permanent visual aura

[Kris189]

Hello, i have suffered from visual snow for 11 years now and all the doctors i have seen have told me i have depression and anxiety.i have had an MRI and CT which were clear. I am convined that the migraines i started getting at the age of 16 have caused this permanent change in my vision and this has caused me to become anxious and depressed. Everything has an unusal glow about it and appears too bright. i have trouble with flourescent lighting and focusing on reading black text on white paper. computer screens are an issue and lectures at uni are difficult as the white background on the screen makes it hard for me to see beyong the flickering it causes me. after i look at an object then look away i see after images. i have trouble focusing on people when i talk to them due to the visual static. the vision is similar to the auras i used to suffer from before getting a migraine but not as severe.
I would give anything just to have normal vision, it's been so long that i've forgotten what it is like. i avoid social situations in bright lighting due to my focusing problems and i'm sick of this vision thing making everything appear dreamlike!
Do you have any advice?

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you? Were you able to have this checked by your neuro-opthalmologist? If the medication you are taking is not working, check with your doctor for proper management. Aside from medications used for migraine, complementary and alternative medicine such as biofeedback and other relaxation techniques may be helpful. Take care always.

[frustratedandaging28]

Than k you for the above posts. I have been experiencing exactly the same symptoms which is  equally disturbing and interferes with my life. The doctors tell me to get used to it and it will go away. I have read the above posts and may try a different medication as I am currently on Propananol but it is not producing any effects other than lethargy and weight gain. It has incurred depression and anxiety which is hard to shift. Please keep me updated with any progress that you make.

[krayon]

Same thing here, check my posts, 18 years for me, no one knows anything other then they acknowledge these problems are real, klonopin which I prescribed to myself 16 years ago, is the ONLY thing that has helped they thought I was crazy back then, now it's commen for these symptoms.  I'm on 3mg a day it's very potent but helps, it does not get rid of anything however...

Same exact symptoms, 24/7, it destroys lives and no doctor has a clue I've seen close to 35 over the years....  

[lunaone]

Hi everyone, I've had all the symptoms since the end of Jan. 2010.  It freaked me out so bad that I took a week off of work in the beginning.  I've had migraine with aura since I was 13, (now I'm 32) and have been on celexa for about 8 years.  It seems like any research I've done on my own shows a connection to depression or anxiety with this 'phenomenom'. Anyway, I had the full workup (MRI, numerous eye tests, etc). Finally I was sent to a neuro-opthomologist and after a 3 hour appt, he told me I have persistant migraine aura and showed me about a half page blurb from one of his medical books about it. He said basically its the same thing happening in the brain that causes migraines but is still unknown why it happens.  He also said there is very little known about it by doctors (which I found quite apparent).
    Before I had seen the Neuro-opth. I had read somewhere that clonazepam has helped, so I tried some lorazepam that I had (which is in the same drug class) and it helped!  It's for anxiety or sleep and makes you drowsy so there's a drawback.  Also, it's a controlled substance because it can cause dependence so it can be touchy asking your doctor for it.  After a few months on it though, it just stopped working well.
    The Neuro-opth. prescribed topamax which I am very sensitive to and have been on for 6 weeks with no results but he said it may take a while.
     I think I got very lucky to meet this doctor. He basically told me what I'm seeing is real and there is a lot more people out there that have it than previously thought. Please don't give up. I have a good idea of what you're seeing and it's not ok to just put up with it.  It's a matter of finding a doctor that will help you with it. If I find any relief I'll repost. Good luck!

[headshot007]

I started  having migraine headaches with aura and numbness in body parts when I was 13.  I am 35 now. I went through a bad time in my life at around 15 to 19 years old as the migraines got worse--a really bad one every couple of days. I was unable to attend school very much for a couple of years. During this time I started having problems with anxiety/depression. When I reached around 20 I was able to get on a med combo that allowed me to live my life- I got married, started a career, etc. I did ok for several years then anxiety and migraines almost took over my life again. For the past 2 years, I have been trying to find meds that will help with the anxiety, migraines and constant aura.
For most of my life I have had symptoms like all of you. I have found some important things over the past 22 years, please listen if you have these problems like me;

1-if you have migraines with constant aura-YOU DO HAVE ANXIETY!!!!! Trust me, I have researched anxiety, and migrains extensively, never heard of constant aura without some level of anxiety. You may have lived with a slight amount of anxiety without knowing it. The past year I have tried several ssri s and older antidepressants that have helped me greatly with my aura, anxiety, and migraines. I am VERY far from normal, but I realize now how anxious I was, and how bad the aura was after trying antidepressants that worked. I have been on Amitryptiline, and now switching to Celexia, after Zoloft wore off and aura is worse.
I am not a doctor and could be wrong, but I have spoken with several folks with my problems and they have some level of anxiety with the constant aura. Serotonin is responsible for migraines and anxiety.
I know how tuff this is, but speak with your doctor, or read about anxiety/aura/derealization.

[nyxbruxa]

This is quite interesting to read all of everyone's comments...I have had migraines w/auras since 1986 (not much headache or nausea, but always the aura & temporary blindness - usually lasts 20 mins. or so). The squiggly little flashing white lights in my vision are there 24/7 though. Both my mother & uncle experienced the same symptoms. For me, they are little "white worms" that move & dance all about, they sometimes vary in size, like small meteors passing by my eye, but never leave. I've had them for so long, that i function normally and barely notice them, unless i specifically focus on their presence. It's frustrating though, since my optometrist looked at me like i was crazy when i asked him about this. They don't seem to do much, just wiggle about. Good luck to all the others here w/this strange condition.