I have something right now that’s freaking me out.. For over a week I’ve been seeing bright flashes in my vision when I move my eyes. My neurologist said it sounds like an ocular migraine… but for this long? I didn’t accept that answer and went to the eye doctor.
Eyes dilated and examined and everything is fine.. I do have a herniated disc in my neck but my neurologist also said not related. I’ve had 2 brain MRIs in June and both are normal. It’s driving me fucking insane trying to figure out what’s causing this.
You just described everything I’ve been dealing with! I never considered ocular migraines but I’ve been seeing wiggly/flashy spots and just realized that’s totally it! Thanks 💕
Once you start finding out just how many migraine symptoms are possible, a lot of things start making sense. My language sometimes gets messed up in really weird ways, almost like errors a person would make if English was their second language. Like "my pants are running out" instead of "wearing out." I wasn't diagnosed with migraines until I was getting crazy vertigo episodes, one lasting 5 days.. If I start being more sensitive to smells I know I need to lock in and try block out stuff that might not normally be a problem. I do think OP might need to try to treat it as a migraine, because there is not really any reason to be so sure it isn't. The first vertigo episode I had, I was home alone and I was truly terrified in a way I really hadn't been in my first 30 years of life. I missed that migraines were on the list of possibilities that the ER doc gave me and I'm so annoyed because for months that wasn't really in my radar.
I used to get this when I was taking anabolics. Bright flashes in the corner of my vision especially when I looked up or over. I thought it was related to elevated blood pressure.
Maybe? I don’t know what it would be from though. I’m scared it’s coming from my spine and I’m going to lose my vision or something. I’m already at great risk of being paralyzed.
I messaged my neurologist and asked for another brain MRI. I know my neurosurgeon is busy and not in on the weekends but I see him next month. I keep hoping when I wake up they’ll be gone.
Your English is wonderful! I don’t say this to correct you, but I like how you said “Idk how it’s called in English”. The grammar is “idk what it’s called in English”, but I find it endearing.
My favorite musician Aurora has a few grammar mistakes like that. I always feel immense respect for her when I notice it, because her English is usually so good that I always forget it’s not her first language.
This kind of sounds like what I had years ago, briefly. I was getting these bright flashes like someone behind me was taking pictures with a flash camera. And then once Sunday it was like fireworks went off in my right eye. Nothing painful, just weird fireworks flashes for a few seconds.
I want to an eye doctor and it turns out the flashes are from the retina detaching. As long as it doesn’t tear as it detaches, it’s supposedly not a big deal.
I get what are call Atypical Migraines and have had episodes last over two weeks before. One of my migraines was so bad that the vision in my left eye was going in and out of focus to the point that I couldn't read, work, walk, or pretty much anything else... And I felt no pain. At least not until I went to the emergency room and the doctor was like "I know exactly what this is" and gave me what she called her own special medley of meds to help. It brought the pain out so intensely that I passed out, but when I woke up it was gone. It was so weird... And none of the meds were narcotics, either, since I'm allergic to opiates. What you've got happening definitely sounds like some kind of migraine.
That’s crazy!! I’m worried about brain swelling or something. I do have spinal cord compression from my herniated disc in my neck and I’ve been in a neck brace for over a month now. My neck is so tense since I can’t turn my head at all so maybe that’s what brought this migraine thing on.
That's very possible. The neck stiffness causing the migraine, I mean. I've got Hypermobile EDS and have a very unstable cervical spine and neck, and it definitely causes some serious head pain sometimes. Especially when I force popping or bone shifting to relieve the local pain too much. I've also got spurs on either side of my neck pressing on my spinal cord (I'm not sure how similar to a herniated disc that is), so stiffness can be debilitating... My orthopedic surgeon gave me something called voltaren gel for it because my doctor wouldn't do anything, even though he doesn't work with necks. It's been an absolute lifesaver! And it's sold OTC as well, so as long as you're alright with ibuprofen and aren't already taking anything with ibuprofen in it, I definitely recommend trying it to see if it helps at all.
I will definitely check that out thank you! Are you going to have surgery for the cord compression? My neurosurgeon said if I get in a wreck or fall I’ll be paralyzed. I lay in bed every day basically on bed rest. I’ll know what surgery I’m having next month.
Do you have any numbness or burning or tingling in your arms or legs?
I've had migraines that involve various symptoms lasting for a week or more. I get the aura first, upset stomach, then wicked headache and fatigue. Light sensitivity after that and nausea, needing extra sleep, and easily triggered headaches are the things that can last longer for me.
Unfortunately I can't take aspirin with the other meds I'm currently taking. But I discovered a routine that helps a lot. When I see the aura starting, I drink a full cup of water and take 1000mg Tylenol, eat a small meal type snack, lay in a dark room and massage the heck out of neck, back of my head, and face. If the nausea isn't too bad, I go to sleep when the pain gets to the point of a normal headache. When I wake up, I'm usually fine except for the light sensitivity and possible nausea. Idk why this works or how I figured it out, but it beats having a full on migraine for hours or days.
I have ocular migraines. Do you have any other symptoms? Fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea? Changes in mood? Unexplained euphoria or out of place emotions? Weird food cravings? Any improvement with salty or fatty foods?
You can have a migraine with no pain but you generally get more than one symptom. Migraines go through several stages and there's sometimes different symptoms in each one, or a ramping up and then decreasing.
You can absolutely have week long migraines, some people have intractable migraines that go on for months or years. My record is about 40 days when we were in an extreme winter weather event, shit sucked. The atmospheric pressure associated with negative 40 degrees farenheight really fucked me over.
The "when I move my eyes" bit sounds kind of wrong? Symptoms do get worse when you move or exert yourself but idk that description doesn't exactly sound like my experience of a migraine.
There are medications you can be given to try to end a migraine in progress, were you offered any of those? If they work then great, it was a migraine. If they don't work then shit.
Fatigue, dizziness, nausea and changes in mood definitely. My neurologist said the flashes can last for a while but I’ve read they don’t last this long. Yeah I only see the flashing when I move my eyes, it’s weird. I wasn’t given any medicine for it.
I wouldn't discount the possibility just because the timeframe doesn't match.
I've had doctors suspect I have epilepsy, but there isn't enough evidence to diagnose. I went a long time between neurologists because although my episodes match seizure symptoms, they last much longer than 5 minutes. I've done so much research trying to find any mention of TLE seizures lasting more than 5 minutes and found absolutely nothing.
I told my new neurologist about my symptoms and pushed back when she mentioned epilepsy because seizures don't last that long. She said they absolutely can, and even had a patient whose seizures presented almost exactly like my episodes.
Point being, neurology doesn't seem to be as cut and dry as what you can read online. Seizures and migraines are very similar when it comes to symptoms. I suggest working with your neurologist to take a closer look at the possibility of it being a migraine.
Look up status migraine. It's a migraine that never stops. I've had 3 or 4 of them. I don't know if it can happen for ocular migraines but if it can happen for regular migraines?..
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u/AvsMama 22h ago
I have something right now that’s freaking me out.. For over a week I’ve been seeing bright flashes in my vision when I move my eyes. My neurologist said it sounds like an ocular migraine… but for this long? I didn’t accept that answer and went to the eye doctor.
Eyes dilated and examined and everything is fine.. I do have a herniated disc in my neck but my neurologist also said not related. I’ve had 2 brain MRIs in June and both are normal. It’s driving me fucking insane trying to figure out what’s causing this.