<p>For about five years I’ve had some “spangles” appear for a few minutes in my vision and then disappear. After the usual round of family doctor, eye doctor, and then cranky-old-ophthalmologist I was finally diagnosed with “ophthalmic migraines” where I get the visual aura of a migraine, but not the headache that usually follows. Since it doesn’t happen very often and isn’t very troubling, I don’t worry about it. (I used to think it was either a detaching retina or a stroke. I can have a pretty active imagination.)</p>
<p>Today about 3:25 I was walking back to my desk after attending a little holiday get-together in our lunch room. I started seeing the flashes, but much worse than ever before. By the time I sat down I was seeing a sort of squished circle of dark and light bars running across the circle. The circle grew out from the center and kind of moved around. If I moved my eyes to the side, they would kind of move farther around my vision. The coolest part was that the dark and bright bars moved around the circle like lights on an old-fashioned theater marquis. If I hadn’t been pretty freaked out, it might have been kind of cool.</p>
<p>I went online and read that these auras usually last 20-40 minutes, and, sure enough, the circle and lines started to fade and were gone in 30 minutes. I remained photosensitive for another 15-20 minutes, and then the headache started. It was far from the worst headache I’ve ever had, but it has lasted a while. It is much better than it was at 5pm, but it’s not quite gone yet at 11pm.</p>
<p>I hope it never happens again, and my deepest sympathies to those of you who have been dealing with this (and much, much worse) for years.</p>
<p>If you start to get migraines on a regular basis I would recommend checking with a doctor about some type of controlling medication. They can be really helpful for dealing with the day to day migraines, although don’t prevent them all. I took one for a while when I first started getting migraines. I spent three days dealing with my first migraine, so I was glad the experience was over. Don’t get them much any more, fortunately. Is there anything out of the ordinary during your day that could have triggered the migraine, new food, artificial sweetner, etc.? It’s helpful to know your triggers to avoid migraines in the future.</p>
<p>Highly recommend the book-“Migraine”, by Oliver Sacks. It is medical and anecdotal. Very informative, very enlightening, also entertaining.
I began getting migraines in later years of high school, didn’t know what they were. After many years, finding the triggers was a big step. Now I rarely have one. If no one has told you, dark, quiet room is the best place to go.
Best of luck,
Jacdad</p>
<p>I’ve had migraines since I was 20. But I didn’t get the auras until about ten years ago. They were infrequent then, but have greatly increased for the last year or so. Weirdly, they don’t coincide with the headaches. I usually get a spate of auras (one time three in a row–left side, then right side, then left side again) for a few days, and then a period of headaces over about another three days (basically, one continuous headache which I partially control with drugs). At one point, I gave myself an ulcer through overuse of Advil, which I can no longer take at all :(. </p>
<p>Just to add to the fun, this summer I started having bouts of double vision also, which led to copious visits to numerous specialists, an MRI, and the knowledge that I have an enormous cyst in my head (fist-sized) which has nothing to do with any of the symptoms and is considered totally innocuous, another smaller one of a different type which is probably innocuous but must be watched “just in case it grows”, a nevis on my retina which also must be watched, and no answer to anything, but that the double vision might be a rare symptom of migraines.</p>
<p>I know way too much about my brain now, none of it useful, but the pictures of the holes in my head are fun to show at parties…</p>
<p>My goodness, WashDad, this is not a 70’s light show–this is your brain. Go to a specialist and be prepared in case there’s a “next time” that is not just as worse, but worster.</p>
<p>WashDad, I would encourage you to see someone also, particularly if you have another one soon, or have any lingering neurologic effects.
But, you can have isolated migraines, complete with auras. I had one a few years ago - I thought I was having a stroke because the visual aura was so strong. I have had vascular hormaonal headaches for years, but nothing like this. I talked to a neurologist friend who said isolated migraines can just happen, and I may or may not develop regular migraines (I haven’t, this was about 5 years ago).</p>
<p>There are effective medicines to prevent migraines in some people. I have been taking a beta-blocker (Atenelol, the generic for Tenormin) for years. It has no major side-effects (for me, anyway) and definitely prevents the migraines. When I’m taking atenelol, if I feel a headache coming on and take some Ibuprofen promptly, the headache will usually go away or at least remain manageable. If I forget to take the atenelol (usually if I’m travelling) I will end up with a whopper of a migraine in a couple of days.</p>
<p>Key for migraines - take whatever pain medicine you’re taking ASAP. As soon as you get the aura, go for the ibuprofen. If you wait, it’s too late. In many people (I am one) the migraine causes nausea, and at that point my system will not absorb the pain medicine.</p>
<p>I also have found that Tylenol is useless for migraines. Stick to any brand of ibuprofen. Caffeine sometimes also helps.</p>
<p>Also, take notes when you get a migraine - what have you recently eaten, or where have you been? Common triggers are wine/alcohol, lunch meat (or anything with preservatives), cheese and chocolate. For some people, diet soda is a problem. I find that if I don’t get enough sleep, I’m more prone to headaches. For years I got headaches everytime we went to my in-laws for the holidays. I eventually realized that lack of sleep, eating tons of sugary/salty/junk foods, and drinking lots of diet soda all weekend was just my way of begging to get a migraine.</p>
<p>Thank you all, and for the PMs. I’m making an appointment to see my doctor as a first step.</p>
<p>I had been in a really tough business meeting earlier and was pretty stressed out. (Something I had said was taken out of context and used to criticize me, so “pretty stressed out” is an understatement.) Does stress trigger migraines in some people?</p>
<p>It makes me hate humanity and want to kill people who talk on cell phones and nearly hit me in the crosswalk. Blonde girl in the Jetta–I am looking for you.</p>
<p>Stress can trigger migraines in some, in others release of stress. When D got her ED notice earler this week (accepted to JHU) I got a migraine! D gets migraines from stress, I get them from release of stress.</p>
<p>I love the look people give me when I tell them I have NO cell phone. In my business people live and die by them. But I have gotten by without so far and don’t feel the need to join the dark side yet. I am attracted to the I Phone because I could do other stuff on it while stuck in an airport or whatever.</p>
<p>WashDad, so sorry to hear about your migraine. I’m a member of the club too. The good news is there are great medicines that will stop a migraine cold. Mine are just like yours as far as the light show goes, but I also get aphasia, and can’t remember words like “aphasia.” If I take a “triptan” (good medicine: Imutrex, Zomig, many others), I don’t get the headache and get my words back. </p>
<p>Keep your doctor’s appointment, arm yourself with drugs and find the one that works. For me, having the pills in my pocket when I’m entering stressful situations is often like carrying an umbrella.</p>
<p>I get migraines that are hormonal related- but since I have been taking extra B vitamins especially niacin, I haven’t noticed any.
But before they were gawdawful and would last for three days and nothing got rid of them.</p>
<p>My H gets cluster headaches- which I think are migraine related and what men tend to get- the medication is bad to be on for very long I think but I have also read that melatonin is supposed to help & it does help him.</p>
<p>Medications–I take Zomig. It knocks it out, but it often comes back a half a day or so later. usually it takes a few days to get rid of it completely. The problem is that my insurance plan only allows a few of these a month, and they are expensive!!! Ibuprofen can help, but like I said, I gave myself an ulcer using it, and now i can’t!</p>
<p>I stopped taking the Zomig when I have an aura, because my auras and my headaches do not coincide, for whatever reason.</p>
<p>The light show can be impressive, though! Sometimes at night I wake up with it. It’s there even when my eyes are closed in the dark–a bright, flashing diamondback snake pattern with a kind of curlicue at the end. Pretty trippy, for sure.</p>
<p>Any food with MSG at the holiday party? That sometimes triggers migranes.</p>
<p>Also…for the light sensitive part…sunglasses sometimes help…although people look at you funny when you’re wearing them indoors. (However…when in the middle of a migrane…people looking at me funny is the least of my concerns!)</p>
<p>Also…you didn’t mention seeing a neurologist as one of the doctors you initially consulted. Should probably consider a basic evaluation…just to rule out anything else that might be causing the problem.</p>
<p>I used to have at least 2-3 a month. I did two things: I take feverfew prophylactically three times a day, and I stopped eating peanuts. In the last ten years I have had only 2 migraines, one of which I truly believe was on purpose to avoid doing something I did not want to do (it worked…spent the day in bed!) Do pay attention to what the food triggers may be. I love peanuts, but they are not worth the price.</p>
<p>I second these triggers- lack of sleep, stress, junk food/cold cuts(nitrates for preservation I think). My drug of first choice- Extra strentgh Excedrin, a combination of Aspirin, acetominafen and caffeine. Once on the path to migraine I seem to crave peanuts, but now I know to stay away from them, they make things worse.</p>