Three years from now when that page gets too huge, I’ll post another link. Or better yet, there’ll be a Scientific Breakthrough and it’ll all be a thing of the past, we’ll all be flying around in jet-paks, wearing special magnetic migraine-deflecting copper beanies! Heheh.

CJS

I’d just like to say thanks for allowing all of us to access this site - it has made me feel a lot better reading the postings - it would be great if we can get to the bottom of this phenomena and resolve it.  This is the first chat site/room (my knowledge of the correct terminology is limited - sorry!!) I have participated in and I am only feeling comfortable to do so because of your efforts to keep at bay all the dipsticks who want to cause havoc -thanks.

From what I have been reading I would say that I too am a party to these visual experiences - 8 in the last 18 months.  Mine appear at the drop of a hat without warning - suddenly a slight shimmer appears when I am focussing on someone or something.  Then the shimmer grows with the zig zag forms - no coloured lights, but I do get a blind patch as I am trying to focus - quite scarey when you can only see half of the car in front of you in peak hour traffic and there’s nowhere to pull over!! 

The shimmer can start in either eye and usually ends up in both eyes and then goes back to one eye.  A headache usually follows - some worse than others. I have taken to carrying asprin in my bag.  It often takes four asprin to get rid of the headache, especially if I can’t sit down somewhere and close my eyes.  I too can see the shimmer with my eyes closed.

Today the shimmer started at 9.00am after walking out on to a verandah in the sunlight(can’t remember if right or left eye to start with, but definitely ended up in both eyes - travels between the two usually, but ended up in my left eye today).  The effects - shimmering, zig zags and blind patch abated after about two hours (it tends to reduce in intensity during this time and just ends up being a bit of a shimmery blur in the corner).  I still feel a bit wobbly at 12.15pm but don’t have a headache and can see ok.  I have noticed though that my neck is stiff and cracks a bit - could be part of the problem.

Last experience before today was last week doing Christmas shopping - looking up and down the shelving and on it came!  Fluorescent lights are a problem for me and may have caused this one - also lack of food and water (it was a four hour shop with no break!!).  I was able to close my left eye for about half an hour, rub my temple and it subsided.  Still had to take two panadol when I got home though.

Time before this I also hadn’t had anything to eat or drink before work (heading for Christmas breakfast - 5th December).  I drove to work ok (40 minute drive), got to work and then when we walked out of the building into the sunshine - it hit!!  I took two aspirin straight away, drank lots of water, took two more aspirin and after about 1 1/2 hours it went away.

I have been to the optometrist who said there is no sign of eye disease, but that it is taking me a little longer to focus than it should (I’ve turned 40 this year!!).  I have tried acupuncture, but only went three times - I didn’t have any problems during the three weeks of the treatment, but can’t honestly say if the acupuncture worked.

I think I’ll get my blood sugar levels checked as well as my neck and maybe collect the prescription glasses (might lessen some eye strain).  I’ll keep you posted with progress.

Talk to you again soon.  Once again, thanks and Happy New Year.

Gillo (P.S. my mum used to get migraines and both of us suffer from allergies - I had itchy eyes last night come to think of it).

Sorry, but I’m ‘tripping’ on the show right now…

Groovy! When I keep both hands over my eyes, the colors go from gold tone to (no surprize) electric blue, with bright spots seeming to spin in place.

At 20 minutes, the arc has grownto the left and almost to the edge of my field of view. The zig-zags have stretched quire a bit.

There were no triggering events, no ‘funny’ feelings, just a few zig-zags as I sat looking at my laptop’s LCD screen. I hold to my comments of August of this year (this is the first ‘event’ since then). The patterns are related to signal interactions in the optic cortex. The rolling colors and intensities are strong clues of that.

Well, the colors have moved to the very edge of my vision (~30 minutes later). There was no discernible scotoma, though there seemed to be dim ‘halo’ around the initial squiggles. With effort, I could read through the patterns but it wasn’t a fun thing.

All done, now. No worse for the ‘event.’

cheers,

Zoran

I have both long term (days to months to years), and short term ones (< 30 mins).

The experience of long term one is that the ss will scintillate at a high contrast interface eg, a black band on a white paper. My takes a year to recover. Opthalmologist and neurologist ca’t find out what is happening.

I’m having one of these blasted things…and it has been going on for 4 days now.  Does anyone else have these blind spots for days or weeks?

My doc said that I should worry after about a month!  What experiences have you guys had with longer term attacks?

Mark.

Years ago an opthalmologist told me this is a scotoma, not really a serious eye matter. For some years now, on a physician’s advice and based on general reading, I have taken aspirin daily, reduced now to about 50 mg, to ward off strokes or heart attacks, and as a side effect I no longer have scotomas.

I am a 25 y/o male, and I have been having SS since I was about 18.  The first one I got I was practicing some music and I realized I couldn’t read the notes on the page and I felt quite sick.  I figured it was eye fatigue, coupled with the fluorescent lighting.

Since then I have had them at varying intervals (sometimes a few a month, sometimes a few months between them).  Usually, like the rest of you, I first notice it when something I’m reading "disappears".  At that point I try to either take a tylenol or drink some coffee (as caffeine helps to fight headaches) with the hopes that once the SS is gone, I can reduce the nausea or minor headache that sometimes follows.

I have not been able to track down what causes mine.  Sometimes I get them in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon.  Occasionally, I’ve gotten them after some strenuous exercise,but today I was just sitting at my desk and it happened.  Looks like this one lasted 30 minutes and so far all that’s left is a very minor ache above my left eye and a slight feeling of dizziness/vertigo. 

Usually, the best remedy I’ve found is to lie down and take a nap as soon as I first notice it starting, but that’s kinda hard to do at work.

I am 59. I had migraines in high shool but they disappeared for almost 40 years.  I started to get SS without the headache a few years ago. Mine is on the right side (I’m left handed - don’t know if that’s significant). During the years I didn’t have any SS problems - I drank tea every morning, coffee in the afternoon, and beer almost every night and at times I was under a lot of stress.  None of these triggered the problem.  Recently I have been drinking a lot of caffine free diet Coke. I am having frequent SS problems.  I believe there is a correlation.  An earlier respondant mentioned Aspartame as a trigger.  I will avoid that and see if it makes a dfference.

-J

*My tests were not clinical, but the results are clear for me. Your mileage may vary.

My scintillations have no central dark spot, are not coloured, and are C shaped.  The C has black and white paterning in the body of the C but clear vision in the centre of the C.  It seems to be in my left eye in that when I focus both eyes on the tip of my finger, then move my finger toward my left eye, the C does not move relative to distant objects, but when I move my finger toward my right eye, the C does move relative to distant objects.  I know that sounds complicated but if anyone is interested in determining which eye is involved, email me and I will send you some diagrams.  I can not help but wonder if the difference between shape is the eye that is affected (or apparantly affected.)

I have also had problems with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) for 40 years or so but can keep it under control by working under a bright, full spectrum light in winter.  As SAD is somehow related to a lack of bright light and s/s seems to be triggered by extremely bright light, I cannot help but wonder if others have both problems too.

trainman

email:  sask.rail@shaw.ca (if you include "scintillating scotoma" on the subject line, my spam filter will let it through.)

http://www.upstate.edu/neurology/haas/hpmiaus.htm

It’s great to know that there is a band of sisters and brothers on this planet who share this commonality!!!

Mine started as I was eating my lunch - at first it felt like I had just looked at a bright light, I had a spot just left of centre of vision which gave that impression. In a couple of minutes it started to grow, lots of jagged lines/trapezoidal shapes, really vivid multi-coloured and shimmering, changing colours all the time. This grew in to a large C shape, but a stretched C, very thin at the top, curving round in to a much fatter line at the bottom, and off to the left of my vision. It was in both eyes, and clearly visible with my eyes shut. I have never heard of anything like this and although I didn’t really let on much to my family, I was very frightened as to what might be going on. It lasted about 30 minutes and then wore off. I did not get a headache but was left feeling very lethargic and went to sleep for a couple of hours this afternoon. This evening I feel "peculiar", can’t really describe it, and I just have the impression that my vision isn’t quite ‘right’ although I can’t really say what is wrong.

I can’t pin it down to anything unusual I’ve eaten, although I was interested to find one or two references to attacks being caused by loud or persistent machine noise - I had just spent the morning trimming a hedge with a new electric hedge cutter, which is pretty noisy. Think I’ll wear ear-plugs next time…

Anyway, good to know I’m not having a stroke!

I used to get migraines preceded by zig-zagged auras when I was a teen.

Now almost 35 years later,but with no headache, I’ve had 3 S/S since August.  They always occur in my right prorif. vision field and always in late afternoon or end of day at work. First a swirling circular dull light followed by a thick, arched, bright, pulsating yellow zig-zagged lightning-bolt shape leading from just over my eyebrow to my computer.  When I got up to walk away, the zig-zagged light remained.

Like NORTHERNPERSON, who posted here, this was always accompanied by extreme gas-like indigestion.  After taking an antacid and belching furiously, the lights would subside. Afterwards no pain, but physically and emotionally drained.

After the last episode about 2 weeks ago, I had a serious ‘meltdown’ and began crying uncontrollably.

After being examined by an opthomalic neurologist, I’m scheduled for an MRI, because he said I have an occipital lesion. He kept asking me questions like have I had any head injuries(yes… 3 years ago), or been taking any over-the-counter medications like antihistimines…. which I have due to sinitus.(benadryl) ……Anyway, the whole thing is now freaking me out. 

My doc has warned me about elevating BP, and has threatened medication if I don’t get it down.

Anyway, I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one with these S/S.  However, I wouldn’t wish them on anyone.. including myself…LOL!