"Painless migraine"

[olyinaz]

A friend is having these - "painless migraines". He sees lightning bolts in his vision but no pain. Scary as heck, but the Doc said, "Do you see this?" Yes! That's exactly it! "It's a painless migraine. Take two aspirin and call me in the morning." Seemed really ho-hum about it.

So does anyone here know anything about these and/or what helps to make them pass? My buddy will be very appreciative of any info (he's understandably a bit worried about it).

Thanks,
Oly

[Garneteye]

Called ocular migraine - no pain but does mess up your vision somewhat. Since I only have one working eye(firecracker on Christmas morning/ age 6) I simply close my eye and wait for it to pass, usually about 30 minutes for me. Does cause some problems while driving, simply find the quickest safe place to stop and wait. Have had them for over 30 years, no rhyme or reason to when they occur.

Dan

[Steelbanger]

My Dr. called it Optic Migraine. Jagged distortion of the vision, usually it only affects one side. Strange when you can see the left side of a printed word but not the right side letters. I have had these since the mid eighties, usually a few times a year, sometimes two or three a day. They last about 20 minutes. All I do is sit back, try to relax and close my eyes. If I happen to fall asleep the condition passes while I nap. No pain whatsoever and if I recall correctly there is no reason for concern.

http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Things-You- ... &id=400395

[Borregos]

I get them on a regular basis. Takes about half an hour to clear up for me. I can sense when they are coming and just sit quietly for a bit. They seem to have got more frequent but less severe (in the sense of some vision loss) as I have got older. Thinking about it now, it is strange but I rarely get them driving the truck!!

[Pitchy]

Anyone know of any good relief from severe migrains , no someone that has them daily.

[bdhold]

excedrin, because of the jolt of caffeine.

might also check on food allergies, and get sodium out of their diet

[Borregos]

Anyone know of any good relief from severe migrains , no someone that has them daily.

Pitchy, one of my daughters gets severe ones on a regular basis, she gets a little relief from "Exederin Migraine"

There is a local acupuncture guy that my wife visits for her back and he runs a migraine clinic (treats a lot of well known people apparantly), supposed to be very good but EXPENSIVE!! However he told my wife that he is interested in doing some shooting with me sometime so I may get an "in' there

[bdhold]

Pete, I outgrew mine, and have only had one since college days.

[Borregos]

Pete, I outgrew mine, and have only had one since college days.

Yes, I outgrew my headache migraines in my mid thirties, just still get the "eye" ones, my daughter who gets them is approaching forty now with no sign of them letting up but we keep our fingers crossed!!

[olyinaz]

Thanks! I'll pass the info along but it's most helpful to hear that this is somewhat common and that it passes.

Oly

[bdhold]

it's kind of like a fire, it takes a combination of physical stress, external stimulus and allergic reaction.

[piller]

Often, there are triggers which cause the migraine. It can be like my trigger, chocolate, or it could be the nitrates from processed meats, or wine. The thing is, each person has their own triggers. In women, they are often hormonal, and there is no way I know of to fix that. Accupuncture was what worked best to make my migraines go away. I haven't had one hospitalize me for 25 years. They all do have something in common about blood flow through the brain.

[Rusty]

I used to work with a guy who had migraines from time to time. He always tried to avoid dairy products. He said if he had too much it would bring on a migraine.

[jb00_98]

My Dr. recommended taking 2 naproxen sodium tabs (Aleve is one of the store brands, I get cheaper generics) as soon as I notice the "sparkles". Works pretty good for me, but I like to follow that with 20-30 minutes in a dark room or a nap if possible...

Vision is okay after that, but my eyes feel bruised for about a day after like I was on the receiving end of two-fingered Three Stooges-style eye gouge...

[Hagler]

Oly,

I have had the visual distortions (lightning bolt bolts & spirals), but only with the severe pain. It was not fun to have all of this in the heat of Summer, while trying to work under the dashboard of a Ford Tempo. What triggered my migraines is Nutrasweet/ Aspartame/ Equal. That stuff is a major source of migraine headaches for airline pilots, too. I cut out the Aspartame, about 10 years ago, and I have many fewer migraines, now.

Shawn

[Richardx]

I got those painless lightening flashes and the eye doc told me it was detached vitroeus (the gooey stuf in your eye) and said welcome to 59. Sometimes it is like hair hanging over my eye--that's been a long time since my hair would fall into my face and not the sink...

[AJMD429]

1. Gotta actually see doctor and be sure it isn't something else like a tumor, retinal tear, etc., but having said that...

2. Look for triggers - foods, smells, sometimes just 'stress', and avoid when able.

3. Rare ones can be just treated per-episode with the meds mentioned above, plus a few others we sometimes use.

4. Frequent ones can be prevented or made to happen less often with some medications we'd normally use for blood pressure, or even for seizures or depression.

[JerryB]

I have had the lightning bolts for a few years and finally told our eye doctor about this year. She ask me if I had any pain or other problems, I told her no. She said don't worry about them, if anything changes to let her know. She teaches eye surgery at UAMS in Little Rock, so I trust her call on it. It is a 100 mile from here to Little Rock but worth the trip.
Doc AJ is right if you start having them see a doctor.

[rossim92]

A coworker of mine was seeing round spots flashing in his vision from time to time. The doctor said it was the eyes version of a painless headache. Glasses corrected his problem.

[shooter]

I don't have any experience with the migraines, but my philosophy is always to treat the cause if possible, and not just the symptoms. That is, unless you aren't worried about the cause. I guess if there's no pain and the doc says don't worry too much, I might not worry too much.

[olyinaz]

1. Gotta actually see doctor and be sure it isn't something else like a tumor, retinal tear, etc., but having said that...

2. Look for triggers - foods, smells, sometimes just 'stress', and avoid when able.

3. Rare ones can be just treated per-episode with the meds mentioned above, plus a few others we sometimes use.

4. Frequent ones can be prevented or made to happen less often with some medications we'd normally use for blood pressure, or even for seizures or depression.

Yep, he's been to a doc and they're setting up some extra tests just to be safe. He tells me caffeine in large doses is a sure fire trigger (as in a Venti Starbucks Latte with an extra shot). And dehydration too.

Oly

[AJMD429]

Yep, he's been to a doc and they're setting up some extra tests just to be safe. He tells me caffeine in large doses is a sure fire trigger (as in a Venti Starbucks Latte with an extra shot).

What's funny, is that for some people, caffeine may be a way to TREAT migraine symptoms. Even more interesting is that for many patients an orgasm stops the migraine; obviously that is an effective Rx only for painless and/or 'early' migraines. Hard to imagine that being useful when they are at the peak of a painful migraine.

[soon 2 retire]

I get them and I usually sit in a darkened room until they pass (usually a half hour). They are disorienting if I try to walk or drive. I get about 4 - 5 per year. Way better than the painful kind.

Bob in Friday Harbor

[jackruff]

I've had a few. What I get is a shimmering region that I see with both eyes. It grow larger but becomes less intense and then goes away after 20 minutes or so. I can't identify anything that might have caused them.

[olyinaz]

Boy I tell you what, this has been an eye opener for me ( ) as I'd never heard of them and I was worried for my buddy. He's pretty relieved to hear how common it is and that it pretty much just passes. Big sigh of relief.

Yep, he's been to a doc and they're setting up some extra tests just to be safe. He tells me caffeine in large doses is a sure fire trigger (as in a Venti Starbucks Latte with an extra shot).

What's funny, is that for some people, caffeine may be a way to TREAT migraine symptoms. Even more interesting is that for many patients an orgasm stops the migraine; obviously that is an effective Rx only for painless and/or 'early' migraines. Hard to imagine that being useful when they are at the peak of a painful migraine.

Well that makes perfect sense really, but I'm not touching it with a ten foot pole! (No pun!)



Oly

[flatnose]

So thats my problem!
I have been getting the flashing bolt for the past 10 years. Exact same pattern every time. No pain, but leaves me feeling a bit tired. Bright sunlight or sometimes the computer screen can bring it on. If I sit down for half an hour it goes away. Optician says not to worry, and appears to be very common in older people.