Optical Migraine

[xXLONGHARDUNXx]

yeah not what i see :L

[anonymom66]

This is the first thing I've seen that accurately represents what I've started getting - little gray/white pinwheels. They don't grow in size; they appear in my vision on the left, spin for a few secs, then go away. Another one may or may not appear in a different place and do the same thing. I notice them most when I am running. Also noticed one the other day when I started backing my car out of my driveway and turned my head suddenly. No headaches associated with them.

[carry7474]

wow i have been getting them for almost 3 years and they realy suck.I see almost the same thing but half the circle and i know i need to take meds fast before the migrain hits i just wanna cry but that makes it worse.I notice that bright light red lights or even looking at a sheet of white paper sets it off.

I take napraxon it helps so much.

[onblock7]

LOL Mine the other night was a damn rainbow though, not this color but yeah very similar! first one I got, glad to know what it is now and I know others who have had it now since I talked to them.

[candyrenee821]

Yep is almost exactly the same effect. I hate getting them!

[mazzefr]

Dead on to my symptoms, and same as Larry for after effects. Been getting them for years and never knew what they were. Thank you!

[LuvsPepeLePew]

this is exactly what i am seeing RIGHT NOW. ugh makes me so nauseous and now the head ache is setting in as the eye thing goes away.

[LarryTheSzynka]

I experience the zig-zag shimmering crescent. They last exactly 20 minutes and I feel light headed when they occur. I just had one.

The first one that I experienced (two years ago) was scary as hell. I immediately went to the ER and had a CT scan done, results: no pathology.

I guess this is something that we must learn to live with, you never know when they are going to occur.

[ndpenname]

It depends, but that's often what happens to me. They thought I had liesons on my brain at first, so I was really relieved to find out it was only optical migraines. They really aren't any fun, and if I don't take meds they can last all day :P Don't envy the other people that have them.

[TheCozzie99]

Had one of these an hour ago. Lasted for about 25minutes. Scary!!!

[cockneybasterd]

I get these and then a head ache which words can't describe and then vomiting for about 3-4 hours after, i hate them so much. I'm constantly worried about getting one when i'm away from home or at work .ect, so much so that the stress usually causes one. I feel for everyone that suffers with these, there is hope that you can grow out of them but unfortunately not everyone does.

[kbro04]

I get this after I exercise almost every time! Never followed by pain though. Great representation.

[bigvatodre]

That's what happened to me, only the lines were shimmering gold and were long and wave, not a circle. the pain was unbearable.

[JonShank1]

This is pretty much what I see... except that it's in a half moon shape and it affects both eyes. It generally only takes about 10-15 minutes from beginning to end. I don't get the headaches, thankfully, but it is quite disconcerting if you do not know what it is. I don't get them very often.

[sebowe]

I get these occasionally, maybe 1 or 2 a year. I am 24 now, & the first time I had one of these I was 16. I had no idea what it was and I was in school when it happened. The left field of my vision was affected and I kept bumping into people in the halls, ha. I've learned that this is a mixed blessing in the sense that if I take Excedrin migraine as soon as this happens, I can prevent the actual headache. If I don't and let the headache happen, I'm out of commission for the rest of the day!

[XxGypse69xX]

Bad idea watching this while I have a migraine...

[Emman206]

i get migranes alot when i do i see the wierd cricle thing and it sucks it makes me throw up many times. if this happens to you pleas reply

[Swordmaster146]

Thanks for putting this video - never had this kind of migraine because I am just a kid (this migraine can happen to anyone tho...), I wanted to know what it looks like. My mum complains about these and needs to take some medicine.

Now I know! I don't need to think anymore, or then when I get one of these.

[karmelowa23332]

When I think 'bout migraine all I want is puke ;////

[walvisfilet]

good job picturing this

[javiernytena]

I feel bad when i get this migraine!

[winnEntertainment]

I remember when I used to get these, just watching this makes me sick. the auras are worse than the pain.

[heelrunner]

does this type of migraine hurt????

[kaffir3]

@heelrunner Some people say they get terrible headaches with or shortly after an attack, I don't, I have suffered from them for over 30 year, I get them periodically in clusters.

[thesoph0104]

@heelrunner no ... it just feels like you want to be knocked out or die because it hurts so much .....

[deberry07]

OMG mine look just like this!!! but on the other side.. its creepy cuz when i look in the mirror while it happends i can only see one side of my face :(

[igladsome]

Just to clarify, I don't have any pain either during or after the attack

[igladsome]

After the attack I get a spaced out feeling, light sensitive; everything is very bright and alive, quite nice in a mad way.

I agree that diet is to be looked at and have found that being dehydrated can bring on these migraines. And in response to an earlier posting, I do get cold sores but am unaware of any real connection as old sores are so common. Oh but for a cure (for cold sores too).

[igladsome]

Great representation! I have been getting these for over 20 years. The aura can vary from a cresent to an almost perfect circular shape and as others have stated, it grows until I am practically blinded by it. I certainly wouldn't try to cross a road in that state. Indeed, I am very cautious about driving long distances. My episodes last around 20 mins normally but can go on for a fair bit longer.

[mano956]

I hate these things. I get them all of the time, and it is driving me insane. Especially the headache part.

[pace0426]

Mine have been anything from a "dancing blind spots" to squiggly lines. They seem to travel slightly through my line of vision and then they're gone. I had my first one about 12 years ago. My second about 6 years ago. In the last couple months I have had two or three a week. This is a pretty good visual representation.

[NuTiMash]

like paultrombetta said, when I suffer from the aura, I always had only the left side vision staying as normal as it used to be, I wonder if everyone under the aura have the right side vision blurred or on random side actually.

btw, although in actual case, it's not very likely to be a circle shaped blur, it's how it looks like, nice video.

[winteralex]

That is bang on!!

[cast390]

Yep, thats what it looks like

[ScaperSteph]

I think this is happening to me right now. Except I'm seeing bright neon colors flashing around. I even see it with my eyes closed. This is so strange. I can barely read the words on the screen. They are moving. I was just sitting here watching videos and then bam I feel like I"m in a kaleidoscope!

[Freshhhhh1982]

Really accurate representation.

[GhostsOfPancaeks]

When I get these, they are always at random. Someone told me it might be allergies, but I can never tell what from! Also, they always make me feel really weak after. But that just might be me. I don't think it happens to every one else. Anything to help the pain? :c

[BigHustlePromo]

I get these. I thought I was going crazy.

[kaffir3]

@BigHustlePromo you are not going crazy, as you can see by the comments many people get them. It is comforting to know you are not alone and they are not a serious affliction, just an occasional irritation that one learns to live with. . I am surpised at the number of comments I have recieved and how common this type of migraine is. I have suffered them on and off for decades. There is no treatment to prevent them that I am aware of .

[systat]

@BigHustlePromo This happened to me twice, last year and this year in about same part of the year, first I had an odd feeling in my arms like they are working on their own, then these things in my vision and whenver I tried to focus on a key on keyboard that key would just dissapear in my vision while all others that I wasn't focues on stayed intact...also runny nose

[mesher17]

@systat I had the exact same thing as you! runny nose n all :(

[EbonySings4u]

@BigHustlePromo Same here! I was having them for years and I kept it to myself because I thought the people around me would just think I was looney! :-(

[buldakrey]

I have also experienced this shit.

Is there any treatment?

[cakename]

Mine are not always circular, but I have astygmatism, I don't know if that has anything to do with it. No headache. They are very colorful, interspersed with black and white patterns.

[BenchRecordings]

Yep. This is almost exactly what mine look like!

[wawalake]

Wow! My doctor thought I was nuts, I thought I was nuts, holy been suffering for years with these! Good to know that I'm not alone!!! I don't get the pain just bright grreen with silver lining. Last 10 mins. Then tightness in my face & shoulders. Very light sensitive, they always come after a long walk, going from outside to inside. Sometimes at night before falling asleep.

[JustinAndersonDrums]

Ive had these for years sometimes, you look at something and look away and your like i have one ! danm! and it really doesent end up being one.

[theRealIonian]

You can add me. I've suffered with these damn things since I Was about 21 and I'm 36 now. They suck. I'm having one right now which led me to search for any video that can describe to my friends what it's like. this is close!

[RellunPiinaaja]

Just what I see, excellent recreation!

[kaffir3]

Out of curiosity, how many people who get these also get cold sores?

[theRealIonian]

@kaffir3 I get cold sores as well

[furQ]

@kaffir3 lolwut

[Freshhhhh1982]

@kaffir3 I get coldsores too. Why do you think there is a link.

[cast390]

@kaffir3 Not cold sore, canka sores

[mystify79]

@kaffir3 i do i get cold sores and optical migranes xx

[alpineedge3]

@kaffir3 that's herpes. it's not related.

[xLoliChiDesuu]

@kaffir3 thats caused by somthing compleatly diffrent. cold sores are herpies. migraines arent

[rikothenord]

@kaffir3 Me. I had just this kind of scintillation last night and I just got 2 cold sores 3 days ago.  why do you ask? are there others?

[kaffir3]

@paultrombetta when I first posted this depiction of my optical migraine I had no idea how many thousands of people suffered the same way, maybe we should set up an 'optical migraine support group' because I am getting them quite frequently lately. I am virtually blind when an attack occurs.

[celticpath71]

@kaffir3 @kaffir3 I just got my first one some time last year, and it scared the crap out of me, because I was driving at the time it happened. I didn't know what was happening to me.

There are support groups for this, search Google for "migraine support group".

I found some links there.

[SteffanLlwyd]

@paultrombetta Me too! I also find my left hand feels a little strange.... slightly numbed and cooled along the lower edge and along my little finger. Occasionally the visual disturbance looks different to this: an electric blue shimering light like a three pointed star. I find it very hard to speak and simple words escape me. For example it took me 40 minutes to remember the word for celary. No headache but a general feeling of weirdness.

[tokenblogger]

This one is close, too! THanks!

[Tetont]

it's a really good representation of what we see when we get these so thanks for posting. I had my first one about 7 years ago and it looked just like the video except full on prismatic colors. I just had my 2nd this morning (therefore my re-interest in them) and it had the same flashing character though this time a crescent and not a full circle like last time - this time I was not freaking out like the 1st time since I knew what it was.

[Butters681]

How come I cant see completely for like 7 seconds and i feel super weak and can barely stand when it happens

[Houndf]

thats not an optical migraine. its related to a sudden shift in blood pressure. i don't know the technical term though.

[kaffir2]

@Houndf and you graduated from what medical school ? The technical term is 'Scintillating Scotoma' it is a visual aura in some migraines. Mine occur with purple, green, black and white tints and come in slowly expanding crescent shapes as well as circles. They last from 10 minutes to over an hour in my experience and occur in both eyes simultaneously , they are a brain not a retinal phenomena. I have had them for over 12 years at varying intervals from days to years apart,

[DeltaAirlinesFlyer]

Ahh i had an optical migraine today!!! It was soo scary i thought i was going blind but it only lasted 30 min. Thank god! Hope i dont get one again!!!!

[ICDJ815]

I get these about 2-3 times a year as well. From my past experience, I don't normally get headaches afterwards. In fact, I have noticed that I am more prone to getting an optical migraine if I haven't gotten much sleep the night before. Perhaps sleep deprivation has something to do with it?

[121nuyasha]

how many of you are guys im like the only one??? i get these things almost 2 a month and the headake will last the entire day!! its so FING annoying ever time i get one it starts out as a little dot. and im like oh F**** THAT BETTER NOT BE WUT I THINK IT is lol. i got over most of it but sometimes ill get ones bad enough that i wont be able to get out of bed and my parents always accuse me of making excuses to skip school and stuff

[kaffir2]

I am amazed at the number of comments this attempt of mine to show what my optical migraine looks like. About half the replies are from guys so is not a gender thing. My husband also gets them. So far I have been lucky at not getting the headache that usually accompanies this annoying condition. This little video gets more views and comments than my most of my other 200 videos on rearing and taming my pet savanah monitors (see kaffir2) aka DanceswithSavs.

[DeltaAirlinesFlyer]

Im a guy and I just got one of these yesterday, it looked almost just like this one! I thought I was starting to get one again today in class and I started to flip out because it was a very unpleasant experience!!

[tygabb]

I have one of these right now, i get them about twice a year, and this is exactly what i am expericninc, except the fact that i cant even see the right part of the screen

[stringsofserenyti]

i went back just a few min and ur exactly right man do u know the relief i feel i feel like crying some else sees what i see lol i wud try to expline to dr. familey no one could udersatnd i mean in my case so much pain my fam thought i was being dramatic when ui was a little girl ! :( i wud try 2 explaine the ziggzags and then i d vomit lol actualy once i vomit i feel alot better the haedache statrs to demenish thank u so much ! thanx!

[stringsofserenyti]

over the years i have just got acustome to wearing dark shades the irony to it is that if i take them off its not so much the if ill get one as much as the fear of getting one i haave 3 kids and they have seen me go through i dont if disabilty is eben an opption but the okder i get the worse the more often they come but i m sure that has to do with the everyday stressers implied i sure haTE EM !!!

[stringsofserenyti]

hey all i even feel spooked about tlking bot mine i have been getting them sence i was 11 years old i get the ones where im un able to see out of 1 eye that the on set then afetr regain vision the headaches i have been hoaspitlize for the more sever ones they give me meds but god they mk me dizzy!

[allergygal]

I have one right now and this is a very good representation.

[GhostsOfPancaeks]

I've been getting mine since I was 9. Is there any way to make them stop? :\

[Florhusband]

See a good neurologist, and keep looking for an answer. In my case, it turns out allergies are an issue - for instance, I'll get a migraine (like now) if I eat slightly stale bread or lettuce. For a few days, you may keep a diary of whatever you eat and drink. Then, when you get a migraine and it ends, count back 24 hours to figure out what you had. It may be that that food or drink was the cause.

[fifenhorn]

Oh my goodness...how did you manage to capture this? This is EXACTLY what I get...wow...never thought I would be able to send someone a link about it!!! I usually get a mild headache after the blind spots go away, but doesn't last too long.

[JaredLund]

I have one right now. I can't even tell if i'm typing correctly its so bad. Luckily I don't have a headache to go along with it. I haven't eaten yet today, maybe it has something to do with it?

[Tiaun176]

i fucking hate mines i just wanna AAAAAAAAAAAAH

[pawtucket999]

I get them in the mornings right after waking up (last any where from 15-60 minutes). Sometimes (rarely) I get them in the afternoon or night.

Caffeen, stress and lack of sleep can make them worse.

[Vanillaamor]

All I can say Migraines hurt aura or no aura. I hate'em.

[tranurse]

i don't get an aura all the time. only about half. i have got one now, but i didn't get an aura. i have been a little nauseous, but not horribly this time. right now it hurts over my right eye, and my face is numb on that side. i've taken some alleve, and an oxycodone i had left over from surgery last year, so now i'm gonna hope it works and go to sleep.

[jaylay734]

OMG i hate them so much. theyre so constant tho that i just get used to it...

[cockneybasterd]

i hate them so bad -_-

[jillshayes]

WOW- that is what it is like.

[violoncellistar]

This is the best artificial re-creation of a migraine aura I sometimes get.

[eukaryote90]

I sometimes get things like that.... Mostly I just feel like I'm looking at the world through a window instead of actually being there though

[jaylay734]

I know exactly what you mean. like bad tv reception or something

[skatefallen91]

Fuck, you got this exactly right (other than the fact that it's rarely a perfect circle haha)

[KayakFreak]

OMG.. you have nailed just one of the different types of auras that I see. Just try and drive or work or pay attention to the task at hand with that obnoxious buzzing, jumping thing blocking your vision. And that's not including the pain. I give this a five for it shows what it is.

[altoids79762]

i have the same thing except i get nauseated to

[TakeOnNE1]

also (this is anytime) if i close one eye i see purple and green colours o.O and all the time is ee static and little wiggly shapes but the eye doctor told me thats stegatism or w/e tv/game/staying up =/

[TakeOnNE1]

So this is nothing to worry about then right!? it like starts with a little dot head ache then gets bigger and its like rainbow colors and i have to lay down and rest my eyes and it goes away later im fine right? just stress!?

[wwwdjLiQuiDiCecom]

i have these regularly. what sucks is the fucking fact that I wear glasses (nearsighted). Ironically, i can see better through the eye that is experiencing the attack.

Fucking shit!!

[kmyeakel]

thanks

[baystategal]

Simple but accurate and excellent demonstration. I've had migraines since I entered puberty, but have only had such visual disturbances twice. The first time was just like this, but the "pattern" seemed to be 3-dimensional (like a double-helix formed into a circle with neon lights traveling along the "tubes.") The second one was still like this pattern, but was blurry - - at first I thought I had mucous in my eye. Strangely, I had no pain during the second one.

[tranurse]

i get an aura, kind of like that,but mine are sparkly and zig around a little more.

[moicracker]

same here, they suck so bad..

[kmyeakel]

I ment start sorry

[kmyeakel]

I get migraines once a month and i guess it has to do with stress or light or fans. It starts any time like at night, morning or daytime. I first stat to feel weird and then after for some time, I get weird. The pain last for some time. Plus whenever I get one, I sometimes vomit during my pain.

[baystategal]

You note that they occur monthly. If you are a female, it could be related to your menstrual cycle. After tracking them, I realized mine occurred during ovulation. (Ironic - - having a headache during the height of fertility!)

[SharingLight]

Thanks for this. Had similar yesterday. No pain. Pretty colours, mostly I saw orange and black. Seemd to come from past my left ear & curves getting narrower toward centre disappearing into infinity. Moves up & out of vision. Lasted around 30mins.Followed by distortion in centre of vision. That was new. Was watching Strictly It Takes 2, Arlene's face was all distorted! This is 3rd time I've had it, twice this year. Head feels bruised inside today & if I cough, pain in right side of brain.

[ashado19]

oh God!! I hated getting those!!! I would see something like in the video, the blurryness.

Had other symptoms to. Put me out for the whole day.

[sassy777]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have suffered with this for 15 years, and no doctor I have ever been to has known what the hell I was talking about. I thought I was either crazy, or dying.

[peterglynnfilms]

Ditto. It's coz we failed to use the right words. Scotoma , aura , zigzags re ones they may have recognised , but they just didn't have a clue to what I was describing as a non medical person.

[2mirrorcats2]

An excellent representation. That's exactly what the form is, though it's usually more colorful. Mine have no pain involved, thankfully. Two days ago I had four of them...otherwise it was a day like any other.

[Decembirth]

i get these

not much you can do about it. so i just let them happen and try to ignore it.

of course its a bit hard to ignore blinding pain and nausea

[kaffir3]

The graphic shows what my optical migrains look like. No one had illustrated an optical migrain to my satisfaction, that's why I decided to make one. Thanks for the many messages from other youtube migrain sufferers telling me I got it right.

I do NOT get migrain headaches, just the visual thingy and temporary blindness till the effect which starts off very small then slowly expands till it clears the visual field.(can last from 20 mins.-1 hr) Only then does my vision return to normal.

[SeismikSi]

me the same I dont get the headaches just the aura (when younger i had to shut myself off in the dark til it had gone now i can pretty much carry doing whatever i am doing as normal). Is it definitely a migrain if we just get auras?

[UrbanQuestAntiHero]

yes after i go blind like this itll last a good 30 mins then ill get the bad headache thank you so much for poting this

[limestar86]

i experience this, but on the corner of my right eye. :( i see the lights too. it sucks.

[Nola0106]

Oh my god! I have been getting this exact thing for almost 3 years now, in the right eye only. I have had migraines for about 10 years - THIS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY! I have been on different meds. nothing is working!!

[peami]

have you tried applying ice to the affected eye? if not try it, it works for me all the time.. they disappear in about 15-20 minutes, prevents the head ache as well.. hope it helps you..

[cjsantaromana]

Today is the second day in a row I've experienced this. Pretty scary at first. I thought I may have been having flashbacks from my younger partying days. It's definitely a trippy experience. I was at work and both times were followed by migraine headaches. I hope this doesn't become a part of my daily life. Glad to see I'm not alone though.

[Shoot3r101]

holy poop i see this but dont got headaches or migraines and it gets so big i cant even see anymore can anyone explain this?

[alizarinyui]

Oh my god that is exactly of what I saw and then I started to have the migraine.

[unfreez]

Doesnt really look like mine

I have one exactly in the middle of my view.. thats all black.. with a white jagged like edge that lights up

[Roseayy]

ahhh i hate mighranes. i only get the optical kind and it stinks. im only 14 so it isnt something i can handle. i had to cover up the screen cause it scared me. flashing lights terrify me because of migranes. anyone else that gets these would understand why.

[theredboys]

i only just found out that it was an Optical Migraine =D

i feel better now because i thought it was something worse

[nardeeisms]

Having one right now! Perfectly depicted. I am closing one eye as I type this (still hasn't gone away yet) The only thing I do when this happens is to wait it out - Thank you. I am not alone.

[juju1687]

yikes that's scarily accurate. hope I don't actually get a migraine now lol

[burnttaste]

great! exactly like mine!

[Emong111]

uh, bad memories D:

[hemochromatosis]

great job!!! this really looks like mine :)

[Doggieman1111]

awesome! totally reproduces what it's like. nice work.

[125695]

yea best one i've seen

[Booshibonton]

oh hey, very simple yet very accurate : )