[Bob Dillon]

I did last weekend.


Man, THAT was weird!

[Scarebird]

well. mr. pharmacist's mate - tell us what was involved here.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Unofficially i did about 10 years ago. No doctor so it doesn't...ah, you don't forget such pain.

Exactly like eating cold ice cream real fast and getting the eye-cold pain, but no ice cream.

[Joe's Garage]

It happened right after I woke up in the morning.

There were zip-zagging flashes of light in random geometric patterns.

Only in my right eye.

I think the flashes were still there with my eye closed.

It lasted about thirty minutes and then stopped.

Zero pain, no loss of vision, just the flashing (kinda like lightning bolts) and weird patterns.

Saw my ophthalmologist the next day and he gave my eyes a clear bill-of-health.

He explained that there are a multitude of causes and that a single event was not something to be concerned about.

When they start repeating, that's another story.

See your eye doctor and rule out problems.

Good luck!

[Lemans64]

Once in a while I get an Ora? Or Aura, does the similar to what you describe, heard it is a Migraine without the headache.
Usually last 5-10 minutes, had all the test an never found anything. Flashing type things going on in eye's, then sometimes I get tunnel vision,
that's what I call it, but things go black on sides of vision, very hard to focus, but only last around 5 minutes.

[dataway]

You'll think I'm crazy, and I don't like to think about the potential causes, and I never went to the doctor because I didn't want to even think about it ..

I had about a 15 minute episode a couple of years ago where ... wait for it ... anything with EYES had four eyes instead of two. An extra pair right below the "real" eyes. Nothing else was doubled, just the eyes. Eyes on TV, on my dog, on my wife, on pictures. Not exact copies like double vision, but kind of "make believe" eyes.

So .. probably not a vision problem, some kind of bizarre neurological malfunction. I did what I usually do ... wait and see if it goes away and then ignore it.

Nothing similar has happened since.

Weird right?

[johnta1]

Maybe ocular myasthenia gravis?

[Half-Inch Stud]

Originally Posted by johnta1

Maybe ocular myasthenia gravis?

What is that, in English.

[mgarblik]

I had one probably 25+ years ago. Then nothing until about 10 years ago. Now I get one maybe every 2-3 years. Can last 10-30 minutes. In one eye generally, but can be both. No pain or loss of vision. Best description is like looking through one of those toy Kaleidoscopes. Both my family doctor and eye physician have told me not to be concerned about them unless they become frequent. My wife gets them too. Similar symptoms. Get checked out of worried.

[prostreet64]

I had an episode like Joe's Garage described. Happened about 6 years ago. Woke up with the lightening bolt/ zigzag lights. Was out of town but the next day got in to see a doctor who does eye surgery. I had a torn retina and if I had waited to get it seen about I could have lost vision in that eye. Didn't enjoy having a needle stuck in my eye but the alternative was way worse. Never assume with eye related issues. Too much at stake.

[george kujanski]

Weird eye stuff.... a while back one night I was backing out of my driveway, looking off to one side and saw a flash of light. Asked my wife what that was, she saw nothing. Happened again and I got worried. Called my opthamologist right away, he said not to worry and saw him next day. I was worried it was a detached retina.

Saw him and he said it's PVT, posterior vitrious detachment, happens in seniors... the vitrious stuff in your eye gets old and gels up and tugs on your retina. It goes away, and he said you will get it in the other eye, they are the same age.

It went away. I think I see more "floaters" but otherwise no issues.

George

[OG68]

I had the same thing as George. Continuing flashing lights, floaters. Lasted for about a day or so, then floaters for another two weeks. Dr said "old age" related. But my vision has gone to hell since. It's as if each eye focuses differently whenever it wants. In spite of numerous eye doctor visits they insist there's nothing wrong with my eyes. Going back for another visit soon as I've been going through this for four years now.

[vertigto]

I've had ocular migraines over the years...not fun. The last one was accompanied by a huge increase in floaters and impaired vision. Tear fixed by laser surgery, but didn't eliminate the floaters completely. Have an appointment next week for follow-up.

[ta6point6]

Well I get what I describe as sunspot headaches. It is usually associated with seasonal allergies for me, sinus pressure. I start seeing sunspots in one or both eyes almost like part of my vision has been blacked out like in the center or the sides. It makes it hard to look at computer screen or look at anything really. Headaches last for a few hours and usually have to retreat to a dark room and take some anti-inflammatories, They can last sometimes minutes to hours

[dhcarguy]

I had cataract surgery on both eyes 1yr ago. 3 weeks after my right eye was done, I had a horrible eye/headache in and behind my right eye. woke me up 3am on a Sunday. I went downstairs in the dark to get some Tylenol. When I turned the lights on in the kitchen, It felt like a lightning bolt shot thru my eye and knocked me to the floor. Called emergency# to eye surgeon. they sent me to Wills Eye center. After four injections in my eye, turns out I have Endophthalmitis.
It's been a year now and I'm still going frequently to both the surgeon and an Inflammation specialist at Wills Eye. At my last visit he told me that I will probably be on eye drop steroids the of my life. He also said there is a small possibility I could possibly need surgery if it gets worse. Endophthalmitis is very rare from cataract surgery, so don't let this scare you from having it done. my vision before this happened was the best of my life.

[dhcarguy]

I had cataract surgery on both eyes 1yr ago. 3 weeks after my right eye was done, I had a horrible eye/headache in and behind my right eye. woke me up 3am on a Sunday. I went downstairs in the dark to get some Tylenol. When I turned the lights on in the kitchen, It felt like a lightning bolt shot thru my eye and knocked me to the floor. Called emergency# to eye surgeon. they sent me to Wills Eye center. After four injections in my eye, turns out I have Endophthalmitis.
It's been a year now and I'm still going frequently to both the surgeon and an Inflammation specialist at Wills Eye. At my last visit he told me that I will probably be on eye drop steroids the of my life. He also said there is a small possibility I could possibly need surgery if it gets worse. Endophthalmitis is very rare from cataract surgery, so don't let this scare you from having it done. my vision before this happened was the best of my life.

[F ROCK]

Better stop now or you'll go blind

[GtoFM]

What Joe said. Mine are 30-60 days apart and last 30 minutes. A zigzag rainbow kaleidoscope (thanks spell-check). F ROCK, if we go blind, we can still find it

[Rachelsdad]

I have suffered with ocular migraines for most of my adult life (I'm 63). My dad used to get them. Both of my daughters had them in their teens, but thankfully, have seemed to "grow out of them," now that they are in their early-mid 20's.

I saw a neurologist a few years ago about mine. We did an MRI, and found nothing abnormal. He just told me to do what we usually do: keep a log of what I eat and my environment, and look for triggers. In all my years, I've yet to find a single common trigger.

Something else on my paternal side is ocular hypertension. My grandfather developed glaucoma, as did my dad (I've outlived my dad now by a few years; he passed at 56 from a heart attack). I started on drops to lower the fluid buildup in my eyes (Simbrinza in the morning and Lumigan at night). (Stick with me, there's a point to all of this.)

In '22, I had cataract surgery in both eyes. My ocular pressure immediately lowered following the surgery, and we adjusted my drops accordingly (I was previously taking the Simbrinza twice a day). My migraine occurrence has been notably less frequent (perhaps one every other month or every two months vs at least once a month). Neither my ophthalmologist nor my neurologist nor my optometrist, for that matter, can find any direct correlation, but there you have it. The reduction in frequency absolutely coincided with the surgery in '22.

Don't overlook the obvious (how are you seeing when you don't have a migraine? if you still wear corrective lenses after cataract surgery, as I do, how accurate/recent is the prescription?).

Migraines are a curse. That much is for certain.

[SRR]

I've had several over the years. First time I was in my backyard on a sunny day and said to my friend do you see those flashing lights? He didn't know what I was talking about. I wasn't in any pain but my vision was spotty at best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bWlXcPRrwA