should be concerned about? Is it normal?
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I never suffered from migraine attacks until I was in my mid-40's.
They seemed to be linked to the beginning of hormonal changes related to the start of menopause. I would get a pain over my left eye (usually, though right occasionally), with a feeling of nausea and sometimes slight numb feeling on the side of my face. I would turn quite a pale white colour, and also feel very tired, yawning a lot. I would take medication, migraleve tablets and lay down in a darkened room. Usually, I would recover within 24 hours, though I would feel 'worn out' for a few days after the attack.
Since I have discovered by self analysis, that citrus fruits, especially orange juice (which I no longer drink), chocolate and strong coffee all seem to be triggers, which I try to avoid.
For the last five years, I have been clear of migraines, but have now started to get them again. I have passed the menopause but have had a lot of stress in my life recently, so I wonder if this is the cause of the recurrence? My last attack was quite different from the others I have experienced, in that I was feeling fine (though had been really tired the day before for no apparent reason) when I suddenly developed black zigzag lines across my left eye (very frightening at first). These went on for about 10 minutes and then slowly I developed a severe migraine, though this was not over one particular eye, but both. I had feelings of nausea and also felt cold at times. I took Migraleve pink and yellow but the headache is still persisting the next day. I wonder why I developed these other symptoms of visual disturbance. Can stress really do this to your body?!
PS I know there is a family history of migraine.
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I had classic migraines through my teenage years which stopped for a couple of years before continuing at on average one every couple of months with the odd instance of a back to back cluster of 3-10 at once. They were always the same 20 minute aura then axe in the head pain and repeated vomiting for 6 hours followed by a 24hr hangover. Over the years I have tried all preventers with only Epilim and Topiramate working for 18 months. I built up tolerance to Epilim and Topiramate gave me side effects that ended in a blood disorder so cannot take either any more. Beta blockers and antidepressants never worked and Lisinopril was also a short lived waste of time. The only triptan that ever worked was Maxalt rizatriptan but again it lost its effect after 6 months. Something weird has now happened and I wonder if others have had this? I am now 36 and in the last 6 months my migraines have totally changed. I still get the aura but if I take Express Nurofen and an anti sickness tablet straight away or use a heat pack on the back of the neck no pain or sickness comes just 6 hours of extreme tiredness. I always used to throw up any tablets so this is a miracle however the frequency has stepped up to between 5 and 20 a month so it is really impacting on my life. I have had an MRI and all is normal. I have also tried supplements and alternative therapies with no success. Botox and nerve blockers are the next suggestion but will they treat this scenario if there is no pain? Will it stop the aura too and prevent the whole episode? Help!
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My mother was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy on Sept 2nd, 1 week ago. She has left sided facial paralysis, but she also has COMPLETE left sided weakness. The left sided weakness started about 2 days after her face. The doctors have done CTs and MRIs with contrast and ruled out a stroke, but they do not know why she has left sided weakness. Has anyone else had complete left/right weakness with Bell's Palsy? Also since the diagnosis of Bell's Palsy my mother has been confused at times, her memory is horrible (can't remember her SSN now), has trouble saying what she is thinking at times, and is just NOT the same. Anyone with similar symptoms please help! The doctors are saying possible early onset of dementia??? My mother is 49. I have just never heard of all these symptoms with Bell's Palsy
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My spouse was (is) an alcoholic who quit drinking after 12 years but continued smoking pot, three times a day, everyday for now going on 40 years. He had a stroke one year ago, a growth on his thyroid which has expanded into his chest cavity. The stroke caused minor cognitive impairment, forgetfulness, inability to recall numbers, words and names. Perhaps anger management issues too.
The expanded portion of the growth measures 5 X 7 X 8 cm, long, wide and front to back. Dental infections also flair up regularly. Dental Hygiene is an issue. Surgery is eminent for the growths. With the news of the needed surgery, the regular, daily pot smoking has started up again. He stops smoking for weeks at a time, proof, he believes, that he is not addicted.
There have been other health issues, blood clots in lungs, chronic cough/ throat clearing, acid reflux, shortness of breath, overweight, high carb and high fat diet.
As I list these issues, I am not sure what the question is except, am I unreasonable to think this person could turn their health around if they stop smoking weed and eat healthier? It is hard to watch this behavior.
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Friend had stroke end of jan. He's now having serious retention problems. Drs not sure if it is neurological or physical. He's trying to urinate every 10 mins with acute pain. If it's neurological I wouldn't have thought he was trying to void. He's had a urethral catheter in since stroke till a few weeks ago and now got a convince catheter. Problem has got increasingly worse over last few months and last week extremely worse. He's due to go into hospital on Monday if bed available for other treatment. Today though I may insist on him going down to a&e as the pain is now getting much worse. He's even on morphine for other issues and pain goes beyond this. Any thoughts?
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I have to start with Cataflam therapy in a day or two and I have to say that I am not thrilled with the idea of using strong medications. I guess I am afraid of side effects, I have heard that Cataflam can cause heart attack and stroke, is that true?
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Hallo - my husband was taken into hospital a few days ago with a ?heart attack - but that (thank God) was not proven. They said it could be angina. But the next day after having been given Amitriptyline he showed the symptoms of a mini stroke and I couldn't understand what he was saying because of slurred speech. The GP (when he was discharged) said it was highly unlikely to be a stroke and he blamed this drug - as did all the hospital doctors.
This is very odd to me and can I ask whether it could be true? He hadn't been on the drug prior to admission, so I don't know why on earth they gave it to him in hospital.
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