Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Ophthalmic Migraines

This is about the freakiest thing about me. It is really hard to describe what I see during one of these migraines. The picture doesn't quite do it justice.

It starts with a small backwards 'C' in the center of my vision. The 'C' looks like it is drawn in a zig-zag pattern and is moving constantly. Sort of reminds me of TV static. My lips and the left side of my face also gets numb and tingly, and I can't put two thoughts together. Freaky.

As the 'C' gets bigger and moves to the peripheral vision it is not as easy to ignore. Sometimes it is quite comical to watch me walk, for some reason I am 'pulled' to the left, sort of like I am staggering but I swear if I didn't bump into shit I would probably involuntarily walk in a complete circle. Mind you, it wasn't that funny at first. I, like a lot of people, thought I was having a stroke.

The cause is due to a temporary spasm in the blood vessels behind the eye called "vasospasm" similar to a spasm or cramp that you may have once experienced in one of your leg muscles (Charlie-Horse).

I am lucky, in that I don't actually get a migraine per se, just a pressure at the base of my skull once the visual aura dissipates. Annoying but not painful.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds kinda like a stroke to me

Unknown said...

Scott also gets the aura without the migraine.

I get the migraine w/o the aura.

Sigh.

Anonymous said...

mebbe you had some bad acid back in the day and you're having flashbacks? LMFAO

Evel said...

There was no such thing as bad acid back in the day.

~Sigh~

Camille said...

Ya - I think I have to agree with the sigher.

tomorrow? I get the migraines without the auras too. Typical migraine day will have me being awakened with splintering pain and almost puking in the bed where I lie. Being an emetophobe, that doesn't happen of course. But ya - no aura for me either; just some nice crippling pain.

*sigh*

(*waves* hi Evel, haven't been around for a while, 'scuse me while i catch up, eh?)