I'm wondering if any of you ladies have ever experienced this weird and scary thing I've got going on from time to time. Sometimes for no reason, I get weird squiggly white lines in my peripheral vision. No other symptoms except the anxiety that follows because I get scared, worring that I might be having a stroke or a brain tumor or something. No headache either. I'm not diabetic but I've tested my blood sugar when this is happening and it's always fine. It happened today for the first time in almost a year. I took 1/2 of an anxiety pill and layed down and closed my eyes. I kept opening them to see if my vision had gone back to normal. After about 15 minutes, it had, and now I'm fine. The first time I ever experienced this was in my mid-twenties, and I called my Mom, scared to death. Since then it happens a few times a year, out of the blue.
I have my eyes checked regularly and my regular Dr's over the years have never been able to give me a reason for this happening. I'm just perplexed and wondering if anyone else has ever had this or even heard of it?

Thanks ahead for any information.

I get these when I start migraines. I have had some very unusual visual disturbances over these past couple of years. I would certainly not worry about it.

TG,
Are you using anything with Nutrasweet (Aspartame)? Diet drinks, gum, breath mints? It's in many things. I found it causes a similar vision problem, which is an ocular migraine. My mother has it happen after eating only 1 breath mint.

Wow now there is something I have never heard of before! Ya learn something new every day. I am constantly chewing gum and munching breath mints. Food for thought!!

I'll second the ocular migraine possibility. I had one experience with this
and it IS scary. (migraine gives the impression that there is pain,
really it is usually varying degrees of vision distortions.) Mine dissipated
within 20 minutes...that seems to be a norm.

But it definitely warrants a check with your eye doc to get
some professional input.

(My H experienced one a couple years ago; went to the ER,
diagnosed it as ocular migraine. He was relieved but won't
forget his fear--and he doesn't get afraid of much.)

Really interesting item about the Nutrasweet (Aspartame), Sariah. I've
never been a fan of those sweeteners; glad about that even more now!

I can't believe you posted this today. This very thing happened to me this morning for the first time. I was at work I had to sit down, and lay my head down for a few minutes. It helped. I don't have a migraine (never have had one) and I didn't and rarely eat the above mentioned things. I am not taking meds, or HRT. I go to the eye Dr. yearly, and am not noticing anything else wrong.

Could we just be tired?? I was up and down all night and I feel exhausted today.

Dr. Vliet finds that fluctuating estrogen levels can also trigger them and any time her patients complain of migraines and are given estradiol, most of them find relief.

That sounds very similar to what I had,have had 3 episodes now,thought I was going blind,had numerous tests. No one ever gave it a name just reassured me it wasn,t a tumour or anything.

However it wasn,t until I was googling and found a website about occular migraines (migraine without the pain) and it actually had a short clip reconstructing how an occular migraine appears.
Think I cried with relief at knowing what it was. because it was very scarey.

This happened about 2years ago I think the start of all this peri mayhem.

Always wise to get things checked out though Texas girl


take care

Hey Texasgirl- I had a few minutes at lunchtime and I found this:

"Has your line of vision been invaded by what looks like tiny black gnats swarming around you? And are you the only one who sees them? If you're getting up in years, these black specks are usually nothing to worry about. They are nothing more than harmless bits of your eyeball's inner fluid floating into view. Your Doctor calls them floaters.
Floaters are common after age 50, according to Jason Slakter, M.D., attending surgeon in the Department of Ophthalmology at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital.
As you age, the transparent gel-like substance inside the eyeball shrinks and separates into a clear fluid and a stringy residue. The opaque strings may float behind the lens and cast a shadow on the retina—the back of the eyeball where the image is received. This causes the sensation of dark spots, circles or squiggly lines. Nearsighted people are particularly prone to floaters, says Dr. Slakter.
More often than not, says Dr. Slakter, the spots eventually disappear on their own or your brain suppresses the image. You may not even notice them unless you're fatigued.
Even so, floaters that persist could mean you have an inflammation or infection within your eye or elsewhere in your body that is causing the problem. What's more, if you frequently experience floaters, your retina could be torn, which could threaten your sight. You should always bring persistent floaters to the attention of your doctor."


So... according to this doctor there is good and bad news. The good news is they are probably nothing serious. That bad news? We're getting old!! LOL I figured in MY case I was probably just overtired AND old LOL

I want "I told you I was sick and tired" on my tombstone!! LOL

my sister gets them called ocular migrains- never had them til she entered peri........

--------------

OMG Leanne, that is still the funniest..... the tombstone quote
And I'll give back the heart. I just was trying to find a new avitar and couldn't decide.


I have Floaters ( dark and move around with your eye fluid like Leanne describes ( my Dr sez more common with eyestrain, computer use (OH NO!! lol) and age)

and those other ones just like beginning of a migraine where it's more like um I call them electric catepillars.
They are often followed by a headache or anxiety and last approximately 15-30 minutes in a migraine.
THis type of migraine with what is called the "aura" or an "occipital" ( big words the drs' told me for involving vision)
are not always followed with a headache pain - but may be followed by all the other stuff migraines come with:
Blurry vision, forgetfulness, clumsiness, lightheadness, feeling hyper....My Sister gets migraines when she is overtired.
Another one gets them just with Estrogen spikes. Being old stinx. I want all my young parts back.

Hey girls....I feel better reading all the answers from everyone on this subject! To answer some of your questions.....Since these started in my twenties, I'm not thinking it's hormone-related. They have not been worse since I started peri. In fact, they happen less than they did when I was younger. Also my last eye exam was just this past Feb. and nothing had changed, just got some new glasses. When these come on, there is no pain, so maybe it IS a occular migraine, although I've never had a regular migrane in my life. Only tension headaches just before my periods. When it happens, I can see what looks like "lightening" on both sides of my peripheral vision. It's continous, and gets worse with time. After about 20 minutes of trying to ignore it, I HAVE to be still, either lay down or sit down, and shut my eyes. My Mom used to tell me to eat something sweet because it might be low blood sugar, and sometimes that DID make it go away. (Either that or it was just a coincidence??) Anyway, this is just weird and I've always wanted to find sombody else who understood why this happens to me sometimes.

You're an old timer around here for sure if you remember my tombstone request!! My favorite aunt wanted "I told you I was sick"! LOL She was the QUEEN of hypochondria!!

Keep the heart. It suits you!

Texas Girl, that IS a migraine. My husband had them for 20 years and had no idea what they were
until we met and I started describing the "electric catepillar" and losing my vision for 20 minutes, especially peripheral.
I get those. New glasses can set em off. For me, Caffeine can help. NOT folgers (too many checmicals)
It's the vessels to the optic nerve get constricted. Then ya can't see right.
Then BAM they dialate and that is the pain and nausea and all that.
If they come on groups they call em cluster headaches.

Give magnesium a try when you first feel a migraine coming on. One doc in the ER would have us give a mag IV to migraine patients, and it always did the trick.

Thanks, Sariah!!!!

I can't believe you guys never had floaters before! I have been having them for years, way before peri, because I'm so near sighted. I never really thought much about them, but one time I did casually mention it to an eye doctor and he described what Leanne just posted.

If you get FLASHERS, however -- like your own private fireworks exhibition that no one else can see, you should go to the eye doctor right away. This happened to me, and turned out to be a detachment of the vitreus inside my eye, yet another thing that can happen if you are severely near sighted. It's no biggie, but you have to have it looked at to be sure it is not heading down the path toward retinal detachment.

Ocular (no pain tho) migraines I've had on/off for 10 years. Both of my eye doctors (optho and optom) describe it as this.......

when you get a twitch in your arm/leg etc..the muscle twitches and you can sometimes see the twich and most certainly feel it. this is what happening to the eyes and being you are trying to see, you notice it because the vision is disturbed. Sometimes for me taking 2 regular aspirin when it starts will stop the oculars from continuing. I find that I am really tired after one. Not had an ocular for a couple of years tho (knocking on wood).

sometimes the visual field is blocked (can only see a part of a page of print at a time) or pretty sparkles of flash...tho very very scarey it does pass. both doctors said to be concerned if you experience an ocular all day long or several times a week for weeks. Through the years I've asked at least 5 different kinds of dr.'s about these and 4 out of 5 have them, themselves.

to be concerned..meaning to get your eyes checked.

I have noticed that I can't drive, read, or watch tv when these vision episodes are happening. Do you think maybe the fear of the moment is bringing on my anxiety? Like wondering if I'm having a stroke?

Yes, you will not be able to drive, read/tv when the eyes are doing this or rather you can't do these things in a comfortable manner because the visuals are off centered. If you can the best thing I've found is to lay down with your eyes closed, or if at work, sit there and let it pass (usually for me it takes 20-30 minutes if full blown).

The anxiety (and this is before I even "got anxiety deals" years ago) can be tremendous, because you can not control the oculars usually. It will pass, best thing is try and "relax into them"..sounds strange but it works for me. But be sure and get the eyes checked out if this is a real new experience for you.

I have been experiencing a similar vision problem since I stopped taking BCP about 4 months ago. I went to a neurologist because I had already had my eyes checked. He told me that that was a symptom of estrogen withdrawal or a decrease in estrogen. Some people get the headache that can accompany the vision problem. Hope this helps.
Jan

Texasgirl

I just had this very thing happen to me for the first time. I am so glad I found this thread. It scared the poo out of me when it happened and my anxiety went off the charts. The "electric catepillar" description was perfect and it only involved my peripheral vision as many have stated without pain. I have noticed my eyes have been twitching the past couple of days.

Did you ever go to the eye doctor for this to confirm it was an ocular migraine?

Bella, I have been calling them that since I I was 21 - 1981 - and I KNOW I can't be the only one!
They are scary! I had one yesterday with my first period in months, I think it might have been hormonal.
Mine did have the pain afterwards...but it was one of the worst one's I have had in years.


Hope you are all ok, Ladies!!

HUGS,
Mary Beth

I have an eye exam every two years and have seen a lot of different eye Dr's over the years. I've had this since I was in my mid-twenties. It dosen't happen often (maybe 3-4 times a year) so I've never thought about talking to a Dr. about it. I haven't had an episode since I started this thread, thank goodness!

I hope after I posted maybe I won't have another episode too!

Hugs

Just browsing around and thought I'd share my experiences on this topic. I've been experiencing a vision problem called oscillopsia. When it first happened I thought it was hormonal because it happened after I started using a new progesterone cream. The symptom is like my vision shaking, so kind of a combination of the internal shaking mentioned elsewhere on this site, but in my eyes/vision. Freaky. It really frightened me. My doctor gave me Xanax. I don't really like taking Rx drugs, but the Xanax really helps me sleep through the night and I have been delighted to sleep again after a couple of years of hot flashes waking me up all night. Anyway, I haven't had any severe episodes of this since May, just mild, and I'm postponing getting an MRI or pursuing it further until I see whether it will continue or subside. Anyone else had this in menopause? Thanks

Yes, I have had this happen to me as well, drish. I went to my eye doctor for another vision problem and was referred to a retinologist. While I was being tested there, the doctor placed a large lens in my eye and he noticed the eye was actually twitching. He asked me if I was experiencing menopause symptoms and I told him that I was. So I guess we can chalk something else up to the never ending meno symptom list.

I got them towards the end of my pregnacy. My mom has said she has had them for years and the doctor put her on Cymbalta. She is 68.

Hi Ladies,

I went to several Eye Drs and Neurologists for Migraines.
As we all know, there is no known cure.
There are suspected catalysts, and the brain registers some funky stuff 30 minutes prior
to a migraine. The Visual stuff is supposedly the nerves around the Optic Nerve get impacted,
or the blood supply to them does. Then it all relaxes and BAM the pain.

I have always heard from every Dr. I had that not only do true migraines ( not cluster headaches, or the myriad of other
crazy head and eye thingies we all get) start without actually impacting the eye or retina, but

as with anything without a cure, this one is on the list that they for sure have not nailed down the cause.
Only "triggers". Hormones are definitely not the cause of everything. Although we make so many kinds.

They stink for sure. I had them with periods. Then I had them unrelated to periods.
Ask your own Dr. if your eye issues are eye or Neurological. They could be either.

And remember, you never know.....it was my Dermatologist who said with worried eyes at a story I told him -
"I think you have Factor VIII deficiency.."
and sent me to a Hematologist! I didn't even know what that was!