Oh for heaven's sake! What next?

I have these migraines Katek. Often they crop up at really inconvenient times, once whilst I was sitting an exam, another time I was on the motorway.

I agree about old age and things going wrong. I've developed a number of permanent complaints in the last year or two.

Chin up!

Poor you, I have a stigmatism and am very short sighted , last eye test showed start of cataracts, I have been told the iPad causes even more problems . But at least both eyes are the same so I can wear specs, difficult at the moment , a lens fell out last week and no optician until tomorrow,

Is it possible for you to have one contact lens ?

Commonly called silent migraine, or scintillating scotoma if you prefer. I used to be plagued with the painful sort, which stopped in my fifties, and after a long break these started. Can go months without, or lots in a month. The doctor wasn't concerned, so they are just a minor slight nconvenience.

Sorry to hear you have problems as well petallus and annie, if I could have one wish granted it would be to have good health. Funnily enough Annieb that's what the optician suggested on my last visit-either that or a monocle he said! May try and get an appointment over next couple of weeks to discuss this, was all a bit scary momentarily. You do worry about a stroke when your vision goes funny.

DH gets a lot of these - has done for years. I have only ever had one and that was a few months ago. Quite alarming while it lasted. Spoke to the optician about it when i went and he wasn't concerned about it. DH had a bad bout of sinus which he suffers from every winter, and, for the first time, it affected his vision so that he finally went to the doctor. He told the doctor that he used to take Sinutabs for his sinus pain, but now the chemist won't let him have them because he is on blood pressure meds. The literature bears this out. The doctor said that's nonsense and he should take them if they work, they won't do him any harm! Who knows what to believe?

I get migraines and they wipe me out. I am sorry that others here have the same problem. Top be honest they are intolerable when bad, so I take a sleeping tablet and knock myself out - it is always gone when I wake. Not the standard treatment, but it works for me.

I have had the visual migraines for nearly 20 years. They seem to be easing off in intensity as it is a long time since I have had trouble with speech too. Horrible, you know exactly what you want to say but cannot form the words. Now I just seem to get the squiffy vision and a slight headache. As Katek says they pass in about 15 minutes, just try to sit quietly and take a couple of paracetamol. Driving through dappled sunlight can spark them off. Also standing at the photocopier without shutting the lid which I no longer do. Are they an age thing? Had my first say mid forties and now my daughter has just had one and she is mid-thirties. I have always thought I am lucky not to get full-blown migraines as they sound awful.

Sympathy to everyone who has any kind of migraine! I used to have the whole bouquet of symptoms but now I only get disturbed vision and a not-too-bad headache if I take the co-codamol as soon as the scintillating shimmer starts. Yes, Alima I'm sure you're right and it's an age thing. I had several years in my fifties and sixties without any migraine symptoms and thought I was cured

Hmm
Have you had shingles, Kate? What you describe is very similar to what I suffered in the run up to shingles in my head (just above one eye).

DH has had ocular migraine or so he was told, in his case he said it was like a shutter coming down on one eye, again only for a few minutes. With hindsight it could have been a TIA as well.
Sympathies

Katek, I wore contact lens for years, worth you trying

Sympathy, katek and all other migraine sufferers! Minibags was terrified that she was suddenly going blind when she had her first migraine.

Just out of interest, am I the only person who still says meegraine rather than mygraine?

No - I say meegraine.

Mygraine

Depends on my mood!

I've had a handful of ocular meegraines/mygraines. Mine involve rather attractive dancing zig zag rings of light gradually moving outwards till they disappear. That lasts up to 30 minutes. Then I feel wiped out and a bit yonderly for a couple of hours. Bright light (particularly flickering) seems to be my trigger. If I ever have to sit looking at a screen or a speaker with a bright window behind them I wear dark glasses and don't care if I look like a plonker.

Alima, dappled sunlight from driving under trees can start off my migraines as well! Also, sunlight reflected off windscreens, wing mirrors etc. And stripey stuff, my daughters primary school dresses (30 years ago), and op-art like Bridget Riley. People have always looked at me a bit when I tell them.

thatbags I'm with you - meegraine. After all, it's Mee wot's got it

Sympathy to anyone who gets migraine (my-graine!). I've had them since I was 11 and am still waiting to grow out of them, even though I have a bus pass these days.

I usually just get severe headaches but I think I must have had these ocular migraines recently, when I had five in three days. I went to the dr in case it was something sinister but thankfully, they haven't recurred since.

Ikwym about health complaints, Katek. I had to book a double appointment with a doctor last week to get all my ails attended to. How embarrassing!

I say mi - graine. I have had them since I was about 4. The first ones presented as stomach ache and the headaches started at about 8. Mine seem to change their form every 10 years or so. Currently I have all the spaced out feelings, nausea and photosensitivity but very little pain.

But every few years I still get a real stinker of a migraine. About three months ago I had my first migraine with vertigo. I woke in the night and had to cling to the wall to get to the bathroom and had to spend the day I had it in bed because of the severe dizziness. I was fine the day after that and my migraine has since gone back to spaced out and no pain mode, but I certainly do not want another migraine with vertigo.

I had one a few weeks ago and tried not to be scared because I'd had one before, but I kept thinking that, if it didn't go away I'd never be able to read or drive again; and you can't get away from them because if you close your eyes the strange lights are still there. Thankfully it did go away after 20 or so minutes. I don't get full blown migraines since I've got older though. Horrible nasty things, migraines. My DIL suffers terribly with them .

Mine last several days - I know when they are coming on as I suddenly feel very weak and start to be clumsy. Then a day of pain followed by a "migraine hangover" for at least 24 hours. The I'm all ready to start again!

"Then"

I thought it was a retinal migraine if in one eye only, and ocular migraine both eyes together. I've been getting ocular migraines (both eyes) for about 13 years.

It starts as a shimmering blind spot close to the macula, and then spreads toward the periphery until one side of my visual field is blind, and then clears again from centre to periphery. In all it takes about 20-30 minutes. The longest period I've been without one was nearly two years, the shortest a few hours.

It's exercise that triggers mine, they almost stopped completely when I quit cycling, and I've had them return a few times when I've tried resuming riding again.

What are others experiences of OM and the DVLA medical centre?

Well, no recurrence and felt better as day went on. I haven't had shingles Alea, must have a poke around online for info.

I sort of mumble 'megraine/mygraine, whatever' as I can never make my mind up as to pronunciation!