It doesn’t do what I see justice. They are often beautiful. When they first occur it causes a blind spot. The zigzags are a rainbow of shimmering color. They go away after a hour or so and I feel lousy if I don’t have a headache. If I do get the headache with it I have to find a dark room and try to sleep.
Yes, my migraines are mostly “silent” these days. As a teenager, I just had the headaches without aura, but that changed with age. Nowadays I get all kinds of weird and uncomfortable pro- and postdrome effects, like ocular aura, but rarely pain. I have a family member whose only migraine symptom is a crippling stomach ache. Migraines are super weird.
Well, yes and no. It’s kind of an area you can’t see, but it’s there. Also, it starts as a small dot and them starts expanding/moving. It’s also flashing, kind of like static noise on an old TV. Luckily those things usually last like 15 minutes or so. Still, not a fun experience.
I don’t get ocular migraines so I have never seen something like this. I can see subtle multicolour flashes if I close my eyes and do things like looking around quickly or apply pressure to my eyes. This image reminds me of the flashes I see, but 1000x more intense. Would you describe it like that?
It is called a scintillating scotoma or ocular migraine. Scintillating is accurate; this clear crescent shows up in your vision and It is rippling with rainbow fringes. It starts off as a point somewhere in your vision, slowly expanding into a visible crescent that continues to expand. After about half an hour the crescent expands beyond your field of vision (FOV). For me it is paired with a loopy slightly lightheaded feeling that goes away with a whoosh once it leaves my FOV.
They are often triggered by bright light and may be correlated with migraines. I’ve had three of these happen but never had a migraine headache afaik.
Edit: clear might be the wrong word? My mind blends it in other than the rainbow fringes, but I think I can’t actually see what is behind the crescent.
No I’ve seen what you describe. What I see when I’m having one is most often a shimmering electric zigzag. Sometimes it take different shapes and the colors vary. Its always at the edge of my vision and moves when I move my eye. Its better to close your eyes when they are happening. At least for me. I have had them in both eyes at once and its really freaky since normally I only get them in one eye at a time. They don’t merge well and the combined blind spots have rendered me almost completely unable to navigate. I’ve pulled over while driving more than once and waited it out.
Same! I was on a road trip in Ireland and it came out of nowhere. Freaked me out. I’d never had one until a few months after my first bout with COVID. Now I get them but usually only if I’ve not been drinking enough water for a few days, and ONLY when I stand up. It’s preceded by a weird sort of throbbing where it feels like sound is turned down in time with my heartbeat.
Do you happen to have astigmatism or relatively poor vision, by chance?
I used to get these every month or so since I was like 10 until a few years ago, when I finally pulled the trigger and got LASIK. Have not experienced one since, which is a Godsend given that they would usually last for an hour or two and be accompanied by a gnarly headache which would otherwise render me useless.
I’m a little far sighted with perhaps a slight stigmatism. Mine are triggered by the seasons as far as I can tell. I get them mainly when the pollen drops in the spring and when the mold comes in the fall. They were particularly bad last year but some years they are just a minor annoyance.
Ah, I found that mine were largely caused by prolonged squinting to try to account for the astigmatism; along with some combination of dehydration, lack of sleep and/or excess caffeine consumption.
Nope but I see these when I’m getting a optical/ocular migraine.
Yikes, you’re actually seeing that?
It doesn’t do what I see justice. They are often beautiful. When they first occur it causes a blind spot. The zigzags are a rainbow of shimmering color. They go away after a hour or so and I feel lousy if I don’t have a headache. If I do get the headache with it I have to find a dark room and try to sleep.
Sorry to hear that, it sucks
Well at least you get pretty rainbows
Its a pretty rainbow that is forever at the edge of your vision. You can’t look directly at it.
Wait, there are people who get migraines without the headache‽ I just get the agonizing ocular pressure and occasionally nausea
Yes, my migraines are mostly “silent” these days. As a teenager, I just had the headaches without aura, but that changed with age. Nowadays I get all kinds of weird and uncomfortable pro- and postdrome effects, like ocular aura, but rarely pain. I have a family member whose only migraine symptom is a crippling stomach ache. Migraines are super weird.
Yusssss
That’s the shape. But it’s constantly oscillating and the colors shifting rapidly.
Vision gets obscured but for me my visual processing/reasoning gets cloudy too. I can still navigate the world but finding a door handle is difficult.
I get sore behind my eyes after and real tired. Happened a few times in the last couple years, anxiety I think.
Youtube mostly has classix migraine aura but this is close enough if you imagine the zigzag image.
Yeah and it has the best name, Scintillating Scotoma. The first time I experienced one it was terrifying.
Yeah, that names sounds about right for what you’re describing
Well, yes and no. It’s kind of an area you can’t see, but it’s there. Also, it starts as a small dot and them starts expanding/moving. It’s also flashing, kind of like static noise on an old TV. Luckily those things usually last like 15 minutes or so. Still, not a fun experience.
YO that’s a gnarly aura!
I don’t get ocular migraines so I have never seen something like this. I can see subtle multicolour flashes if I close my eyes and do things like looking around quickly or apply pressure to my eyes. This image reminds me of the flashes I see, but 1000x more intense. Would you describe it like that?
It is called a scintillating scotoma or ocular migraine. Scintillating is accurate; this clear crescent shows up in your vision and It is rippling with rainbow fringes. It starts off as a point somewhere in your vision, slowly expanding into a visible crescent that continues to expand. After about half an hour the crescent expands beyond your field of vision (FOV). For me it is paired with a loopy slightly lightheaded feeling that goes away with a whoosh once it leaves my FOV.
They are often triggered by bright light and may be correlated with migraines. I’ve had three of these happen but never had a migraine headache afaik.
Edit: clear might be the wrong word? My mind blends it in other than the rainbow fringes, but I think I can’t actually see what is behind the crescent.
No I’ve seen what you describe. What I see when I’m having one is most often a shimmering electric zigzag. Sometimes it take different shapes and the colors vary. Its always at the edge of my vision and moves when I move my eye. Its better to close your eyes when they are happening. At least for me. I have had them in both eyes at once and its really freaky since normally I only get them in one eye at a time. They don’t merge well and the combined blind spots have rendered me almost completely unable to navigate. I’ve pulled over while driving more than once and waited it out.
First time I had one of these I was so stressed out. I thought I was about to have a stroke.
Same! I was on a road trip in Ireland and it came out of nowhere. Freaked me out. I’d never had one until a few months after my first bout with COVID. Now I get them but usually only if I’ve not been drinking enough water for a few days, and ONLY when I stand up. It’s preceded by a weird sort of throbbing where it feels like sound is turned down in time with my heartbeat.
Do you happen to have astigmatism or relatively poor vision, by chance?
I used to get these every month or so since I was like 10 until a few years ago, when I finally pulled the trigger and got LASIK. Have not experienced one since, which is a Godsend given that they would usually last for an hour or two and be accompanied by a gnarly headache which would otherwise render me useless.
I’m a little far sighted with perhaps a slight stigmatism. Mine are triggered by the seasons as far as I can tell. I get them mainly when the pollen drops in the spring and when the mold comes in the fall. They were particularly bad last year but some years they are just a minor annoyance.
Ah, I found that mine were largely caused by prolonged squinting to try to account for the astigmatism; along with some combination of dehydration, lack of sleep and/or excess caffeine consumption.
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