Ocular Migraine
Yesterday I experienced a strange sensation that has never happened to me before. Randomly and quite suddenly I began to experience difficulty with my vision. A strange spot appeared in my left visual field similar to what happens when you stare at a bright light for too long.
.jpg)
Source
I was having a hard time reading words and I felt a mild tingling sensation in my face. I became worried that I was having a stroke though I have no idea what the symptoms of a stroke are. I guess the worst case scenario came to mind. I decided to lean forward and put my head between my legs. My understanding is that people who feel like they are going to pass out are told to put their head between their legs to get the blood flow back to their brain. A colleague came into the room at that point and asked me if I was ok. I found it mildly difficult to talk and I felt a growing sense of disorientation. When I looked at my colleague I found it difficult to see his face clearly. I could see his eyes but the bottom portion of his face and mouth appeared squished together. I laid down on a couch for a bit and waited for everything to pass, which it did after about 10-15 minutes. I was starving after it happened and had almost no energy which made me think it was due to low blood sugar or something of that nature. I also had a mild headache in the back of my head for the remainder of the evening.
Ocular Migraine
.png)
Source
After talking to a few people I was told that it was probably an ocular migraine. Ocular migraines are temporary visual disturbances that are believed to be mostly harmless. They can come on fast but generally only last for about 20-30 minutes.
Visual symptoms can include blind spots in one’s vision, the sensation of flickering lights or wavy zig-zaging lines in ones field of vision (which is what I experienced).
From what I was able to gather from researching online, is that these types of migraines can be triggered by almost anything: sounds, sights, smells, stress the weather and so on. It also seems that not a lot is known about their cause other than they typically begin for individuals in their 30’s and 40’s and they tend to be more prevalent in women. There also seems to be a genetic component to them in that a family history of migraines increases their chance of occurring.
.jpg)
Source
Any thoughts on this? Have you ever experienced an ocular migraine or something similar?
Thanks For Reading
I have got this before when I was 14 or 15, playing some minecraft on the computer. 80% of my vision went dark and I didn't know what was happening there was a pulsating pain just behind my eyes. Went away after 30 - 60 mins.
Yeah I read that looking at a computer screen for extended periods of time can provoke them for some people. It can be pretty scary experience when you don't know whats happening. - it was for me anyway. Yours sounds like it may have been even worse then what I experienced.
Thanks for commenting
@leaky20, in this post you said that it begins between one's 30's and 40's, but I have had one already and I am just 17..
@leaky20, in this post you said that it begins between one's 30's and 40's, but I have had one already and I am just 17..
Hi @tomlinsin
The emphasis should be on typically, meaning that on average they start later in life. But that's a bit of a generalized statements and its only according to a few sources online. As you pointed out, I'm sure they can occur at any age and to anyone. From what I read (again online) is that there is still a lot of uncertainty about their cause and things of that nature.
Thanks for the comment and for sharing your experience :)