Optical migraine?

[game blouses]

I think I just had my first optical migraine. I had a migraine headache yesterday, triggered by switching to glasses after my contacts were bugging me, and today there was this weird little circle in my field of vision. The middle of the circle was clear and the edges were colorful and flickering. It got bigger and bigger and interfered with my vision for about 20 minutes, until it got too big for me to see it.

Does anyone get these? Is this worth going to the doctor? I'm breastfeeding still so I can't really take migraine meds.

[wambam]

I do. They're usually short lived and they don't really interfere with my daily life so I've never told my doctor about them.

[mrlittlejeans]

My mom had one, but thought she was having a stroke or something. It was scary. I know she said it was like lightening flashes and weird colors. We spent hours in the ER for no reason, she went and saw an ophthalmologist the next day. I would recommend calling one.

[papie]

It does seem like an aura associated with the migraine. If you've never had one before, I would definitely speak to a doctor to have them rule out potential causes other.

[kellykapowski]

I get those. Actually this is what starts my migraine process. Once the circle radiates out of my eye, I usually experience numbness in my face radiating out towards my arm on whatever side I got the aura. Then I'll spend the next few days will be the headache.

[game blouses]

I've had a script for Imitrex in the past, but it makes me feel so drugged out. Lately I've been having migraines more regularly, triggered by random things (not drinking enough water, heavy exercise, being out in the sun, etc).

[jewel]

I used to get these, and was diagnosed with "migraine with aura." Mine looked like a blurry boomerang that started off small and got bigger and bigger until it cleared from my vision. Sometimes they came along with a headache, but sometimes it was my only symptom.

The auras stopped once I stopped taking hormonal birth control.

[papie]

Oh and I haven't found a migraine med that is worth the side effects. I take them and then an hour later the migraine is mostly gone but I feel so sick from side effects tht I think "never again". I did manage to prevent them when I was taking topamax (stopped when started TTC my first, never wnet back on) and Elavil (gained 20 lbs, still haven't managed to get them off).

Now I get them rarely but when I do, I just spend the day in bed.

[Deleted]

I had that right before my first and only migraine. It was also during my 4 month nursing career. Maybe it's related?

[LeggsBenedict]

Yes, I get auras, probably about every third migraine, so once every few months? It is worth speaking to your doctor if this is the first time you have experienced it. There are meds I can't take because migraine + auras increase the risk of stroke.

[evynsmama]

I get auras before all my migraines, they are actually a helpful warning and most times if I take excedrine migraine before the aura is gone, the headache part never comes. I could take Midrin while pregnant & nursing so ask your doctor about it. When not pregnant/nursing I take excedrine migraine and then Maxalt if the excedrine doesn't work. Imitrex also made me feel like death, worse than the migraine made me feel. Maxalt does not make me feel anything but better. Good Luck. 

[game blouses]

Thanks ladies! All of this is really helpful information.

[orangello]

Yes, I get these. I got 5 in one week once - I was convinced I was dying. They used to just be annoying, but they've mutated and are now followed by an actual migraine headache. There's not really a ton you can do about them, unfortunately. Sorry these are happening to you! They suck, eh?

[game blouses]

Jun 6, 2013 14:52:32 GMT -5 orangello said:

Yes, I get these. I got 5 in one week once - I was convinced I was dying. They used to just be annoying, but they've mutated and are now followed by an actual migraine headache. There's not really a ton you can do about them, unfortunately. Sorry these are happening to you! They suck, eh?

They do! I'm all freaked out because I had a migraine yesterday and had just gotten over it when I got the aura today. I'm hoping that was the end of that migraine rather than the beginning of a new one.

[orangello]

BTW @game Blouses I cannot deal with how much I love your sig. I NEED A BABY ELEPHANT!

[mandymay]

I started getting migraines with auras six months after my daughter was born (right after I weaned her). I thought I was having a stroke. Every time I get a migraine it starts off with an aura. I was prescribed Imatrix, but you have to take it right when the aura starts or it doesn't work and only makes me woozy. Extra strength Tylenol, some caffeine and a cold compress on my neck seems to help a ton. I hate these things. I hope it isn't a common occurance for you! Definitely see your doctor if they continue/get more frequent.

[MixedBerryJam]

Jun 6, 2013 18:18:58 GMT -5 mandymay said:

I started getting migraines with auras six months after my daughter was born (right after I weaned her). I thought I was having a stroke. Every time I get a migraine it starts off with an aura. I was prescribed Imatrix, but you have to take it right when the aura starts or it doesn't work and only makes me woozy. Extra strength Tylenol, some caffeine and a cold compress on my neck seems to help a ton. I hate these things. I hope it isn't a common occurance for you! Definitely see your doctor if they continue/get more frequent.

Hmmm. By this thread, this postpartum connection is much more common than I realized. I have visual migraines a few times a year, where the best I can describe it is that part of my visual field looks like I'm looking through shimmering water. It starts on the left and moves to the right over the course of 30 minutes or so, and then I'm fine. I started having them before I had kids, but the worst one (most extreme, I guess, since there was no pain) was when my first kid was 5 months old, and that time it was like a lightbulb burst over my head and I couldn't get my vision back to normal at all. I had an mri the next day and according to it I had indeed had a stroke. Except for a persistent (even today, 16 years later) blind spot in the center of my visual field I had no other effects.