Ache in eye

[Tachi55]

I previously posted this thread: http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Eye-Care/Flashing-in-centre-of-vision/show/1253503

Since then I have seen a retinal consultant's registrar (not the consultant himself, to my surprise). Aafter a another fundus photograph and what I think was an OCT scan, the registrar said that my eyes are fine and he can't see any signs of Macular Degeneration or Central Serous Retinopathy.

I showed him the yellow/white mark that the previous doctor thought might be drusen, as well as the yellow/white ring or crescent around my macular and he said that it was natural and not a problem. I was given the referral because the previous doctor wasn't too sure, but I'm still worried by the contradiction as well as the fact that I'm still getting symptoms.

As well as the flickering and mild scotoma, I'm getting an aching pain in or around my right eye. Sometimes it's an aching that happens when I blink or move my eye, but often it's a barely noticeable ache around my eye socket. I do have a kind of repetitive strain injury of the neck, and a symptom of that is a painless slight 'click' sensation on the front right side of my skull (though not audible from the outside, as it's not as extreme as clicking fingers etc), so I'm worried if that would cause somekind of incerasing tension near my eye or if its to do with stress, or both.

Considering that "flickering" can be quite a vague term, I'll try to explain it here. It seems to be in the centre of my vision, with a small flashing light that sometimes seems to be a very tiny spec if I focus on it. It's more like a pulsing effect that changes colour (dim to light) to a fast frequency but not to the extent that it actively changes colours of the objects I'm looking at. The gaps between lines of text would sort of flash slightly, but the words themselves are not distorted in any way.

Could it still be ophthalmic migraine? It has been going on in various degrees for more than a month.

Thank you for your time.

[Sandra M Brown, MD]

This sounds like an ophthalmic migraine.  The other possibility would be a mild case of optic neuritis which can cause strange visual symptoms accompanied by pain.  However the pain is usually a larger symptom than you describe and the course is not chronic.  That is, the neuritis comes on, gets bad causing pain and vision loss, and then gets better even without treatment.  Also the pattern of vision loss is not usually so localized.  Ophthalmic migraine can be very persistent.

[Tachi55]

Thanks for the reply, I do hope that it's just a migraine.

I've tried to cut down on my computer use (especially at night) and I recently noticed that my bedroom light in my university accommodation was flickering slightly, so if that light has anything to do with causing a ophthalmic migraine I'm fortunately at my family home now for the summer holidays.

I've recently noticed that my right eye (the one that is aching) feels like it has somesort of spasm or pulsing when I lightly touch the eyelid. I wondered if this is something similar to Blepharospasm, particarly as I had eye twiching problems before I got the main eye problems. But I didn't think that would give a flickering light effect and the mild scotoma, and my eyelids do not visibly twitch unless I close them.

[Tachi55]

I also see a kind of 'X' pattern if lines if blink my eyes alot, perhaps from vains.