Hmmm...things dont look quite right. Is this a migraine?

Factual Questions
1

I’m getting a bit stressed out tonight, awaiting A-Level results tomorrow. I shouldn’t really be stressed out because I can’t do that badly be way of my current marks. But I’m still anxious. I’m thinking, therefore, that stress is going to be a factor in the following…

Tonight, whilst surfing the web, my whole right side of my field of vision looked as if I’d stared into a bulb. Big blurry white mass of light obstructing me from reading web pages properly. But I hadn’t looked into any lights or anything.

It died down after a while, but developed into something a bit wierder, like there was some kinda lens effect on my eyes, everything on the right side started ‘melting’ around the edges, with a kind of oil on water effect going on. Crazy. When I try to look at it, it moves, as expected, like it’s something on my eye or in my head.

I’ve developed a dull ache in my head over the last couple of hours, too, and Paracetamol and Ibuprofen dont seem to shake it.

So I talked to my parents about it, and they’re assuring me this is just a migraine.

I’ve never got migraines before though, so why develop them now, and does this mean I’m going to be prone to getting them more in the future? Because that would suck.

I’m obviously not after any medical diagnosis here, if it doesn’t shift by tomorrow I’ll go to see my GP. I was hoping, though, that someone might recognise some of these symtoms and say ‘Oh, yes, had that once before. Never happened again though.’

So does this sound familiar to anyone? Or should I be worried?

Thankyou in advance,

Harry

2

This is, of course, only my experience. But, yes, what you describe is similar to the ocular symptoms I get before a migraine.

If I don’t get to pain killers immediately when the visual problems start, then I end up with a headache that feels like someone landed a hatchet right above my left eye.

Whether this is truly what you have experienced and whether they will recur I cannot say. I think you should definitely see a doctor, though. Anytime you suddenly have a headache unlike any you’ve ever had before, you should see a doc.

Plus, there’s a lot of meds you can take now for migraine that work wonders (I hear).

3

Some light reading on the subject of ocular migrains.

4

Thanks for the prompt reply!

The 'ole vision is back to normal now, but right on cue my left brow is really throbbing, almost inside the eye socket. Still put-up-withable, I think I took the painkillers in time.

Very annoying though.

5

That’s amazing…looked just like that. Only a little more red an blue, like a revolving Union Jack banner on the side of my eye!

Thankyou for the help.

6

Yes, yes it is.

I find the nausea to be just a bonus!! :slight_smile:

7

I was feeling very nauseaous earlier, I put it down to nerves about tomorrow though. Possibly a mix of both. I dont care which it came from, though, it sucked.

8

This is entirely based on my personal experience, not any kind of medical knowledge, but it’s possible that you have a sinus headache, which in severe cases has many of the same symptoms as a migraine. I was always able to tell the two apart from the feeling of pressure behind one eye that accompanies my sinus headaches. I know that one is impending when I start seeing rings around things and then get a weird kind of glare that prevents me from seeing anything directly in front of me. I also get very nauseated. Sinus irrigation can help head off an impending sinus headache, but once it’s going full-force, I usually have to resort to calling the doctor, since it’s generally (for me) a sign of sinus infection.

9

could also be a sign of hypertension. My mom has had high bloodpressure for years and blurry vision, along with dull headache are some of the symptoms.

If it’s not the above, you could try drinking a shot of espresso–the caffeine may quiet it down.

ciao!

10

Just a breif heads up. The symptoms you descirbe were almost certainly migraine symptoms since they have gone away. But it’s worthwhile to point out that very similar symptoms occur with a detached retina ( http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/9815.html )

“if the retina detaches near the macula, the part of the eye that is responsible for the center of the visual field, then there may be a sudden, significant blurring or loss of vision. However, if the area of detachment is closer to the outer edges of the retina, then the visual loss may be more like a curtain being drawn over one side of the visual field (the “curtain effect”). Other symptoms of retinal detachment may include floating shapes in the field of vision or brief flashes of light. )”

A detached retina is not a trivial problem and requires diagnosis and treatment fairly rapidly or it will reuslt in blindness. It can also come about for no particular reason in anyone of any age.
The important point here is one that gets stressed and ignored far to much on this and other internet message boards: Go and see a doctor for medical advice, not a bunch of anonymous strangers. Similarly it can be very dangerous to do what your parents did, which is to assure someone that their symptoms are harmless just because they sound similar to something you once had. Given that you have never experienced migraines before the diagnosis of migraine was pretty dangeorus IMO.

I have no idea what the window of treatment is for retinal detachment, but it would have been horrifying to have woken up this morning and have been totally blind in one eye. IANAD, NDIPOOTV and even now I would recommmend going and seeing a real doctor just to get this confirmed. You only get one set of eyes, life is a real bitchwithout them and they are difficult to fix once they are damaged.

11

Sounds like a migraine. But you might as well see a doc, its your brain after all, the most vital of organs. As far as onset and frequency, mine first started appearing when I was 16 or 17, and I get one or two a year.

The hour long ‘aura’(webMD link) is worse than the headaches for me, it was the vocabulary problems that convinced me to see a neurologist. I hear they help, but I havent gotten a prescription, I thankfully don’t get migraines often enough. But I carry ibuprofin with me everwhere I go, taking several at the onset seems to help.

12

IANAM and IANAA, but…an Internet message board, even one filled with the kind of intellectual rigor and attention to detail typified by Straight Dope members…is not the place to get medical advice.

Call your MD tonight, or seek help in an ER if you are sufficiently concerned. We’re talking eyeballs and brains here.

Best of luck, feel better.

Cartooniverse

13

Went to bed last night with the dull throbbing headache, and woke up this morning feeling perfect.

I’m in college now, awaiting my results, looking at the computer for my university choices. But it’s come back now, I’m finding it really hard to read anything unless it’s out of the corner of my eye, because there’s a big flashing white light infront of me (not actually, obviously).

This is almost certainly stress-induced, I need to take some painkillers before the headache starts properly.

So I’ll get my results, sort out University stuff, and then book a doctors appointment.

Thankyou for your help,

Harry

14

By all means confer with a doctor; but it sure sounds like my migraines.

For me they started when I was 23. I still get them at 45. :frowning:

Good luck.

15

Sounds like a migraine. See a medical professional for two reasons:
(1) Might not be a migraine, and you can’t find that out simply by asking here (but you knew this);
(2) If it’s a migraine, you will probably have much more success with medication intended specifically for the treatment of migraine, such as Zomig. Popular OTC analgesics generally aren’t very effective against migraine. A doctor can explain to you the correct way to use one of these meds (typically you don’t wait until the pain hits to take it) and the potential side effects (can be significant, although not as bad as the migraine).

16

My migraines (I had them a quite a bit as a child, they’ve faded since then, thank Og) started out with “colored static” in the right side of my vision. Then, my right hand would go numb. I remember one time in school going crazy trying to find my pencil until my friend pointed out I was holding it. I couldn’t feel it in my hand.

Then, the right side of my tongue went numb. Then I got a headache, but it wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t head-banging debilitating, as I’ve heard some migraines can be.

The worst part for me was the decreased vision. It’s hell on your co-ordination.

17

Telephoned the Doctor yesterday, and he squeezed me (metaphorically) in an emergency appointment.

He looked in my eyes, just to check that there was nothing else wrong with me, and confirmed that it was a ‘typical’ migraine.

Gave me some Metoclopramide tablets to take along with Paracetamol at the onset of visual distortion. Worked a treat. Apparently they’re not painkillers, rather they’re used to treat nausea but work very well in conjuction with Paracetamol to stop migraines before they start properly.

He also reccomended Nurofen plus, but at higher than the reccomended dose. It’s Ibuprofen and Codiene and works very nicely!

Feeling much better today, but I’m under instructions to take it easy (I’ll just about force myself to manage that, seeing as it’s Doctor’s orders ‘n’ all…) or it may come back today.

So thank you for all your help, everyone, I’ve been feeling like a bit of a wuss making a big deal of it when lots of people go through this much more and much worse than me!

Harry