Silent migraines

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sjbrown

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Has anyone here ever experienced silent migraines? If so what were they like for you and how often etc.
 
Has anyone here ever experienced silent migraines? If so what were they like for you and how often etc.
I have silent migraines, which are the prodromes I used to have when I had painful migraines. At first there is squeezing pressure on one eye with a vague nausea, then I get the visual aura. The aura for me is usually that I see a scintillating pupil that rotates in a circle. The pupil also looks like it's composed of prisms. There is always a vague nausea with it. Sometimes it progresses to the point that I can't see clearly.
 
Not sure if I know what you mean by "silent" migraine, but I've had several ocular migraines over the years which is possibly what you're referring to. No pain at all, visual auras only, lasting maybe a half hour from start to finish. Starts with zig zag lines quivering in the center of my vision, then the quivering zig zags spread across my entire vision before eventually going away. I have a little nausea with them, but I blame that on the visual disturbance - like getting carsick.

The first one I had happened at work (at a doctor's office) and occurred after taking my first dose of a new prescription (antidepressant). With that one, the center of my vision just disappeared, like a black hole in everything I looked at, about the size of everyone's face. It only lasted about 15 minutes. I told my boss, a doctor, and he said I'd had an ocular migraine and not to worry about it, but not to take anymore of that medication.

After that, every few years I've gotten one with the quivering zig zag lines. I never knew anybody else who got ocular migraines until I mentioned it to my brother, who said he's had a couple, too. I have fibromyalgia but he doesn't, so I don't connect the visual disturbances to my fibromyalgia.
 
Not sure if I know what you mean by "silent" migraine, but I've had several ocular migraines over the years which is possibly what you're referring to. No pain at all, visual auras only, lasting maybe a half hour from start to finish. Starts with zig zag lines quivering in the center of my vision, then the quivering zig zags spread across my entire vision before eventually going away. I have a little nausea with them, but I blame that on the visual disturbance - like getting carsick.

The first one I had happened at work (at a doctor's office) and occurred after taking my first dose of a new prescription (antidepressant). With that one, the center of my vision just disappeared, like a black hole in everything I looked at, about the size of everyone's face. It only lasted about 15 minutes. I told my boss, a doctor, and he said I'd had an ocular migraine and not to worry about it, but not to take anymore of that medication.

After that, every few years I've gotten one with the quivering zig zag lines. I never knew anybody else who got ocular migraines until I mentioned it to my brother, who said he's had a couple, too. I have fibromyalgia but he doesn't, so I don't connect the visual disturbances to my fibromyalgia.
I used to get traditional migraines but now I get these "things" that like you described affect my vision and they come and go pretty randomly and I get nausea etc. The doctor called them silent migraines. From researching it looks they are also cause ocular migraines. Not a fan for sure!!
 
Yes, I get them, too. Oh boy, they are not fun. I have only had one official actual migraine headache at 19 yo, but always had dizziness, nausea, and carsickness growing up, I think its connected. At 25 I was just married, home alone eating breakfast and at the time my right eye just sort of lost vision and nose started bleeding.. Went to highly respected emergency eye center and spent day getting tests run. They weren't sure if it was intra-cranial hyper/hypo tension or not but sent me home with the diagnosis of Ocular Migraine.
I still get them, more and more frequently as I age. Certain things will set them off--hormone changes for sure (sets off my nerve pain also), bright light like plasma screens, flourescants, even sun shining through the window blinds. Any eye straining activity, like computers screens, reading, hobbies. Caffeine, alcohol, sweeteners.
Had one doozy of it a few months after my major health crisis 4 yrs ago that made a red mass/blob rise from the bottom of my vision slowly to the top in my right eye. I ran to the mirror because I thought I must have burst a vessel or something--nope. Went to an Opthamalogic Neuro Dr and again they said it is Ocular Migraine. Benign, frustrating, scary. Head feels like it is being squeezed, personal light show in head, even nausea.
 
Has anyone here ever experienced silent migraines? If so what were they like for you and how often etc.
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I had this experience many years ago and it frightened the hell out of me. I had no idea what it was. I thought that I was loosing my eyesight. The way that I can describe it was like coming inside after looking directly at the sun for too long.
I had the nausea too. Fortunately I haven't experienced that in a long time.
 
It is scary:oops: The two worst ones I've had were bad enough I thought I was a having a stroke. Most times the "aura" looks like a rainbow colored or black and white C-shape that grows slowly over the optic nerve/field of vision. Those are called "scintillating scatomas". Sounds...scintillating, right? Not even LOL More like your personal light show in your eye that affects your vision for a few seconds or 20 minutes or on and off for days. Sometimes it looks like a blob of vaseline. Sometimes the blob has a color.
Geez, just reading what I write about it, no wonder I went to the emergency eye doctor.
I have no idea if it has anything at all to do with fibromyalgia specifically, but it wouldn't surprise me either. Could be related to TMJ or bell's pulsy or nothing at all but my over reactive nervous system.
 
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