About ten years ago I had my peripheral vision go black and then my right hand, arm, and face go numb. I went to the emergency room thinking I was having a stroke! (I was only 24) They did a ct scan and said it was a migraine variant. Since then I have had a couple episodes with my eyes. Sometimes where I see spots and then they move. Other times I see a black bar directly in front of me in my right eye, then it was followed by numbness in my right hand. It freaks me out!! I'm terribly scared that it could be something very serious. The nurse practioner wants me to get an mri because I'm afraid of MS but now the insurance is saying I don't have enough documentation to get it done. I am to see a opthomologist in a few weeks. I have been under a tremendous amount of stress too. I have been told that stress does wonders as well on a body. HELP!! Does this sound familiar to anyone or know of these kinds of symptoms?!?! TX!

would insurance be more inclined to allow the MRI if you see a neurologist first?

I know my insurance wouldn't allow me to have mine until I had so perhaps you could ask the nurse to give you a referal to a specialist first?.....Just a thought :)

Good Luck.

occular migraines DO NOT cause numbness in limbs. Black floating spots do signal optical migraines. Possible that it in conjunction with another problem. [ removed ] I don't want to say anything that would frighten you, but an ophthamologist can see things that a CT scan cannot. Good luck and let us know what the Doc says right away!

Julie: Numbness on one side of the body during a migraine is completely normal. I've had it most of my life. Usually it's my face, lips, and maybe a hand. Last time I had a migraine my entire left arm was as dead as a doornail. At one time, I would lose the ability to form words, but the symptoms seem to be lessening as I get older.

It's quite upsetting at the time, but I assure you it's within the range of symptoms for a migraine.

"What are some common symptoms?

Sparkling flashes of light, zigzag lines in your field of vision, weakness, numbness or tingling in your face, hand or leg, difficulty seeing or speaking."

Torre