new type of migraine of one eye

[mddie]

Hi

I have suffered from migraines with aura for 11 years and soemtimes I would just get the zigzag and no pain.  Well I have started having blurred vision when I wake up in my left eye only and it usually clears up quickly, it's like looking throught the bottom of a glass.  Had eye test that was normal, went to hospital, normal again, doc reckons it is a type of migraine... really freaked me out and I thought I had something serious wrong with me... had 3 episodes so far.  Any one else had this?

|THanks for the help

[partyhatunicorn]

vision changes are one of the most common symptoms of migraine, as long as it's not very debilitating it should be fine? my daughter has had episodes of minutes of complete blindness, the neuro says even that's normal!

[vpozie]

I experience exactly what you're talking about - the blurred vision is in my left eye, also.  I've been to several doctors (neurologists, etc), had several MRIs, and so far they all say it's "probably" due to migraines.  I do get terrible migraines, but the blurred vision in the left eye isn't always followed by a migraine.  Sometimes the blurriness goes away pretty quickly, but sometimes it lasts for hours.   If I look at a light during that time, it looks like the light has halos around it.  In addition to this, I have something called an AVM on the right occipital lobe of my brain - doctors are not sure if my migraines and migraine symptoms are related to this or not.  They discovered the AVM in my first MRI, which was done a couple of years ago after my first couple of episodes with the blurry vision in the left eye.  At any rate, it's a comfort to know that someone else is experiencing the blurry vision - especially the same eye as mine.   Unfortunately, so far no one has been able to tell me exactly what's causing it (except that it's probably related to my migraines) or if anything can be done about it.  It's frustrating and unsettling, I know.  

[bamaboy]

The zigzag profile you mention sounds alot like what I've experienced.  It starts out small just enough to disrupt my vision (mostly in the left eye also) then eventually spreads outward with a weird technicolor appearance.
This will appear for about 20-30 minutes followed by a sickening headache which last for about 2-3 hours.  This nuisance is very random;it can happen without being under little to no stress and occur once a month or once every 3-4 months.  Thanks for sharing this info!

[I am WHO.]

An AVM can be fixed (embolized) and is a cause for migraines.  You really need to see a VASCULAR ABNORMALITIES SPECIALIST.  One who specializes in Cerebral AVM's.  They do it with a coil fed up your vein.  An AVM can hemorrage.  It should be treated with a specialist.  A neurologist can diagnose it, but you really need to see a specialist.  PLEASE SEE A SPECIALIST.

I was just diagnosed as having a PAVM.  My doctors were totally baffled and kept ordering the wrong tests.  AVM's are just too rare for most doctors to be well-versed in them.  I have been referred to an HHT center.  It is amazing how much doctors don't know about the proper testing and treatments.  They don't even know that they don't know.  There were so many mistakes made in my diagnosis.  The were REALLY CONFUSED.  Just the body positioning during the tests can make a difference in the findings.  It's really complicated and only a vascular abnormalities specialist...specializing in that part of the body will know exactly what to do.

About migraines...wow, there's a few lefties here.  I'm a lefty too (I mean I usually get them on the left side.)  The zigzag is a type of aura and most aura's occur BEFORE the migraine...for me sometimes it is a day before, other times it is only hours.  It is caused by pressure on the nerves....that's what they think and it makes logical sense.  Usually there will be a feeling of pressure at the same time, but no pain yet.  They are my warning to get away and turn everything off.  Shower's help too....but must be before the pain starts.  I started taking my imitrex at that point because they were sending me to the ER if I waited for the pain to start.  Now I haven't been in for 9 weeks.  WOOHOO!!!  What a change.  Once I have the halo and pressure, there is nothing I can do to stop it.  I just have to prepare.  

I would do some searching on ask.com about migraines to learn as much as you can.  I can't believe how much I continue to learn as more information gets put out there.  From what I understand the pain we feel is as a result of the body trying to compensate for the abnormal pressure inside the brain.  We are not feeling the pressure inside the brain.  Those vessels are not innervated.  What we feel is when the vessels on the outside expand inorder to reduce the dilation of the vessels on the inside.  Does that make sense?  Fascinating isn't it...that the bodies defenses cause the pain, but that isn't even the problem to begin with.  I just find that fascinating and ironic.

[mddie]

Many thanks for your comments, I have been pretty bad lately with headaches, but also have other iissues which seem to exacerbate my head.  I am a hypochondriac and as such suffer from depression and anxiety, which also makes my vision blurred.  At the moment my eyes never seem right, yet professionals dispute this and can't find any problem.  But at the moment my right eye is permanently weeping and red in the corner, don't think that is headache related though.  Anyway to you all who read this do you find in yourseves a correlation between migraine and anxiety?

maddie

[I am WHO.]

Anxiety can definitely bring on a migraine for me, or any intense emotion...the most minor thing can be a trigger.  A sound or a smell, a bright light or a movement...or nothing at all.  Have you tried meditation or positive affirmations yet?  They definitely help me be more relaxed.

[echinacea]

I just found out yesterday that I have a intrapulmonary shunt....could be a PVM...I had a TEE test to look for a PFO. I have a history of migraines with aura, where I lose my right upper vision field right before the headache.

All my doctors have always said, it's just a migraine, don't worry about it. Then, I find out by changing doctors that I am at a higher risk for stroke just  because of this specific type of migraine!

I have a permanent blind spot in my right eye, in the same field of vision. That happened 3 years ago and at the time the doctors said it couldn't possibly have anything to do with my migraines.

Then, earlier this year I had hearing loss that was migraine-related, but it has come back to normal.

That's why I had the TEE. My neurologist has passed me back to my internist now. Apparently it is a small shunt...don't know much yet. I'm not overly worried, and I don't have migraines frequently, thank goodness. I just don't want to lose any more of my vision or anything else.

I'm on a baby aspirin a day and they took me immediately off birth control pills. I'm not a smoker and don't have high blood pressure. The neurologist said that he has never seen this in an otherwise healthy patient.

[hava]

The following exercise will relax you from day one and will help your headache gradually.Keep doing it and come back after one week and say how you are feeling.Then I will suggest some more exercise.You will be surprised how such a simple technique works.
Anulom Vilom - Deep Breath-in through left nostril keeping right nostril closed
then - Breath-out through right nostril keeping left nostril closed
then -Deep Breath-in through right nostril keeping left nostril closed
then - Breath-out through left nostril keeping right nostril closed
and repeat this cycle for upto 30  minutes twice a day(maximum 60 min/day).