Ocular Migraines

At least once I year (Starting at age 13) I've gotten these weird migraines I've come to find out are called ocular migraines (Caused by stress or whatever can trigger a migraine. For me it's extreme stress and lack of sleep) where it starts with a blind spot appearing in your field of vision (You might notice you have trouble focusing your vision on anything) or you start to see this shiny zigzag shape that blinds you either in the middle of your vision or on the outer edges and it lasts for about thirty to forty minutes and then that's when the migraine sets it. It starts off as an ache on one side of your head and then grows to become the worst migraine you've ever had that lasts for the rest of the day and the only escape is sleep, if you can get yourself to sleep that is. And then when you wake up, it feels like your head was ran over by a truck as some point.

Strangely enough I had one of those today and class and warned the professor that I may not be able to pay attention to the presentations being given because I couldn't see anything properly and that I might have to leave the class to get to bed. Luckily he was understanding. As soon as the vision distortions stopped I felt the achy feeling start on the right side of my head and was expecting it to increase and thus prepared myself for if I would have to leave... Strangely enough, the pain didn't increase. It just stayed achy, much to my relief. I was able to stay the rest of the class and walk back to my apartment with no trouble and took some light painkiller and was fine an hour later. So that was unexpected. But still, the vision distortions really suck.

Anyone else get these or have gotten them? Any ideas besides relieving my stress to combat them or ways to simply get through them?

 

I've read that taking painkillers regularly (like aspirin, paracetamol or ibrufen) for these sort of migraines is not a good idea.
There are medicines that prevent them (like flunarizine, amytriptyline etc) which might be more beneficial in the long run...

 

Hey @derpytia !

I've gotten ocular migraines during my teenage years and part of my adult life too (2 or 3 per month when teenager, now it's 1 or 2 per year). As you, 30 minutes of partial-blindness in one eye, and after that, a strong headache and nausea during 2 days. I've taken lots of painkillers when this kind of migrains appears, but it has no effect on headache.

I think it's related to stress, lack of sleep or irregular sleep times. Everytime, it appears on evening or on saturday morning after a week of stressful work...

 

Perform an echo-color doppler of supra optic artery in order to estabilish a link between the internal pressure of skull, migraine and tinnitus! Also try to move your eye quickly from left to right and up to down and notice if your tinnitus change!
Best regards!

 

I get cluster headaches they are terrible. I think trobalt can help with migraines.

 

What you are describing derpytia is the visual aura of classical migraine and not ocular migraine. I get both ocular and classical (plus tinnitus)...whose the lucky one then? (NOT).

In classical migraine (the word 'migraine' being derived from 'hemicrania', meaning half head), there is usually a black or white dot which starts in the centre of the visual field of the affected side of the brain. This is followed by jagged lines which pulsate/scintillate rapidly and spread from the centre outwards to the periphery of one half of the visual feel of both eyes, and can be 'seen' with eyes closed as well as open.The jagged lines may be black and white or multicoloured. When the jagged lines have reached the periphery of the visual field, then there is usually an area of temporary visual loss on one half of the visual field (hemianopia) and the classical one-sided headache. The same half of the visual field is affected in BOTH eyes. The visual phenomena usually resolve in about 15 minutes....helped by taking 150mg of soluble aspirin at the outset.

I get the visual phenomena and the headaches at separate times. The theory is there is vascular disturbance in large blood vessels. These I started at aged 10, and must have had thousands.

Retinal migraine is quite different, usually with no headache, and is VERY scary. The problem is thought to lie in the retinal artery itself. The vision in the affected on both sides of the visual field in ONE eye. There appear to be multiple irregular black areas throughout the visual field in that eye and it almost looks like a pile of dirt has been thrown onto the retina. The visual loss persists for days, doesn't respond to aspirin, and makes the sufferer think that will have permanent visual loss. I was diagnosed by one of the few 'experts' on ocular migraine in Britain.I have had this 3 times in my life....horrid.

Anyway, whatever, migraine is a pretty vile sort of headache whether 'classical' (with visual symptoms) or 'common' (without).

Fungus

 

@derpytia

Do an echo-color-doppler of your supraoptic tract!

 

Hi, Viking. Can you please elaborate on this? I have a new form of tinnitus that has developed over the last month or so. I've had tinnitus in my left ear for years before this but that has always been a constant thing. This new form is in both ears and changes in frequency and consistency. And I do get it more when i wiggle my eyes back and forth quickly. I also get it mostly when I sit down like in my car or to do work in a chair. I had an ocular (or normal) migraine with the visuals described above. Since then I've had a number of visual issues including areas of blindness when I put pressure on my eye area too long or when I wake up. Sometimes blind spots in the center from too much laying on the eye or if I shift from left to right oval shaped dark spots appear. All of this has come on in the last few months and I'm looking for some answers. A general practitionar saw nothing wrong with my ears from her scope and I took antibiotics just in case. I did have a large cyst on my head that was MRSA that eventually went away. My fear is that it somehow traveled into my brain and is causing swelling and these issues.

 

I had my first one of these lastnight. No pain, just the psychedelic zigzag flickering visual manifestation. Not pleasant at all when you don’t know what is happening. Thank f for google.
Another thing added to my ever growing list.

 

I got one for the first time last year. It was the scariest thing I thought i was having a stroke.

 

I had one about it a year ago. Pretty scary but passed

 

I've had them about once a year since I got T. Never had any before T.

 

Hey! I have just started having ocular migraines last year, I’ve had two so far!
They are very scary, the first one i had back in August last year, I was at work and had one, I got stressed out and scared, I had no idea what was going on, the day after I got tinnitus! Then my tinnitus went away after one or two months because I just stopped noticing it.

Then in November last year I got my second ocular migraine and this one was a bit worse, saw the flashing lights and blindness in my vision, I got stressed out again over it, about two days later after my second ocular migraine I got Tinnitus again this time the tinnitus was worse, and I still have tinnitus 6 months later, it hasn’t went away.
I thought some how my ocular migraines and tinnitus had something to do with each other, because I had a ocular migraine and then tinnitus came just about after.
Unless the stress I was in during the migraines might had triggered the tinnitus?

Because I was in a flight for life reaction during the migraines, I was in panic mode and scared.

I have went back and forth trying to figure out what has caused my tinnitus, but can’t seem to get a answer.

 

I experience these migraines from time to time since I was 15. It was a regular thing that could happen every two months when I was in high school but now it has become very seldom, it maybe happens once a year. Indeed they are scary and weird

 

Can you ask you doctor for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatriptan
Be careful because sumatriptan has severe side effects.
Have you tried corticosteroids & to inhale > 95% oxygen for 1-5 mins ?

 

I get ocular migraines once every two years.

The first one in 2011 wasn't too bad with the multi coloured moving jagged lines but my last ocular migraine I had in August 2017 was the worst. I remember walking into the kitchen feeling a bit stressed out and looking out the window at the sky and seeing a moving blob in the centre of my vision which grew bigger until I couldn't see anything properly.

I remember freaking out and I actually thought I was going to faint. My peripheral vision blacked out and closing my eyes didn't help because I still seen the blob dancing about. This lasted 30 minutes then my vision went back to normal.

Fortunately, it didn't progress into a bad headache. All I had was a slight ache in the right of my forehead and behind my eye and feeling spaced out and nauseous. I went to my doctor who tested my eyes but they were fine but he told me to go to an optician to get my retinas checked but they were fine too. I was then diagnosed with ocular migraine.

 

Try taking magnesium for a while if you aren't already

I've had migraines all my life (a few times a year on average), and I haven't had one since I started taking magnesium every single day.