I am having an ocular migraine at the moment. There is no pain (for which I am very thankful) but I have this bright, shimmering thing right in the middle of my field of vision. If I wait, it will go away on it’s own, but it is a drag…basically, I can only see out of the edges of my field of vision.
Any suggestions? What works to alleviate these?
As a fellow sufferer as well as someone who works in ophthalmology (IANAD/N), I hate to tell you that I think you’re stuck. If you discover that there’s a particular trigger which seems to bring these on, that’s your best hope for avoiding them, but not everyone has (identifiable?) triggers. I’ve seen quite a few patients who have reported ocular migraines and our ophthalmologists ask about recent changes in lifestyle/diet/etc., but it’s not common that the patient can identify a potential trigger. You may want to consult with a neurologist, who could make sure everything’s otherwise OK with you, and recommend strategies for identifying possible triggers.
I do remember one patient who said that red wine, which he’d recently taken up drinking as an additional cholesterol-buster, was the apparent trigger. The doctor told him to stop the red wine.
Trepanation? 
I’ve had these for years, and it was confirmed by a neurologist. I’ve not found any particular trigger. They occur when I’m looking at a computer screen, but then I look at a computer screen for hundreds of hours without an attack. Caffeine doesn’t seem to be a trigger. I don’t smoke. I have high blood pressure and am taking a diuretic for that, but again, they existed before that. I have a tough time thinking of any lifestyle elements.
For the most part, I can sit back, watch the pretty lights and pretend I’m having an acid flashback. And be profoundly thankful that I don’t have the migraines that my mother had that required her to lie in a dark room with a wet washcloth over her eyes.
Once a migraine has gone full-blown for me, a dark, quiet room, a cold compress over my eyes, and Excedrin are my only refuge.
The Wiki article on retinal migraines suggests NSAIDs, but seeing as I take that bright little “did I look at a camera flash/at the sun?” spot sign as my cue to gulp down Aleve in hopes of averting the incoming (typical) migraine, I know that at least in me it doesn’t do anything to prevent or even shorten the 20 minutes of not being able to see properly. Still, you might want to give it a shot.
Have you seen a doctor about it yet?
Luckily for me, my ocular migraines aren’t followed up with pain, they’re just temporary spells of near-blindness. I lay down and close my eyes, in half an hour or so they’ll be over.
My trigger was apparently something I was doing at the gym. I didn’t know exactly what, so to be safe, I’ve sworn off exercise. 
The OP should, because it works for some of us who have ocular migranes; I wish it did for you too because yours hurt so much more 
If I see a “shooting star” in my field of vision and then immediately take ibuprofen it usually stops it from going any further.
My oldest daughter gets them (to the point of on occasion temporarily being blind in one eye). Her trigger is MSG.
I’ve had a lot of success with my ocular migraine patients by using cafergot or ergostat (basically ergotamine and caffeine.) It usually aborts the symptoms quite quickly and with minimal side-effects. But the patient needs to have it handy, use it quick, and not overuse it.
I get both headache migranes and ocular migranes. The headache migranes have become much rarer as I have gotten older - about once a year now. Nothing helps them except time (lying in misery in a dark room for 24-72 hours until it goes away on its own).
The ocular migranes are thankfully painless, always in my left eye. They are much more common - about once a month, more often if I am stressed. They start slow, but by the time they peak I am completely blind in my left eye.
Nothing helps these either - I just have to wait it out. Usually takes about 30-45 minutes. Its a drag if I am driving, I have to pull over and wait.
Diet changes ‘cured’ my migraines. I’ve only had two in the last 6 months, both following eating large amounts of the foods I avoid. But most people consider my regimen extreme.
When I first started getting migraines, I would avoid tea and coffee because I thought they would be bad for the migraine. Then I gradually discovered that drinking tea helped get rid of the buggers.
I get ocular migraines, too, usually affecting my peripheral vision so I pretty much get fuzzy tunnel vision, but usually 10-20 minutes and I’ve only had maybe 10 of them. Mine are definitely stress related, though lately instead of ocular migraines the temporary stress situation has manifested in a left eyelid twitch that’s been going on for about a month now. I’m not sure which is worse!
My mom gets ocular migraines, too. When she first started getting them, it was during perimenopause and corresponded with her irregular ovulation. She still gets them, but they’re not just ocular now, they cause her to slur her words and say stuff backwards. She’s been checked and her brain’s fine, it’s just another way to have a migraine I guess.
Neither of us have had pain related to the migraines, though, and they are of short enough duration they don’t cause problems at work or anything. Just need to sit down for a bit.
Mine come with a dull, lingering pain across the top of my head, but if I catch them the minute the aura shows up or I start to get that dizzy feeling, Excedrin Migraine knocks them right out. It will still kill them if I take it later, but it takes longer and sometimes I’m left with that “I had a headache” feeling, if that makes any sense. Mine are hormone related, but also triggered if I get overtired sometimes. Just one more reason I’m looking forward to menopause.
I believe mine are triggered by sudden bright light, usually from the side, followed by dark. If I glance out the window and the sun is strobing off of something, then look back inside the room, it will often trigger an ocular migraine. The only remedy for me is to lie down with my eyes closed and wait for the episode to pass. I generally get a low level headache afterwards.
I’ve had many horrible “regular” migraines over the years, and only one painless “ocular” one. The only thing to do with an ocular is to be grateful it’s not painful.
My ocular migraines are much milder than the ones most of you have had. They’re over in 5 minutes or so.
The first one I got was during a high pressure situation at work. I thought I was going blind and it scared the hell out of me. But it disappeared in a few minutes and I was relieved. Now it seems I get them at random times under various circumstances.
A few years ago I did have a slight bleed in one eye that required fixing with a laser. Since then, at the very beginning of the ocular migraine when a tiny area is affected, I’m a bit apprehensive that it’s a recurrence of the bleed. That’s only until the area enlarges and I can recognize what’s happening.
My mother and older brother used to get full-blown migraines, but I don’t. However, if I eat more than just a little bacon and or other meats with nitrites, I’ll get a dull headache that lasts for 2 or 3 days.
