Ocular Migraines?

Re: Ocular Migraines?

• Goldsgirl9 member

  September 2015

  Go have your eyes checked. You could have an underlying eye condition and ocular headaches and vision changes are sign of it. Better safe than sorry. Headaches are normal during pregnancy but I don't believe vision changes are.

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• momofmanyinthemitten member

  September 2015

  My vision changes drastically throughout and after pregnancy (hormone related), but the only time I have something like that is when I get an aura before a migraine. I'd get it checked out just to be sure.

  
  

   
  
  

  

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• Marettie member

  September 2015

  I had them with my first pregnancy. Saw the eye doctor and neurologist who never really gave me an exact reason why and they never occurred again.

   

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• brie_and_almonds member

  September 2015

  I didn't have what you're describing, but I definitely had vision changes during my last pregnancy -- I ended up with a different glasses prescription when it was all said and done.

  

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• krismull1 member

  September 2015

  I've had a few of these prior to pregnancy. I went to the eye doctor for it & they said they happen sometimes & as long as it was not chronic it was ok. I am 9 weeks pregnant now & I had one the other day. I am already going to the eye doctor on Saturday so was going to ask about it then but I read they are common in pregnancy. Regardless, they are scary & I hate getting them!

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• [Deleted User] member

  September 2015

  Thanks for the info ladies! My ob called back and they are going to try and fit me in for a check up and eye exam... Come to find out there an ophthalmologist office in my ob's office. LOL I was like seriously??? Crazy!

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• korpatch member

  September 2015

  dayzchic9 said:

  Sooo... just wondering if anyone has gotten these with pregnancy or with a previous pregnancy?

  Basically I'm working on my laptop minding my own business when all of a sudden I get this jagged almost zig zag line out of the corner of my vision.  Has a bit of color to it.  But where it is I can't see through it.  So I slowly start to freak out for like 5 mins, call the hubs, go to the nurse (I'm a middle school teacher) - she's useless (besides checking my BP which was perfect) and wants my hubs to come pick me up and take me to the Dr.... but as she's freaking out, it gets lighter, moves around my eye and goes away.  Whole thing prob lasted 20 minutes.  Zero headache or other issues.

  Dr Google says Ocular Migraine... Further research with Dr G says can be more common in pregnancy.  This is  my second and I did not experience this with my first.  I called my OB and left a message for a nurse to call me back just in case.  But I'm just wondering if this has happened to anyone else???

  TIA!

  I really don't know what the rest of these girls are talking about, but you are definitely talking about an Ocular migraine "aura" without headache. You do NOT need to get your eyes checked as this has NOTHING to do with your vision. I have had three of these over the past year (one with the headache). Zigzag lines, tunnel vision, blindspots, and total vision loss for a couple of minutes. They are VERY disorienting. They can come as early as 24 hours before the headache part so... if you have one again... You may not be in the "clear" for a bit... but they can also come without a migraine at all. I remember the first time I had one, I thought I was having a brain aneurysm and was going to keel over dead! Totally freaked and it turned out it was nothing. I also get silent migraines (all the symptoms of a migraine but without the headache) without the aura you were talking about quite frequently. And Guess what! They can increase with pregnancy. I had one the week I found out I was preggo!!

  Hope all that helps. I did a TON of research on it because as you mentioned... It's totally freaky! But it has absolutely NOTHING to do with your vision or your eyes... So an vision test for it would be a complete waste of money. 

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• mojomama6 member

  September 2015

  I have these all the time, generally right before the more typical migraine symptoms (you know, pain, nausea, vomiting, light and sound intolerance). Sometimes it lasts a few minutes, sometimes a few hours.
  Certainly watch it, because it is associated with a a higher incidence of stroke, but the causality is questionable. Something to keep an eye on, but definitely a back burner kind of thing.

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• [Deleted User] member

  September 2015

  Thanks ladies!  I did get the eyes checked today and they were perfect!  (20/20 like a champ!)  the Dr also explained Ocular Migraines and def confirmed that's what it is.  LOL  Funny story tho - my DH last night was asking me - "so was it like an acid flashback" ..... um, honey, don't know... never done acid!  LOL  like where do they come up with this shit?  LOL

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• JCfirsttimemama member

  September 2015

  I have these as well - not pregnancy related.  The first one was really scary!  Mine are rarely accompanied by a headache, just the vision disturbance.

  
  

  Normally, as soon as I notice it starting to happen I would take advil, eat something, drink water and try to lie down.  If it happens during the pregnancy I'll do the same minus the advil.

  

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• careauxlina10t member

  September 2015 edited September 2015

  Actually @korpatch , just as an FYI, ocular migraines are a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning that it's important to rule out other pathology before the diagnosis is made, including issues within the eye itself. Seeing an ophthalmologist is an important part of that rule out. As a neurologist, I say this with at least a little authority on the topic. @dayzchic9, you absolutely did the right thing by getting checked out. Hope you start feeling better soon!

  
  

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• korpatch member

  September 2015

  careauxlina10t said:

  Actually @korpatch , just as an FYI, ocular migraines are a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning that it's important to rule out other pathology before the diagnosis is made, including issues within the eye itself. Seeing an ophthalmologist is an important part of that rule out. As a neurologist, I say this with at least a little authority on the topic. @dayzchic9, you absolutely did the right thing by getting checked out. Hope you start feeling better soon!

  My bad, I was just stating what I had been told by a eye doc and personal research. I think my main point was that it was freaky, but no reason to freak

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• chantzies member

  September 2015 edited September 2015

  I have this when not pregnant. It is a type of migraine and not only is your vision affected but often your brain is too. For example, I may not be able to remember names or won't be able to make sense of any sentence I am reading. I remember one time I got an ocular migraine and the radio announcer was talking about hummingbirds. I couldn't access my brain to remember what a hummingbird was. Generally the zig zag starts off small then gets larger and larger until it is out of sight. You feel tired and weird. Sometimes that weird feeling lasts a couple of days. As soon as I see the visual disturbances I take an Advil liquid gel and go to sleep. I never get the headache part of the migraine. My dad and grandmother had migraines. It's hereditary unfortunately. In my case it had nothing to do with my eyes. I had them so badly at one point that I was sent to get a brain scan. Triggers can be varied. For me it is MSG (can trigger a multi day migraine), looking at bright lights, pms because of change in hormone levels, lack of sleep, sulfites and stress. I went to a naturopath and with some diet changes it pretty much cured me. No dairy wheat and less caffeine helps me a lot.
  Since pregnant I have had one migraine and often feel like there might be one coming. It is very tiring.
  Sorry you are experiencing this. It is really freaky when you don't know what is going on.

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• heatherblue813 member

  September 2015

  It was absolutely an aura and you're very lucky it didn't come with a thunderous migraine right after. I've had severe migraines for 9 years (think 20+ headache days a month) and now that I can't take any of my preventatives or rescue meds, I get auras 3-4 times a week with 2-3 migraines attached. There's no reason to worry, they suck but go away eventually. I hope it doesn't happen to you again because the migraine that comes with them can be enough to knock you down for a couple days. When I get one I take a couple of Tylenol and sip on a coke since caffeine can sometimes help keep the migraine down a bit. Laying down in a dark room can help a bit, but if you're like me you have to work and aren't able to do that. I wish you luck and hope you never see that stupid zig zaggy line again!

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