Migraines with blind spots, and zig-zg patterns

I do not have this type of migraine on a regular basis...but I have had these type of symptoms before where you have the typical aura (do you know what that is??-the visual symptoms as well as other symptoms that tell you that the migraine is on its way...) and then the migraine comes and you continue to have visual symptoms that can be as bad as not being able to see AT ALL...

I specifically remember one night, I was laying in bed with my boyfriend at the time...we were watching tv, and something happened and the pain started creeping in...I started getting a grey spot of my vision that I just simply could not see. It slowly started getting bigger until I could not see at all from on eye and had limited vision from the other. I, of couse, like any other responsible person went to the doctor and eye doctor also, and found that it was "just" more migraine symptoms...

I have not had any that were that drastic since, I have been taking migraine preventatives and tried to keep the migraines from coming...instead of waiting for them to get here and then dealing with them.

Let me TRY to find some specific information and post it here...

Sara

Oh, I think having panic attacks with this type of migraine symptom would be understood, anytime vision is being taken away that is serious and will make you very scared and panicky...take deep breaths...and talk to your doctor about that, I have medication I keep on hand to fight anxiety and I can take it as needed...

Aura-

Some migraineurs get what is known as "aura" which are visual disturbances that can include wavy or zig zag lines, tunnel vision, blind spots,  strange odors, or even sensations in the body including numbness or "pins and needles" The aura occurs before migraine pain begins. These neurological events may last as long as sixty minutes and will generally fade once the pain starts.

Hi,

I have migraines with the same aural patterns. I don't go completely blind but everything becomes blurred. The worst thing is when I get those I know that I am going to end up with a headache and a queasy feeling (almost nauseous) in my stomach, and that the rest of my day would be wasted. I too had a MRI and opthamologist visits, which ruled out everything else.

One thing that has definitely helped me is attention to my diet. I used to eat rice, beans, chickpeas, peanut butter, lean meat. My diet was very healthy, but it turns out that all the items I have named above are high acid foods. I have made a conscious efforts to eat more fruits, most of which are alkaline. Even orange juices have an alkaline effect on the body, something which I didn't know. All this thanks to a friend who recommended me a book on importance of keeping our body more alkaline. Fruits, esplly, was something I never used to eat much of.  I have also pretty much given up on coke and other carbonated drinks.

So my regimen is keep eating regular meals, eat more fruits, drink a lot of water, limit carbonated drinks.

Since I have changed my diet, my migraines have practically gone. I got one this month and one last month, so am not saying that I am completely off the hook (though both times I either missed a meal/drank coke). However, I don't wake up each morning anymore, and worry if this day is going to be another depressing migraine day. Another thing, I keep raisins with me all the time now. When I did get my migraine the last 2 times, I just gobbled up a bunch of those and drank water too. Believe me, it works much better than the Imitrex I used to take.

I am not saying that this will work for everyone (I'd write a book if I thought it did :)), but hopefully it does help some of you reading this.

 

Post Edited (scm1970) : 9/28/2005 12:20:59 PM (GMT-6)

I get migraine headaches that involve visual disturbances, though not quite the same as yours. I have had them checked out and have been cleared by the doctor that they're just migraines. I believe they're caused by blood vessels dilating and putting pressure on part of the optic nerve.

I experience anxiety with my migraines which tends to make my headaches worse. I don't experience panic attacks but my headaches do pound worse the more upset I get. I have found valerian root, a natural remedy you can get at the health store, really good at calming anxiety.

Great posts everyone!

I was dumbfounded when it hit me that oranges and orange juice was one of my triggers...cause I love it dearly...I knew that it jacked up my stomach and was irritating the IBS issues...but when it hit me that it was triggering migraines too I wanted to cry (I am the kind of girl that can drink a half gallon of OJ in one morning!!!)

Why don't we list our known FOOD and other triggers????

Mine are weird,...and not at all the normal ones...

ALWAYS A TRIGGER:

FOOD-TOMATO(lasagna, spaghetti, chili) MSG (soy, chinese)

OTHER- WEATHER (storms, cold fronts, pressure changes, heck...any weather!) EMOTIONAL (like the crying fit I had last night!!! ) PMS (guys, thank God on that one) SCENTS (chemicals, perfumes, TAR!!!) LIGHT (fluorescent, flashing-police/ambulance-strobe) NOISE (even if the TV is up a little too loud)

SOMETIMES A TRIGGER:

alcohol, chocolate-in mass quantities, pizza, ice cream, extremely greasy foods, too much physical activity, oranges/orange juice

Well, I thought I had more...but can't remember off the top of my head..I will come back and edit as I remember...Everyone post and add yours too....That will help us all keep an eye out for new possible triggers?!

Sara

I too get the whole weird visual thing.  It starts out like a blinking light or a blind spot.  I was looking at my son and his chin was gone, then my vision started turning into a kalidascope then a zig zag shimmer.  It is so scary I think I am having a stroke.  I panic.  I have panic attacks anyway but it just freaks me out.  The worst thing is that on occasion I loose my ability to speak correctly.  I know what I want to say but it comes out garbled! I hardly get the headache but if I do it is just a dull ache.  I used to get one headache a year but lately I have been getting more.  I am trying to learn to be calm when this occurs but I have just had two in less than a week and that scares me.  I am not sure why I am getting them more frequent other than I am 43 and heading into menopause???

I have a VERY SIMILAR symptom to what Hairdoday has.. I am male, 37 years old. I first had this symptom in 1992, then it seems like I get 1 or 2 episodes per year. I also get visual disturbances, usually in the corner of my right eye.. I can't really focus on it but it seems to flash and get to the point where I cannot focus on an object (it seems like a blind spot). Also, I also have problems articulating my words. It's like I got a brain block and I cannot say what I want to say.. It's really scary! I have seen a few primary docs and both have said that I am having migraines. I also am trying to determine triggers but am not 100% sure what it is.. I am suspecting a few things.. Caffeine, Aspartame, Granola bars, and sodas (especially in aluminum cans). Now, I am not sure that this is causing the issue.. I can tell you I had some iced tea and lemonade mixed earlier in the day.. the lemonade was the "Light Lemonade" at Del Taco. I am thinking that it has aspartame.. but i am not sure.. again, I am just throwing a couple of things out there to see if anyone else has these things.. As far a headache, it seems I get a throbbing headache but in the back of my head. It's not severe it's just throbs a little.. this happened to be about 9pm last night and right now, i just have a throbbing Headache in the back.. I can deal with the Headache, I just cannot deal with the flashing light/visual issues and especically the issue of not being able to say what I want to say...

By the way, someone also mentioned on here having what appears to be a visual issue of a window with raindrops falling down.  I have had that too..  You can't really focus on it directly, it's kind of in the corner of your eye.. it's like you can see it in your peripheral vision.

Does this sound familar to anyone??? What's the deal?

Post Edited (mikemix) : 5/16/2008 1:01:45 PM (GMT-6)

 Hi,

 I am new here, but i have to let you know,i  have felt a great deal of comfort reading all the posts. I have for years suffered with migraines, with pain. Starting back in 1990 after my first child i had my first ocular migraine without the pain, this continued once a year, until recently when i was having them weekly. My symptoms were like a lot of you, with the blind spot and zig zag lines, feeling my words would come out wrong. I also suffer with panic attacks which i had under control, but since i have had these recent attacks my anxiety is so high. One of my biggest fears is going blind, and this is feeding into it. I am trying to keep track of what i eat, i can't figure out a trigger yet, but i have noticed the day before or of the attack, i am really tired, a little down and notice words come out a bit funny, like my lips are dry. Does anyone else experience this??? I have been worked up with MRI and CT's, eye docs and they all say migraines. It really freaks me out!!! I wonder if blocked sinues could lead to this, my CT showed i had very blocked sinuses, and now i am having very frequent attacks. I wonder if it is hormonal??? I am 43, not in menopause, but maybe perimenopause, it seems strange they started after my first child and then i had them in clusters after my other two children. Would appreciate anyones thoughts. I think i am going to try the aspirin.

Hello-
I have been getting these "ocular migraines" for a couple of years now, not too frequently up until recently (just had one this morning) but I have noticed that I always seem to get them when I have been extra stressed out and overworked, and not been getting enough sleep. the strange thing is, i have noticed the last couple times that they seem to be occurring at around 10-11 in the morning. I have never thought until today to see if there is a common food trigger. I was drinking a large cappucino before it started, so i am quite sure caffeine is not helpful to the situation.
I also suffer from a panic attack every time. The first time I ever got one, I had no idea what was happening to me, so my body naturally panicked and it was to the point where I thought I was having a heart attack or something. I wonder then if I still get the panic attacks every time because subconsciously my mind is rembering what my body did that first time, and just follwing protocol on how to react. It is terrifying, and I keep telling myself I just need to practice meditation and relaxation techniques, and it will help-does anyone have any input on that?

  Britmex,

    I definitely think that for me, the migraine comes first. I may already be stressed without realizing how stressed I am (I always look back after it has gone away and think about all that has been going on and realize, 'man, I really have been stressed!'). I first either get the blindspot or that "i've been staring at a lightbulb filament" spot in my vision and I immediately close my eyes and realize the zig-zag (or, lightning bolt as I like to refer to it)is there. It is always only in my left eye. I keep wondering if I have ever had anything happen to that eye that may be causing this and the only thing I can think of is about 10 years ago, I had someone shine a laser scanner from a register in that eye (nice, huh?). Has anyone else ever had anything similar happen that they think may have been the original trigger? It is probably unrelated, but you never know.

   Anyhow, as soon as I know the lightning bolt is there, the panic immediately hits. I try to make myself do deep breathing and calm down, but it never works. Usually I will call someone up on the phone and ask them to just talk to me about anything to try to keep my mind off of it until I can calm down and it starts going away. Family members, I have found, while they love you and mean well, are not the best people to call for this. All my family does when I call for that is tell me how concerned they are and that I need to go to a doctor. That really doesn't help the situation. The most luck I have had with that was when I called my boss at my 2nd job, she has a very soothing voice and when I told her I just needed her to keep my mind off of it, she was brilliant. She told me all about some things she heard on the news and celebrity gossip, the panic was barely there that time and it went away a little more quickly than normal. The next one I got I put on my iPod and listened to my favorite album(Funeral by Arcade Fire), it is an album I can lose myself in, I sing along with all the words and it just takes me away from whatever I am doing. That was a less horrible attack than normal also. Both of my last ones happened at work-interesting, right?

   Another thing I have started doing is carrying lavender with me. I haven't yet had an attack since I have started this (thank goodness) but I know lavender has a very calming effect when inhaled. And one more thing I have noticed is that I always seem to get really thirsty after an episode. So I am really starting to wonder how much of a role dehydration has to play in the whole thing- that could also tie in with the sinus thoery as dehydration is quite unkind to the sinuses.

WE MUST BEAR IN MIND THE FOLLOWING CAN ALSO PUT STRAIN ON THE MUSCLES:
If you work long hours on the computer the way you sit is very important and so is the chair you sit in.
We also tend sometimes to speak on our mobiles with our head bent holding the mobile between the neck and shoulder.
All these sort of thing puts strain on our muscles

Just talking about those migraines with an aura again, there could be a problem with scar tissue in the retina or other parts of the eye whcih are leaking.  I'm a teenage boy and lost an eye to cancer a long time ago and recently had a blind spot completely block out my vision similarily described as one of the first posts.  Since taht one time i haven't had a complete "blank out" such as before (about 4 months ago)  however weird zig zags or little areas which look like a television with no reception has stayed with me and seems to appear normally everyday, all day.  I was told by doctors to check out some forrums on migraines as to we haven't figured this thing out.  Another thing which happened before the blindness was losing my hearing.  This lasted about 10 minutes yet since there has been a ringing in my ear which is more frequent now.

I've had more headaches lately and i think i can relate what the blind spot looked like being similar to a time where i had a concusion.  While there are a lot of things which i have not explained about certain blind spots caused by a "broken" retina, the blindspots of what people on this forrum have described as a migraine are deifferent.  When i lost my sight due to (maybe) a migraine, (and now) the bilnd sot was not very similar to others which are located at parts of my detached retina. 

Sorry if this is a little hard to understand, i'm just writing this quickly before i hvae to go, but i would like to repost more about some things i've been going through to hopefuly help anyone who needs it and for them to potentially help me too.  I can understand certain things about blindness and blindspots caused by retinal damage,

Lastly, if someone is suffering from this trying to map out what you've done or encountered may help you to find something like a pattern taht may be cause for either a migraine or something else.  I've bin looking for patterns yet have yet to find something concrete and the same every time.  When i focus on the letters of this, they disapear at times however, in a couple minutes it might go away.  yeah so if this helps anyone or you have something to say to this "wonderfully" written post of mine it is apreciated.

anyone with an uncertainty i would advise to ask someone or have a check-up,