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06 December 2006

Temporary Blindness? Or an Ocular Migraine?

A few years ago, I had a series of bizarre episodes where I'd have a blind spot that would get bigger and bigger until half of my field of vision would be eliminated... And then eventually things would return to normal. It was all very strange, it didn't hurt, and I wasn't sure what to do about it. I finally asked a doctor, who said I was having an "ocular migraine." And yes, I had the same quizzical look on my face that you do on yours right now.

From the Mayo Clinic website:

Ocular migraines are characterized by abnormal visual sensations. They occur most often in people with a history of classic migraines. Ocular migraines are sometimes followed by head pain.

When an ocular migraine starts, you may notice a small, shimmering spot near the center of your field of vision. Initially, you may only be aware that something isn't quite right with your vision.

However, within a few minutes, the shimmering spot expands. You may become aware of a distinct visual abnormality accompanied by patchy vision loss - usually affecting both eyes. The shimmering area may also be bordered by silvery or colored zigzag light patterns. This zigzag pattern eventually expands into the outer part of the visual field. Within 15 to 30 minutes, the visual abnormality travels far out into the side vision and then disappears.

The cause of ocular migraines isn't clearly understood. But they're thought to be due to abnormal stimulation of nerve cells (neurons) at the back of the brain. Like classic migraines, ocular migraines tend to occur irregularly but repeatedly. You may experience several ocular migraines within a week and then not have any for months or years. Some people have heightened sensitivity to light or sound before the start of an ocular migraine.

Ocular migraines typically need no treatment. However, if they're often followed by headaches, you doctor may recommend medication to relieve headache pain.

My ocular migraines were never associated with pain, and I could never figure out what triggered them. I got several in a relatively short period of time, and then after that I didn't have another one until last night. The one last night went away really quickly, though - much more so than the ones from a few years ago - though I have no idea why. I took two aspirin as soon as I realized what was going on, so perhaps that did it. In any case, it's all quite odd. Thank goodness it clears up pretty quickly - it's an uneasy feeling (to say the least) to watch your field of vision slowly shrink.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

This has significantly helped me figure out what the heck is going on. This happens to me at least twice a week and sometimes I do go a long stretch without one but the description nailed it. Mine are usually followed by headaches but not extreme headaches. Thanks to this I can avoid going to the doctor and getting ripped off again.

Anonymous said...

This has helped me as well. I've been having these for 10 years, followed by massive migraines. They will sometimes happen as often as 3 times a week all the way to as less as once a year.

Anonymous said...

Just had my first ever one today. Exactly as described, but confined to one eye. It was followed by a slight headache. Somewhat worrying as i have a university exam in 3 days and i cant really afford to be going blind.

Anonymous said...

I BEGAN HAVING THESE IN MY FORTIES, AND THEY STOPPED AFTER ABOUT 10 YEARS. THE LAST ONE I WAS TRAPPED IN A MOTEL IN THE STICKS, NO WAY TO GET ANY PAIN RELIEVER AND I LITERALLY PACED THE FLOOR ALL NIGHT, ALTERNATED WITH RED HOT SHOWERS ON MY HEAD. I REALLY DONT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, BUT THAT WAS TEN YEARS AGO, AND NO RECURRANCE, ITS ALMOST LIKE SOMETHING BROKE LOSE OR SOMETHING, THE LAST HEADACHE WAS ABOUT 20 TIMES WORSE THAN ANY BEFORE THAT. I DONT KNOW IF THIS IS ANY HELP, BUT ITS WHAT I EXPERIENCED.

Anonymous said...

I'm having one right now. I have had these off and on most of my life, but until a few weeks ago, hadn't had one in a decade. Recently, I have had several, and they follow the exact pattern that you mentioned, right down to the shimmerly lines with colorful waves. Thanks for the post...

Simon Gresco said...

Wow, thank God for this, I have had these episodes all my life, and this is the first I've read of ANYONE with similar occurances! The descriptions are uncanny. Mine start as a small shimmering orb in the very center of my field of vision, and then expand into the herringbone shape, covering the very left side of my field of vision completely. They trail off after ten minutes to an hour, and I had my first one in months a couple of hours ago. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE POST! Can't wait to show my doctor!

Anonymous said...

It's incredible how accurate that description is. This has happened to me a few times over the past couple years and it can be pretty disconcerting when you don't know what's causing it.

Anonymous said...

Yes, this is real, and I get them about once every couple of years. I have also had several within a few days of each other. One of my kids had his first one recently, and I was able to relieve his fears. Mine have several possible triggers, food, etc., but the one common thing is some kind of sudden physical exertion. Hope this eases someone's fears as well. BTW - I am not a Dr., but some of the prescribed medications (Imitrex, eg) made the headaches WORSE for me and a friend.

Anonymous said...

my wife has these and loses vision in both eyes and when it starts coming back she gets wavie vision,but no headaches after these,has a history of bad mirgines,blood pressure is good,she said it feels like lack of fliud within the brain,like after a spinal tap,does anyone else get these,email porscheremington@bigpond.com

Paceform said...

I had migraines as a kid ,not nice,this week i've had just whats described above 30 odd years since the last migrane.A slight head tightness and blurred vision for and hour or so.

Anonymous said...

I think I may have found a simple prevention method (if not cure?), so I want to share my experience.

If you want to read the details, keep going, but the tl;dr version is: pinch of celtic sea salt + water = cured!

A few weeks ago I signed up for a grappling class at a local gym. I've never done anything like this before, so it was a first for me. My sister tends to get weak/feel faint if she skips breakfast and goes out somewhere, so I figured I'd take that into account and made sure to eat something before my class. By this point I'd only been to the class like 5 times, and each time I ended up eating either a hardboiled egg or some meat just before. Pushed myself to near exhaustion in class, but I felt fine afterwards. One day, I was in a rush and didn't get to eat. I wasn't feeling hungry so I thought nothing of it and went to class like normal. About 30 minutes after the class ended, I was driving home from an errand when I noticed a blind spot in the center of my vision. Eventually, the center was ok, but the entire right half of my vision (both eyes) was one giant blind spot. The right side of the cars ahead just faded away, stop signs vanished, and the right curb was GONE. This was the first time I'd ever experienced anything like this, so naturally I was freaked out. Within an hour, my vision was back to normal, but a headache had started up. (I never get headaches, so this was also very unusual for me.)

It happened again, shortly after another class, and that's when I realized I hadn't eaten that time either. So, one day I didn't have meat or eggs, and I was in a rush, so I had a small breadstick, and the blindness happened a third time. I started researching it a little more in depth and came across a post mentioning salt. (The eggs and meat I'd eaten before had all been salted!) SO I just had to test it out for real. I skipped the food, and had a generous pinch of Celtic Sea Salt with half a cup of water, and...NO BLINDNESS AFTER THE CLASS! I've been doing this, on an empty stomach, for weeks now and the blindness has NOT happened again!! I think it may be related to dehydration and/or electrolytes. A little bit of salt actually helps you absorb water, otherwise you just pee it out immediately.

I hope my experience will help someone else who's experiencing this for the first time. I know it would have been awesome to have this info when I first went through it.