Seeing spinning stars

[SMRA]

My vision in my left eye has slowly gotten worse over the years.  I now have a prescription to get glasses, but it is a mild prescription.  I was sitting in church today and both of my eyes became a little blurry (this sometimes happens if I get low blood sugar levels - I have never had high blood sugars).  
I am 29 years old.  While this blurring episode was going on, my left eye developed a half-moon field in the outer ring of my eye.  In that half-moon, I could see star-like spindle things that were spinning.  It went on for about 30 minutes.  I could not see distant faces that were in that area, and I could not read letters that were right in front of me.  It seemed like I had some sort of blank spot in my vision while reading.  
I have never had anything happen like this before.  I do not have any other medical complications besides ovarian cysts.  I do have a sister who had a brain tumor removed when she was 21 - I have had negative MRI's taken several years ago for head ache.
I do not take any medications.  I am not overweight, and I exercise 3-5 times a week.
I just had my eyes checked a week ago.  What could this have been?

[randalll]

"where i see what looks to be a color spectrum flashing in my perrifrial vision of my right eye"
i get these before i get a migraine, called an aura i think. lots of colourful flashing lights over part of the vision. dont think its anything serious, i just take a paracetamol and lie down for a couple of hours and it always goes away. water seems to help aswell.

[babyphatt455]

I did not mean to ask if I had MS, sorry.

[babyphatt455]

i am starting to have to have this problem every few months (not an everyday occurance) where i see what looks to be a color spectrum flashing in my perrifrial vision of my right eye, could this be MS or optic neuritis?

I am only 17 years old though.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

With your symptoms and you family history it is imparative that you see an Eye MD yearly. THese episodes need to be evaluated. They can be due to disease of the heart, blood vessls and the brain including brain tumor. Statistically the most common cause would be an ophthalmic migraine (often no headache).

You can find an eye MD at www.aao.org..  This is important. Especially if your last eye exam was by an non-MD, non-physician non-full scope  optometrist (OD). You need to see an MD and if you saw an MD a week ago you need to go back and have this episode evaluated.

JCH III MD