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Interesting. I get these scotomas about every 6 months or so, usually lasting for 30 or so minutes. I was told they were called "ocular migraines", and a cursor

Interesting. I get these scotomas about every 6 months or so, usually lasting for 30 or so minutes. I was told they were called "ocular migraines", and a cursory glance over the internet doesn't seem to help me differentiate between the two, although I will say that [0] is a very accurate depiction of how it looks when it happens to me. I normally just take a break from whatever I'm doing and go for a walk. The first time it ever happened to me was the first day of a literature class--that was an awkward event, explaining to my teacher that I couldn't read at the moment. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Scintillating_scotoma.gif https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Scintillating_scotoma.gif

elric 5y ago
(another migraineur chiming in here) It's a common misconception. What you're calling "ocular migraines" are more accurately referred to as "migraines with aura without headache", sometimes called "silent migraines". You can get actual ocular migraines as well, but those affect the eye (or optic nerve), and as such, are limited to the eye. Scintillating scotomas caused by migraine auras are visible with your eyes closed, and look the same in both eyes.
stavros 5y ago
I get these at my center of vision when I focus close (less than half a meter) for a few minutes. They're annoying because I can't do work that requires me to look very close for too long, but seem to have no other symptom, and no doctor has figured out what they are.
LandR 5y ago
I get these every couple of months! Sometimes with accompanying headache, sometimes without. That picture is a great representation of what I see. Although I would say its usually more silvery and shiny. Dunno what triggers it, I've had it sitting watching TV, tryjng to work on computer (which becomes impossible) and just sitting in a restaurant eating lunch. Normally lasts half an hour or so. Also sometimes I can be left feeling fuzzy and foggy for a day or so after. Like you say reading just becomes impossible! Have you found any good medication that helps when they trigger?
mikelevins 5y ago
The image you linked is what I'm calling "flickering". My full-blown scintillating scotoma is much more vivid and fully-formed. In the incident I'm reporting, it was a 3D physical-looking structure of triangular prisms made of white light, with zebra stripes of utter blackness sweeping rapidly along them, surrounded by an aura that looked like a cross between the sun's corona and the aurora borealis. These links are closer to what mine look like: https://i.imgur.com/mbW2UZY.jpg https://i.imgur.com/mbW2UZY.jpg https://optometrui.tumblr.com/image/132973031235 https://optometrui.tumblr.com/image/132973031235
- randlet 5y ago
  Your first link is exactly what it looks like to me (except pulsing/shimmering). I can usually sense it before it starts then it starts as a small aberration and gradually grows to encompass almost my entire vision. Extremely unsettling the first time it happened.
  - mikelevins 5y ago
    Yeah, mine are always pulsing, shimmering, whirling, or moving in some other way--most often more than one way at once. My earliest ones were like a black hole in the middle of my vision with an aurora borealis slowly radiating ouward while color changes whirled around it at high speed.
- scruple 5y ago
  Fascinating. The first image is exactly what mine look like but I was told (by a doc) that they are ocular migraines.
  - mikelevins 5y ago
    I'm no expert; perhaps when I see those, I'm having an ocular migraine. If it's actually an ocular migraine (which takes place in the eye) rather than a scintillating scotoma (which takes place in the brain), that's a possible explanation for why I could continue reading. The UK's NHS says they tend to happen in just one eye, so if I was having an ocular migraine, it might have left my vision unobstructed in the other eye. On the other hand, if that's the explanation, then I would sort of expect to have consciously experienced seeing the book while I was reading it, and I didn't--or if I did, that's not the way I remember it. Of course, memory is untrustworthy, and it's also possible that the vividness of the ocular migraine might have persuaded my brain to tell me I couldn't see the book even though I could. So ocular migraine is a solid alternative candidate to explain my experience. If I have another scotoma, I'll see if I can figure out a way to determine which thing is going on. Maybe closing one eye and then the other.
cx42net 5y ago
One time I was at a friend's house with my laptop and lowered the screen light during the night but forgot about it. The very next day, while working, I started to get that "aura" migraine. In general, when this occurs, I stop doing whatever I'm doing, take a ibuprofen pill and go to bed for 20 minutes. After that, I have a massive headache but no aura. What was odd is that the very next day, I got the same migraine, again! This rarely occurs to me (two days in row). It was later that I realized that the screen light was low and that might be an explanation about why I got two migraines in two days. Hopefully it can help someone else here :)

elric 5y ago

(another migraineur chiming in here) It's a common misconception. What you're calling "ocular migraines" are more accurately referred to as "migraines with aura without headache", sometimes called "silent migraines". You can get actual ocular migraines as well, but those affect the eye (or optic nerve), and as such, are limited to the eye. Scintillating scotomas caused by migraine auras are visible with your eyes closed, and look the same in both eyes.

stavros 5y ago

I get these at my center of vision when I focus close (less than half a meter) for a few minutes. They're annoying because I can't do work that requires me to look very close for too long, but seem to have no other symptom, and no doctor has figured out what they are.

LandR 5y ago

I get these every couple of months! Sometimes with accompanying headache, sometimes without. That picture is a great representation of what I see. Although I would say its usually more silvery and shiny. Dunno what triggers it, I've had it sitting watching TV, tryjng to work on computer (which becomes impossible) and just sitting in a restaurant eating lunch. Normally lasts half an hour or so. Also sometimes I can be left feeling fuzzy and foggy for a day or so after. Like you say reading just becomes impossible! Have you found any good medication that helps when they trigger?

mikelevins 5y ago

The image you linked is what I'm calling "flickering". My full-blown scintillating scotoma is much more vivid and fully-formed. In the incident I'm reporting, it was a 3D physical-looking structure of triangular prisms made of white light, with zebra stripes of utter blackness sweeping rapidly along them, surrounded by an aura that looked like a cross between the sun's corona and the aurora borealis. These links are closer to what mine look like: https://i.imgur.com/mbW2UZY.jpg https://i.imgur.com/mbW2UZY.jpg https://optometrui.tumblr.com/image/132973031235 https://optometrui.tumblr.com/image/132973031235

randlet 5y ago
Your first link is exactly what it looks like to me (except pulsing/shimmering). I can usually sense it before it starts then it starts as a small aberration and gradually grows to encompass almost my entire vision. Extremely unsettling the first time it happened.
- mikelevins 5y ago
  Yeah, mine are always pulsing, shimmering, whirling, or moving in some other way--most often more than one way at once. My earliest ones were like a black hole in the middle of my vision with an aurora borealis slowly radiating ouward while color changes whirled around it at high speed.
scruple 5y ago
Fascinating. The first image is exactly what mine look like but I was told (by a doc) that they are ocular migraines.
- mikelevins 5y ago
  I'm no expert; perhaps when I see those, I'm having an ocular migraine. If it's actually an ocular migraine (which takes place in the eye) rather than a scintillating scotoma (which takes place in the brain), that's a possible explanation for why I could continue reading. The UK's NHS says they tend to happen in just one eye, so if I was having an ocular migraine, it might have left my vision unobstructed in the other eye. On the other hand, if that's the explanation, then I would sort of expect to have consciously experienced seeing the book while I was reading it, and I didn't--or if I did, that's not the way I remember it. Of course, memory is untrustworthy, and it's also possible that the vividness of the ocular migraine might have persuaded my brain to tell me I couldn't see the book even though I could. So ocular migraine is a solid alternative candidate to explain my experience. If I have another scotoma, I'll see if I can figure out a way to determine which thing is going on. Maybe closing one eye and then the other.

cx42net 5y ago

One time I was at a friend's house with my laptop and lowered the screen light during the night but forgot about it. The very next day, while working, I started to get that "aura" migraine. In general, when this occurs, I stop doing whatever I'm doing, take a ibuprofen pill and go to bed for 20 minutes. After that, I have a massive headache but no aura. What was odd is that the very next day, I got the same migraine, again! This rarely occurs to me (two days in row). It was later that I realized that the screen light was low and that might be an explanation about why I got two migraines in two days. Hopefully it can help someone else here :)