Eye migraines...have you had one?

I've had a few of them. Very weird experience. Mine last 10-20 minutes, and I think all of them have started when I've been working on the computer for a while. Caffeine wouldn't be the issue for me because I don't get much of that other than the bit that's in chocolate.

I had my first one when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter-31 years ago- very scary. I still have them and am not sure what triggers them- not caffeine though. I did see a neurologist a couple of years ago- diagnosed them as "ocular migraines". Prescribed Topamax- I felt terrible taking it- would rather wait out the flashing "zig zags".

I am guessing I've never had one... What are they like?

I had one of these while pregnant with my youngest kid. My brother and family were visiting from out of state, and I spent the day lying down in my darkened bedroom. Not cool. For me it was just blindness in one eye, but I was terrified (I'd had a brain tumor removed a few years before that made me paranoid about this kind of thing).

I like to throw this out there whenever someone has migraines that focus on the eyes, just because if I can keep one person from going through what I did, it's worth it.

I had what I thought were migraines for over three years. They presented like typical migraines: started with halos around lights, then the pain would start in about 20-30 minutes, usually centralized behind one eye or the other. My vision in that eye would cloud over, and the only way to get relief was sleeping in a darkened room. I also thought they were brought on by eye strain.

The migraines got progressively more frequent, from a few a month to 4-5 a week. Finally I had one that did NOT go away with sleep, and ended up lasting over four days. I finally got the correct diagnosis in the ER -- acute angle closure glaucoma. The pain behind my eye was eye pressure that had severely elevated (when it was tested in the ER, it was over 80, and normal eye pressure is under 20...)

I could have lost the sight in my left eye that day, but I was lucky -- I regained about 80% of it. I had to go through three different surgeries on that eye to try to alleviate the pressure, but it finally worked, and I'm down to yearly check-ups. But the damage to both eyes, from having it go undiagnosed, is extensive.

All this to say: if you have any doubt or concerns, see an ophthalmologist. And have him look specifically for acute angle closure glaucoma -- just testing your eye pressure won't do any good if you're not having an episode (it will present as normal). He should look for scarring behind the eye, evidence that your 'migraines' are originating there.

I found that stress & hormones triggered mine. Since I have gotten to an older age & retired, I don't get the headaches anymore but do still get a visual aura occasionally. They are quite bothersome. Hope you feel better soon!

I have had a few ocular migraines.  No pain, just the zig zag vision that obscured my vision to the point I couldn't read or look at anything close up.    Generally would lie down in a dark room until it passed, which was typically about 20 - 30 minutes.  
However, I have not had one for quite a few years now.   Reading others posts about these possibly being hormonally related makes me wonder if menopause is the reason for that.   I hadn't really put that together before.  
Seeing how people suffer with painful migraines made me grateful that I  *only* had the visual type.

why are you calling them migraines if their is no pain? I thought maybe you were referring to the pain behind the eye. I have gotten that 3 times this week. The only thing that works is imitrex. DH gets tunnel vision when he stops caffeine.

I get them too, more frequently while going through menopause, but occasionally now. Can't figure out a trigger, but if I sense any kind of visual disturbance before the aura becomes full-blown, a coke/cup of tea/coffee and a couple of advil will help make the resulting headache bearable.

I too freaked out the first time I had the aura, thought I was having a stroke, and went to the doctor. I get about 22 minutes of visual stuff, first a "hole" in my vision, then the flickering, fragmented backwards-C-shaped aura. Headache after the aura dispels. They are unpleasant, but I am thankful that I don't have severe migraines like some folks. Oh and sometimes I get a migraine hangover, can't think straight or sometimes my speech is a bit impaired. It's all a chemical thing in your brain, not fun at all.

Because they are called Ocular Migraines. I've had one, it happened when I was driving and had to pull over into a parking lot until I could see clearly again. It was a very strange prismatic flashing zigzag circle the grew over my field of vision, and was present even with my eyes closed. I was worried that it was something really serious, but I googled it when I got home and found out that it's nothing to worry about. Thankfully, there was no pain involved. It's been several years since my episode and it's never happened again. So strange!

Mine happen when I am not taking good care of myself. If I eat junk food, don't exercise, stay up to late, things like that, I end up with an ocular migraine. Lasts about 20-30 minutes, but leaves me feeling a little washed out afterwards.

I think people are confusing ocular migraines with the visual aura that can precede a migraine headache - NOT the same thing. I don't get a headache with these, either during or after the kaleidoscope vision effects. These are a different kind of migraine.