Oftalmic migraine anyone?

April 18, 2006

Dear all,

yesterday I had a little adventure. A while after getting up in the

morning, I started going blind. Ten minutes later, I could barely see

the roughest shape of things, and the images in my eyes vibrated and

flashed like crazy. The patterns and flashes were exactly the same in

both eyes, so this is not an eye problem but one of the brain! After a

while, it started getting better, and half an hour later I was back to

normal. Nothing happened except for the visual symptoms.

More than a bit worried, I went to the company paramedic. He sent me

down to the city at once (I work atop a high mountain, and during the

work shifts I stay here overnight). I was admitted to emergency, and

taken up by the grinding wheels of modern health care, put into I don't

remember how many machines, drawn almost empty of blood, all the lot...

In the evening, very tired and almost 1000 dollars lighter, I got the

diagnosis of Oftalmic Migraine [Editor's Note: Opthalmic Migraine], and I was

told not to worry about it,

that it wouldn't cause any damage except for the obvious discomfort of

the episodes, which would repeat from time to time, and I was also told

that it is a common accompaniment to PA!

I had never heard of this thing, and therefore my question to you: Did

anyone of you also ever had such a bad sight attack?

The doctor told me that the oftalmic migraine comes with many different

sorts of visual symptoms, but that flashing stripes of light and blurry

vision were the most common, and that most usually it is followed by

severe headache. I got only slight headache...

Well... for my money at least I got a nice set of full-color images from

inside my head, sliced up into thin sheets, seen from all sides, with a

gory amount of detail. I wonder if I should use them to embellish my

living room.

Cheers,

Manfred.

----------------------------

Visit my hobby website!

http://ludens.cl

----------------------------

April 18, 2006

Hi, Manfred!

I get migrains, but with severe pain. For many years, however, my brother got

the opthamalogic with no pain. And thank goodness that's one pain you were

spared!

Good luck!

Ruth

Manfred Mornhinweg <mmornhin@...> wrote: Dear all,

yesterday I had a little adventure. A while after getting up in the

morning, I started going blind. Ten minutes later, I could barely see

the roughest shape of things, and the images in my eyes vibrated and

flashed like crazy. The patterns and flashes were exactly the same in

both eyes, so this is not an eye problem but one of the brain! After a

while, it started getting better, and half an hour later I was back to

normal. Nothing happened except for the visual symptoms.

More than a bit worried, I went to the company paramedic. He sent me

down to the city at once (I work atop a high mountain, and during the

work shifts I stay here overnight). I was admitted to emergency, and

taken up by the grinding wheels of modern health care, put into I don't

remember how many machines, drawn almost empty of blood, all the lot...

In the evening, very tired and almost 1000 dollars lighter, I got the

diagnosis of Oftalmic Migraine [Editor's Note: Opthalmic Migraine], and I was

told not to worry about it,

that it wouldn't cause any damage except for the obvious discomfort of

the episodes, which would repeat from time to time, and I was also told

that it is a common accompaniment to PA!

I had never heard of this thing, and therefore my question to you: Did

anyone of you also ever had such a bad sight attack?

The doctor told me that the oftalmic migraine comes with many different

sorts of visual symptoms, but that flashing stripes of light and blurry

vision were the most common, and that most usually it is followed by

severe headache. I got only slight headache...

Well... for my money at least I got a nice set of full-color images from

inside my head, sliced up into thin sheets, seen from all sides, with a

gory amount of detail. I wonder if I should use them to embellish my

living room.

Cheers,

Manfred.

April 18, 2006

Hi Manfred

Migraines and PA is a new one on me! Sure does sound like you had a

classic migraine. It's good that your " prodromal " ( symptoms that come

before the headache ) period isn't followed by a bad headache -

usually that's what happens. I had a friend in school who had

opthalmic migraine and only had the vision symptoms and no headache,

much like you. It happened only rarely to him.

BTW - forgot who - but there is some famous painter whose inspiration

was the visions he saw before migraines.....

Hope it's a long long time before you have another surprise like that

- can be very scarey! -

April 19, 2006

Hi Manfred,

I am so glad you got a diagnosis so quickly. Sometimes these scarey

episodes take a long time to figure out. The last " light show " episode I had

was

after having my regular eye exam for glasses. It took nearly four hours for my

eyes to readjust after being dialated and it scared me to death. I have

never had it take so long before. I am glad I wasn't driving! I would not

have

been able to get home. I cannot handle the sun or any other bright lights

in my eyes and I know it is the PA and the methotrexate I take. I have a

collection of floppy hats that my family has fun teasing about, but they don't

bother me. One of the perks of being older than them is I can be as excentric

as I want to without having to tell everyone that I must wear them to save my

eyes and to prsevent migraines. Good luck and God Bless.

Janet

April 19, 2006

I get opthalmic migraines and have for many years preceding my PsA

diagnosis. I will have a few within a short period of times and then

have a long break with none.They are not accompanied by a headache. I

can remember still how frightened I was by the first one, thinking

the worst. Sometimes they last only a few minutes , occasionally

20-30 minutes. they look like a sawtooth rainbow that gradually

widens out til it's out of my field of vision. Mo (from MA).

At 07:12 PM 4/18/2006, you wrote:

>Dear all,

>

>yesterday I had a little adventure. A while after getting up in the

>morning, I started going blind. Ten minutes later, I could barely see

>the roughest shape of things, and the images in my eyes vibrated and

>flashed like crazy. The patterns and flashes were exactly the same in

>both eyes, so this is not an eye problem but one of the brain! After a

>while, it started getting better, and half an hour later I was back to

>normal. Nothing happened except for the visual symptoms. information

>(Over three years of messages and answers).Feel free to browse them

>at your convenience.

April 22, 2006

Dear Mo, Janet, Norell, and all...

> I get opthalmic migraines and have for many years preceding my PsA

> diagnosis.

So it is probably NOT connected...

> They are not accompanied by a headache.

That's the same situation as mine, and according to the neurologist

that's not very common.

> I am so glad you got a diagnosis so quickly. Sometimes these scarey

> episodes take a long time to figure out.

That was thanks to a sort of intensive care! The organization for which

I work is well respected here, and so when they send someone to the

clinic, the red carpets are in place! Otherwise the process would have

taken a few weeks. :-)

> I cannot handle the sun or any other bright lights

> in my eyes

That's something many people with migraine report, but interestingly I

have no trouble with bright light. On the other hand, I'm getting ever

more sensitive to high contrast situations.

> and I know it is the PA and the methotrexate I take.

The neurologist told me that migraine is a somewhat common accompaniment

to PA, and asked me what medications I take. I took the opportunity to

ask him which common PA medications are bad for migraine, but

methotrexate was not listed. Mostly he advised against anything

containing ergotamine derivates, because they can (rarely) cause severe

complications to migrainists. So, take care with that kind of pain killers!

> I have a

> collection of floppy hats that my family has fun teasing about, but they

don't

> bother me. One of the perks of being older than them is I can be as

excentric

> as I want to without having to tell everyone that I must wear them to save my

> eyes and to prsevent migraines.

That's great! But in truth, we ALL should just do the things that are

(or feel) good to us, even if they go against fashion! Even the younger

among us! And regarding excentric headwear, on my website, in the

radiactivus section, you can admire a photo of me climbing a lone

antenna mast, wearing a large straw hat! :-)

> Subject: Ophthalmic migraines

>

> I'm not sure if I spelled that right! [Ed. Note: You sure did!!]

And I didn't! Shame on me!!! But I have the excuse that neither English

nor Greek are my first language! :-)

> A few years ago I woke up with

> a flashing light show going on in my right eye. No headache, no other

> symptoms. I was terrified that I was having a stroke,

Well, migraine is a bit similar to a stroke, in that a part of the brain

stops getting enough blood! Only that a stroke is " a little " more drastic...

> It was also " that time of the month " , so I thought some kind of migraine might

be the culprit.

Well, that doesn't apply to me... ;-)

> I did some yoga stretches. There's one where you bend at the waist,

> twist, and move your arms into a sort of windmill position. The light

> show stopped immediately. I haven't had this since, but now I know

> what it is if I have it again! Maybe yoga might help someone who has

> this often.

Next time I have such an attack I will stretch and jump and trash around

like crazy! Then I will tell you if it helped! :-)

By the way, if anyone is interested, my Achilles tendon, which had been

severely inflamed for nine months, is now finally starting to get

better! Not yet good enough to go climbing mountains, but at least it's

good enough again that with special shoe inserts I can walk almost

normally for reasonable distances. And I'm still taking those Mapuche

herbal medicines, but I don't think they have anything to do with the

improvement. The relative timing makes too little sense. When I run out

of that stuff, I will see if the inflammation returns, or not. Then I

will have more certainty.

Manfred.

--------------------------

Visit my hobby homepage!

http://ludens.cl

--------------------------

May 25, 2006

In a message dated 19/04/2006 02:45:19 GMT Daylight Time, mmornhin@...

writes:

I had never heard of this thing, and therefore my question to you: Did

anyone of you also ever had such a bad sight attack?

The doctor told me that the oftalmic migraine comes with many different

sorts of visual symptoms, but that flashing stripes of light and blurry

vision were the most common, and that most usually it is followed by

severe headache. I got only slight headache...

Hi Manfred,

I'm glad you are ok and that they sussed out what it was. At least your

headache wasn't bad. Just the same, I hope you don't get them often.

Take care,

May 26, 2006

To put things in perspective, I am 60 and I have PA. It is mild enough that it

is not noticed in my work place.

About a month ago, I saw a big round red spot about the size of a small

kitchen window 6' away. I saw this twice within a minute. I attributed this

to a ruptured blood vessel in the eye because a few days before I had blood

running from my nose.

I am not taking any medication now.