Ocular Migraines - Lafayette,CA

I get them a few times a year. I asked my opthamologist but I can't remember what he said. I do know that it wasn't anything alarming though. I do not get headaches but get a weird visual feeling and then my peripheral vision goes fuzzy and I can't see well. It's rather hard to explain if you haven't had one before, but the "sparkly arc" comes close. They usually last between 20 and 30 minutes.

I've had a couple. Basically they were just white light in front of my eyes - kind of like when you get a camera flash in the eye and can't see for a while, but these last an hour or so. No pain, though, just the light and kind of a tunnel vision at times. I don't get them often enough to even warrant bringing it up to my doctor, so no, I'm not on any medication for them.

I get them once every few months. They start out like Halo's around one eye and they eventually go into both. They are fuzzy around the outline and can blink off and on. The doctor said it is the way my brain processes the Migrane. I keet a journal and write down the symptoms, and the length. they usually don't last more than 25 minutes. My eye doctor told me they are normal and unless they occur very often and in the same months a lot or if anything changes ie. dizzy etc. not to worry. I hope this helps.

i know i used to get horrible.. what i called .. headaches behind my eyes.. i never felt like they were that horrible that they were migranes but they were definatley bad enough that i just wanted to keep my eyes closed.. extra strenght excendrine migrane always helped but what really has them almost completely gone.. i mean ill get one once in a blue moon but thats it... was when i went to the eye doctor to finally get glasses (i had stopped wearing my contacts and never got glasses for about 5 years) i told my the eye dr about the headaches and she said that i was putting such a strain on my eye muscles from not having any kind of lenses.. once i started wearing my glasses all the time id say about a week the headaches stopped.. is it possible your eyes are strained??

I just had one last week. I get them maybe 3 time a year. It starts with the aura/blind spots. Then the spots clear, I am fine for about 10-30 minutes, and then I have intense pain concentrated on one side of my head. And because that is not enough fun, I have extreme sensitivity to light and sound- where it feels like a flashlight is shining right in my eyes even when they are squeezed shut with my hands pressed against them and whispering sounds like shouting. And I usually vomit once or twice. I have a prescription for Imitrex, but that is not approved during pregnancy or breastfeeding so I have not taken it in a long time. I typically take either Excedrin Migraine or a pain pill like Hydrocodone or Percocet and then go to sleep. The sleep part is essential. If I do not take a good 3-5 hour nap after the pain hits, my symptoms can last for days. If I sleep, they are much better after the nap.
I have started identifying triggers- mine have included birth control pills, caffeine, severe allergic reaction to a specific flower (hyacinth), and stress "let down" (migraine following an extremely stressful event, in my case the day AFTER the bar exam).

I have had them too....only a few a year and never get the typical migraine headache after so no meds for me. I usually get the jagged lines in one eye. However I do have visual snow....bright flashes of light....white speckles when I look in the sun...halos and floaters often. But my eyes...and my brain are fine. But it still scares me sometimes.

Here is a link from Mayo Clinic.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ocular-migraine/AN01681
And one from webmd.
http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/ocular-migraine-...

I think this is what I've had several times and when I called the doctor they said to go to the ER if it didn't get better but in about 30 min. it got better. It says 5 min. at Mayo but mine lasted longer and scared me to death as I saw a sparkling circle and nothing in the circle. I was like blind in that middle part of the circle. I thought I might not get the vision back but it just went like it came...quickly. I couldn't read or watch TV or do anything with my eyes while I had it. I've had it about 3 or 4 times now. It's not fun and still scares me. I had no headache at all. I haven't really seen the doctor for just this issue. Do you think I should? There's no pain and it goes away so far.

I get them about once a month or so. I don't take medications, they are usually hormonally triggered during PMS or they might be brought on by wearing clothes that are too tight or flashes of light from a projector for instance.

I don't get bad headaches (maybe a dull one after the vision returns), but I get white speckles in my vision. If I'm driving, I have to pull over for 15 minutes until it passes. I close my eyes and wait for the the speckles to disappear.

I sometimes get them during PMS. Sometimes my head hurts with them, sometimes not. I see "heat waves," in a circular pattern. If I take my supplements - B complex, etc. - I'm usually fine.

We believe this is what my son has. We have been to Johns Hopkins Willmer Clinic in Baltimore. Since he didn't have one while we were there - they can't be for sure.

He is 9 years old. He holds his eye and says it feels like it is going to explode. We put ice on it - that helps. Since most people who get ocular migraines eyes get red, his does not.

We THINK it could be this or something with his sinuses. He had had MRIs done with and without contract and a CAT scan. He does have large sinuses but nothing else that would indicate what is causing his problem.

So no medication. Sorry I can't be of more help.

What Suzanne L described fits me to a tee. In migraine talk, they're called "auras". (Those sparkly arcs of light, that is.)

I had a spate of these last winter for a few weeks and while my head didn't suffer pain, it can feel a bit nauseous and unsettling. One morning I had three of them in a row and was pretty cooked by the time I was 'clear' of them.What truly helps me is to make a strong cup of coffee or tea immediately. I've learned to recognize the small gray blind spot that I get right when it starts, and then to do a cup of coffee or tea and a dose of three 200 mg advil. This helps me. So does lying down for a bit after I drink my caffeine.

I once spoke to an ophthalmologist about this, when I first began getting them. He suggested a niacin/aspirin regimen...which worked, but did turn my face beet red upon exertion. :) That said, this was 22 years ago, and I understand that there is better medication for it now. Good luck, LMTK. And I highly recommend a cup of caffeine over taking the Excedrin migraine medication-- the artificial caffeine in that is pretty brutal.

Typically ocular migraines are pain free.

I get both regular and ocular migraines. I don't do a thing about the ocular ones, they're kind of pretty, actually. Like a circular mirage sometimes, or ripples other times, or sparkles.

They never occlude my vision, and like most, are entirely pain free/ side effect free... so no worries.

I have no idea how often I get them. Regular migraines w/ no preventatives I get 3-4 a week. (With preventatives, maybe 1-2 a month). The ocular ones are just pretty, so I don't keep track. Every day sometimes, not for a few weeks other times.