Any Silent Migraine/Occular Migraine Sufferers

[dejr_8]

Just looking for shared experiences...

Yesterday I had a vision issue where I was seeing a white zig-zag line right in the middle of my field of vision. This happened for about 45 mins.

I went to Urgent Care yesterday and my primary care today and they want to focus on it as a TIA event over a silent migraine. The silent migraine sites I found on the web said that it is usually misdiagnosed as TIAs. And boy do my symptoms match up with an occular event. I'm going to see an opthamologist in the morning to rule out any issues with the eye itself.

If you have been diagnosed with Silent or Occular Migraines was it hard to get the proper diagnosis?

Thanks in advance.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I was diagnosed as a child and no it wasn't hard to get a proper diagnosis at all. My sister also has occular migraines, and so do some of my cousins. My sister has some trigger foods (red wine, some cheeses, and I can't remember what else), and I don't seem to have any identifiable triggers. For me at least, a very strong cup of coffee will knock the occular migraine out if I drink it early enough in the migraine.

 

[dejr_8]

LoveBWVVBR

What are you symptoms? Do you get a headache as well?

 

[lovemygoofy]

I'm just starting the process of finding if I have migraines. I don't think I have the kind that you are speaking of but it's just nice to know what's wrong. After I went to the opthomalogist on Monday, I was told to get to the neruologist soon. I start quite a bit of testing next week.

I hope you feel better soon and find out what's wrong.

 

[wheeler1]

I get these! Not terribly often but I remember the first time it happened I was terrified! I was pregnant and truly thought I was having a stroke.
It starts out has a small, quivering zig zag line that turns into a zig zaggy circle. The circle gets bigger and bigger and I cannot see inside the circle at all. So as the this quivering zig zaggy circle gets bigger, I completely lose my vision.
I usually feel fine while it happens but after am usually very tired. Wiped out even. The last time it happened I had a bit of a headache as well but nothing too alarming. Advil took care of it but I was tired for quite awhile after.
I usually have my vision back within 20 to 30 minutes. Its scary when it happens...

 

[DisneyPhD]

I get these, but I have never really done much for them. I guess I don't freak out much. They come, they go. Normally I need to go to bed and close my eyes and rest for at least an hour to get them to leave. If I don't they I will get nauseous and start to feel pain. If I feel like I am going to throw up I take a zofran now (left over from pregnancy sickness.) Otherwise I take some pain meds and rest.

I have mentioned them to my eye doctor, he never seemed very excited about them and besides needing glasses I have nothing wrong with my eyes. These started before I needed glasses (in college.)

The biggest pain is they always seem to happen when I am very busy and active and the last thing I want to do is lay down in the dark.

 

[NotUrsula]

Yep, ocular migraines are common, much more likely to be the problem than something disastrous like a brain tumor. You can get them from stress, or from more common migraine triggers like trigger foods or flashing strobe lights.
Neurologists will refer to the phenomenon as an "aura". In most migraine sufferers the aura comes first and then the pain hits, but some people just get the aura with no pain.

The trick is that every individual's aura looks different. My sister gets the appearance of crackle-textured glass, while one of my nieces gets circles. Personally I get wavy black and white lines, just like you used to get on TV screens. The aura pattern always fills part of the field of vision for awhile, usually on one side, and will normally fade away in less than an hour.

It's pretty much not a big deal unless you happen to be driving when it hits. If it does, pull off the road *immediately* and wait until it is gone before getting back on.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

LoveBWVVBR

What are you symptoms? Do you get a headache as well?

No headache...just vision loss. It's usually preceeded by an "aura," which is like flashing lights for me. I used to get regular migraines too, although drinking 2-3 cups of coffee a day seems to stave them off. I'm lucky in that regard.

 

[mrsltg]

I had my first occular migraine last month. I had been working on spreadhseets all day and all of the sudden my vision got weird. I tried to put on my reading glasses, walk around, close my eyes - NOTHING. Eventually I lost my peripheral vision. It was terrible and frightening. It all ended within an hour. The diagnosis was quick and painless.

 

[Disney Ella]

I have had three ocular migraines in the last twenty years. They always start with the jagged light (which is actually kind of cool to watch), an uneasy/queasy feeling and then the loss of peripheral vision. The first time I got one, I got a very bad headache with it. The other times, I got a headache, but not nearly as bad as the first one. I diagnosed myself and my doctor agreed with me.

 

[cybrkitn]

I get those every now and then and have been told they are Migraine Aurors. It usually will take about 45 minutes before I can fully see again. For the migraine part, Excedrin works in 15 minutes for me but I have to make sure not to have too much caffeine or I'm bouncing off the walls

 

[bengalbelle]

I get them too, though not very often.

My first diagnosed migraine was first thought to be a stroke. One side of my body went paralyzed. I was 10 years old.

Now I get the occular migraines more frequently than regular migraines. Sometimes I lose my peripheral vision, other times it's wavy lines or flashy dots. I don't always have a headache after.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

DW MeanLaureen gets them with no actual headache migraine. She went to the Eye Institute of VA when it started and they said it was more than likely stress related. She has noticed that they come fast a furious when she is stressed out - up to 3-4 a day at times!

 

[GottaGetToDisney!]

Glad to know I'm not the only sufferer! I just had one this past Saturday, which started when I was at work And I haven't had one since July! That's how they are for me: unpredictable. Sometimes I'll have a few in a row and then I can go for months without one. I get the colored, wavy lines. Then, exhaustion and a dull headache afterwards.

Gotta Get To Disney!

 

[SeaSpray]

I've gotten them. Scared the heck out of me the first time! It was when my DS19 was only 2 years old; the first thing my doctor told me to do was immediately stop taking my birth control pills. (This was before they were diagnosed).

I've had several more since, but I don't worry or stress when they happen because I did have a brain MRI done just to be sure, and it turned out fine. I don't get any pain with mine.

 

[tiggersmom2]

I have these, so does my brother. What helps ours is to IMMEDIATELY take a bendryl at the first sign of the aura. It really helps to alleviate the aura more quickly. Sometimes I will have the aura for up to 2 hours if I don't catch it in time!!!

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I get these! Not terribly often but I remember the first time it happened I was terrified! I was pregnant and truly thought I was having a stroke.
It starts out has a small, quivering zig zag line that turns into a zig zaggy circle. The circle gets bigger and bigger and I cannot see inside the circle at all. So as the this quivering zig zaggy circle gets bigger, I completely lose my vision.
I usually feel fine while it happens but after am usually very tired. Wiped out even. The last time it happened I had a bit of a headache as well but nothing too alarming. Advil took care of it but I was tired for quite awhile after.
I usually have my vision back within 20 to 30 minutes. Its scary when it happens...

WOW! What a great description! I get pretty much the exact same eye disturbance when I get a migraine! I hate those zigzag circles. The only good thing for me is that I discovered that a major trigger is pressure on my neck, or twisting my head too much. If I am very careful about posture, I can almost stop the migraines. But I do still get them occassionally (like one every few months), but nothing like I used to get (like 2 a week!).