My first ocular migraine

G30Grrl

Last night I had a wicked bout of insomnia. Since childhood, I've experienced periodic bouts of insomnia, but usually when they happen, I at least get to sleep until 3:00am before waking up for the rest of the night. Last night I woke up at 1:00. Focus and concentration at work has been severely impaired today. There is a project I HAVE to complete today, so I decided to grab a sugar-free energy drink at lunch. Mind you, it is only about the fifth drink with caffeine that I've had since March of this year. It had 120 mg of caffeine, and was sweetened with Sucralose. I would not normally ingest something like this, but I really needed to get this work done, which requires me remaining conscious for the rest of the day, something I just didn't think would be possible.

Before I even finished the darned thing, I started having weird visual effects in my left eye. No pain, but very disturbing, especially since I work on the computer, and rely very heavily on my vision to turn data into detailed maps. Needless to say, I was concerned. Being a proper nerd, I Googled the issue, and this is what I came up with:

"Ocular migraines are painless, temporary visual disturbances that can affect one or both eyes. Though they can be frightening, ocular migraines typically are harmless and self-resolve without medication within 20 to 30 minutes.....
Common migraine "triggers" that can cause a susceptible person to have a migraine attack (including ophthalmic or ocular migraines) include certain foods, such as aged cheeses, **caffeinated drinks,** red wine, smoked meats, and chocolate. Food additives, such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), and **artificial sweeteners** also can trigger migraines in some individuals.

Other potential migraine triggers include cigarette smoke, perfumes and other strong odors, glaring or flickering lights, **lack of sleep** and emotional stress."

The article (which I found on allaboutvision.com) even showed a picture of exactly what my visual disturbance was, so I know that's what was happening. As the article noted, my visual disturbance vanished within the hour. But my left eye is still twitching. Ugh. But At least I got my map done.

Note to self: **No** degree of insomnia is worth pouring crap into my body just to stay awake.

bethmakesmusic

My husband just starting getting ocular migraines about 2 weeks ago! Crazy scary! They're pretty short lived, but really wipe him out afterwards. He usually gets his when he hasn't slept enough. I'm sorry you had that. That sucks!

I hope the rest of your day goes better and that you can sleep tonight. I know it can be freaky, but relaxing helps it go away faster.

manderson27

I get these type of migraines they have gotten less frequent as I have gotten older and for me it is certainly when I am tired. The worst one I had also included numbness down my right arm and mouth, I was slurring my words. This was when I was in my teens my mum thought I was drunk. The doctor thought I had had a mini stroke I was terrified but I was eventually diagnosed by my optician. I am just glad I don't get the pain/vomiting etc that other migraine sufferers get.

I find mine go from the far corner of my right eye and gradually go accross both eyes and disappears from the far corner of my left eye. They can last for minutes or hours but lying down and sleeping usually gets rid of them.

For me it is like a visual buzz that is the only way I can describe it. Zigzagging line distorting my vision even with my eyes closed.

Oh and a sudden bright light can do it. I purchased some halogen spotlights and when I turned them on I was looking directly at one and I had an instant OM it only lasted for about 10 mins but still annoying.

G30Grrl

@Manderson27, Wow; I'm glad mine wasn't that debilitating. It just started as a small jaggedy ring made of colorful, flashing triangles, slightly off to the left (peripheral vision, so I could never quite look at it directly). It gradually got larger and larger until it basically circled the entire left side of my field of vision. Eventually, the triangles sort of faded out one by one, until they were gone, and I was just left with a twitchy and dry-feeling eye. Very odd.

Other causes I had found online were flickering lights (I work in fluorescent lighting), cigarette smoke (Immediately prior to purchasing the energy drink, I'd been at a meeting where people were smoking outside afterward, so I was in a cloud of it as I said my goodbyes), and perfume (as I hugged a friend goodbye, I commented on how pretty her perfume was. I don't wear any, as it tends to give me a headache over time). So I guess I just had too many triggers at the same time.

@Beth, thanks for the warm wishes. So far I don't feel too wiped out, but with all that caffeine and other energy crap, I guess it's not surprising. I'll be paying attention to how I feel later, though. I plan to do some good meditation before bedtime tonight, in hopes that I sleep better.