I was just wondering if anyone else has or has had them. They can be pretty scary. I found out that they are associated with low blood sugar, and hormones as well as stress and low pressure systems can even affect them. I noticed that right before my last peroid (it was 16 days long!!!! from Hades) they where realy bad.
For those of you that do not know what they are or are like mine are like this. First I notice that there is a "spot" in my vision that is out of focus or grey. I can still see what is there, but it looks like a drop of dirty water is in place. Then that will turn into a shimmering light. It is like if some one broke a prisim into a kabillion pieces and then glued it back together again all jaggedy. This is an amobea kind of thing that gradually widens out into a semi-circle. As it widens out it moves out of my line of vision. They start on one side of my vision, but you can see it from both eyes as well as when your eyes are closed. when the shimmering has moved completely out of my line of vision, there is an area that is a bit out of focus for a short while. Then for me the headache starts. It is on the opposite side of my head from where the shimmering was. If I see the shimmering on my right side, the headache is on my left side. For me the whole thing from begenning to end is usually only 30 to 45 minuites. I have had more than one in a day before, and they usually happen each day for about 4 days and then they go to every other day for a couple of days. I have found that inhaling Lemon essential oil helps a lot, and usually gets rid of the headaches!!! It is the first thing I have ever found to get rid of them. But then again, I did not try much! I am wondering if it is the estrogen that causes this since it happnes right before my period. And since PCOS ladies are estrogen dominant, I was wondering if anyone else out there has had this.
I had it one time, it was only for about five minutes, and I didn't know what it was. Luckily one of my client's has had them and she talked about them in her session which then let me know that I had them. I didn't get a headache from it, but it was weird. I hope it doesn't come back.
Jenny
__________________ Jenny
currently on 1500 mg MET
Camila Mini Pill
Lost 25 pounds since 8-02
diagnosed 7-02
Mom to 2 furry kitties.
I've experienced exactly what you described - - from seeing spots to lights and then within the hour the headache started. It was became so painful that I ran from my office to the bathroom and just vomitted over and over again. Weirdly enough, after that, the pain was much less.
I get headaches often. Some are fairly mild and allow me to continue functioning during the day. Some completely disable me to the point where all I can do is go to bed. Many times they've been painful enough to cause me to throw up. Only once, though, have I experienced the spots and lights before the headache.
__________________ Hi!
I'm Shanah
Proud Mommy to Amber
Adoring Wife to Chris
Missing our Angel 6/00
***********************************
I was diagnosed with PCOS and IR in May of 2001.
Scheduled Surgery: Exploritory Laparscopy December 10, 2004.
The first time that these happened to me, I was extremely freaked out! I haven't had one in over 2 years now, but I was having them about twice a month for several months. For me, they were definitely related to stress--I had them when I figured out I had PCOS and was also struggling with anxiety, and also when I was getting ready to graduate college and feeling a little uncertain. One thing that really helped me was a small prescription for Midrin, taken very occaisionaly, which is a migraine med that has a mild-on-your-stomach pain reliever and a very mild tranquilizer. It made me a little sleepy, but never "drugged" feeling, and honestly, I needed to go to sleep for a little while and chill out! For preventative measure, you can try feverfew tea, which I use when I get stressed out, and I haven't had a migraine in a long time. It's best to use the fresh or dried herb (try a health food store with bulk herbs). Also, I've found that the sulfides in wine will cause migraines (drinking too much wine will give anyone a headache though) so if you like a little wine, you can spend a little more on sulfide-free organic wines which are quite tasty.
Hope that this helps!
Two winters ago, I had one of these. My vision got all bent and distorted (I was trying to read some posts on this very board) and then I saw this line with flickering zig zags within it! It lasted about 15 minutes.
I had no pain or headache, just the awful visual effects...
Man, I was scared to death! I thought I was going blind and made an emergency visit to my opthalmologist. That's when they told me it was that opthalmolic migrane. Like you, I posted about it on this board and was reassured that I wasn't the only one that this had happened to.
I had never heard of it before! I was relieved that I wasn't going blind, though. It hasn't happened again, and I hope it never does! I hope you will be all right, too.
I have had "classic" migraines for years. I get that aura before a headache. Now the headaches aren't really that bad at all but that aura is nauseating. My mom gets just the vision thing.
ophthalmic migraines 
Kathryn
