Two weeks ago I suddenly got a small semi circle of zigzag shimmering light in cente of both eyes and over 5 minutes one eye shimmer got larger and larger and moved slowly as it was enlarging over to the edge of my vision then went. All over and done with in 5 mins. AFterwards I noticed a ache down my face/ jaw into neck lasting a few hours but nothing to really bother me.
As I am very short sighted with complications I went to the eye clinic after having these attacks every few days for a week and they dilated my eyes and had a very good look at my retinas and said eyes fine its not an eye problem, sounds like migraine aura without the typical migraine headache.
My GP has tested my ESR to rule out temporal arterietus ? and i get result tomorrow and she says that the only serious things they consider is a) brain tumour b) TIA ( small stroke) but if I had a brain tumour with eye problems the eye Dr would have seem evidence of this at the examination and the eye problem would mostly be permanent and you do not have TIA's every day for a few minutes, she said Stroke/blood clot eye problems usually last days not minutes.
I have severe arthritis in my neck with prolapsed disc and have had it for years and she has advised me to see my neurosurgeon in next few weeks if the attacks continue. I am also menopausal and she said wonky hormones can trigger off migraines in women ( I'm 46 yrs old).
I see my neurosurgeon privately so could not afford any tests through him it would have to be through the good old NHS in UK which no doubt will take ages.
I am health anxiety worrier of the worst kind and am in a state of terror with racing heart etc and dread of another attack and I know I am constantly looking at my eyes and seeing all sorts of things.
Sorry for the long post, I feel a bit better after reading this forum to know so many people experience this but how worried should I be that I have a brain tumour ?????
It sounds exactly like an aura without the headache. I used to get them a lot before I was treated for migraines. It was really scary when I didn't know what they were. I also was convinced I had a tumor or stroke or something. But it all checked out fine. The upside is at least you are not suffering from the nasty pain and nausea of a migraine! Good luck and try to relax a bit.
I've just been dx with migraine auro without headache (or Silent Migraine). I have complicated migraines and now with these added migraines I feel like screaming! I had NEVER heard of them. I'm on Pamelor and Epidrin and my docs hoping the Pamelor will knock their frequencies down soon.
I had never heard of them either so when the eye doc told me I had a migraine I thought he was putting me on!
I kept telling him that I definitely DID NOT have a headache, just visual problems. That's when he explained that one could have a migraine without the headache.
P.S. The vision irregularities were so strange they made me afraid I was suddenly going blind!
thanks all, flowergirl please could I ask you some questions. How often do you get the vision disturbances?? Did you get any other investigations other than being told by optician what was wrong with you??
I had NEVER heard of them. I'm on Pamelor and Epidrin and my docs hoping the Pamelor will knock their frequencies down soon.
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