Ocular Migraines - Anyone Have Them?

[iheartcats]

I haven't had an Ocular Migraine in years, but had one today (zig zags and all).

Now. I'm back on the birth pill for a couple of weeks after being off it more than a year and quite more stressed than usual and recovering from a cold.

I read about these these types and they are more common in people under 40 and women (OK, that fits) and can be triggered by hormones and stress (fitting, too).

I now am very nauseous and tired after it, though, and hope they aren't around to stay. You guys understand how when we experience something like this we do worry it's a 'new thing' rather than maybe a 'transient thing.'

I have a feeling it's more hormonal for me than POTS, but still it's something else to deal with, right?

[lieze]

I wonder if it isn't the pill and if you'll be able to tolerate it -but that's all you need is more things to worry about-sorry

[Nikki]

I get them too. Usually I see spots or dots in my vision, that's almost a daily thing for me. A few times a year though, I get the really bad ones where I can't see anything but brightness for 15 minutes or so, the zig zag brightness then travels from one side of my vision to the other. It is really exhausting afterwards. I'll get extremly dizzy and sick in my stomach for a week or so afterwards. I haven't had any since being diagnosed with POTS..I don't even want to think of how that combination would be.. :-/ I hope you feel better soon though!

[iheartcats]

Well at least it explains the nauseated feeling!

And the thing is - without some kind of hormone control like BCP I get worse 'normal' migraines. The debilitating can't see straight/have to be in the dark for 12-48 hours type that thump and throb.

The ocular things tend to be annoying, then cause fatigue/no headache to a moderate headache/nauseated feeling.

It is tough because I really can't win on this one!

I'll just have to mark on my calendar and hope for no more (or rare) of these. The weather has been going all over the place too. It's hard to pinpoint things sometimes - but it's hard to avoid stuff like having a cold + weather changes. I guess I have to work on the stress.

[Brye]

I had them a lot when I was pregnant. 1st few times I thought it was some type of a stroke. Now I think I average about 1/month. Zig Zags ... what a great description. I get prismy zig zags on the outside and it seems like tunnel vision. Usually if I lay down they go away in less than 20 minutes. I've found a good caffeine bolus can resolve them sooner too!!

Brye

[blueskies1234]

I've gotten them 3 times since December, and I was just diagnosed with POTS. It does wipe me out for a couple days afterwards.

I had it happen one time before I had been diagnosed years ago, but I had been to a wedding and drank a little too much red wine :-), and that time it turned into a full migraine

I wondered if there was a connection since it seems to be a new thing for me. Very interesting....

[anna]

I have had a run of migraines over the last week 10 days then, we (in UK) had a sudden very cold spell, I think that changes in pressure can set off my migraines, as does hormone changes, actually more and more stuff seem to set them off these days. I have what seems to be classic migraines with the aura and some neuro issues; numbness one sided vision loss hours as apposed to minutes, aphasia (sp?). My mum has a history of migrains and so did my dads side, guess I did not stand a chance of getting away without this really! Both sides of my family had EDS and we were told the migrain stuff was most likly related to the EDS, oh joy!