great looking patterns

[ed34]

About two months ago I had an eye test. I had to look at a grid of horizontal and vertical lines and in one eye, the vertical ones looked very wavy. The optician put drops in my eyes to dilate the pupils and examined my retina. There was no damage seen and they seemed normal. I have also had floaters in one eye for many years. Last month, I was trying to play snooker and suddenly the centre of my vision was so blurred that I couldn't see the balls. They became invisible. I then started to see beautiful shimmering glass/crystal formations in a circle around my centre of vision. After about 30 minutes, they went away, but believe me they were astounding to see. Today the same thing has happened, and I'm seeing the shimmering. It's like a thin circle of crystals about halfway out into my vision, and I can now focus through the middle again. If I close either eye, they are still there. If I close both eyes they can be seen on a dark background but like watching a cartoon. I am amazed at the geometric shapes that are all linked together to form the circles. This has been going on now for an hour and the right eye is now clear, but the left eye is still showing them strongly. As time passes, they gradually move outward into the extremity of my vision, like going out to the edges of a tv screen and finally go out of view.
I hope you have some ideas because my GP and Optician are at a total loss. I have heart disease, but after 10 stents the arteries have been giving good blood supplies for over 3 years now. Just as I finished typing that sentence, the left eye cleared up.

[ed34]

I thought about that and yet the literature seems to suggest it is associated with headaches but I have none. I am also on aspirin and beta blockers for my heart disease? The literature also seems to suggest one eye affected, but this is definitely both eyes. If I cover one eye, I see the patterns against a dark background, but the open eye shows the pattern in my vision.

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

Sounds like an ocular migraine.  You should see a neuro-ophthalmologist to evaluate and see if there are any other explanations.

HV

[ed34]

just to add, no odd physical feelings when this happens, and no headaches etc.