Ocular Migraines

I have had three ocular migraines this week.  That's very unusual for me.  Even more unusual is that two of the three were followed by headache pain, nausea, sensitivity to light, all the classic migraine symptoms.  Worse, those two lasted over six hours.  I found them quite debilitating.

I don't know if I ever mentioned these migraines on my blog before. I've been focusing on three basic topics: weight loss, breast cancer, and daily activities.  I guess it's time to discuss migraines.

Ocular migraines, also known as an aura, are pretty common.  I had my first one in the fall of 1994 when I was 44 years old.  I know the year because I had just started teaching at Pikesville Middle School.  When the classic bright light, jagged line started to appear in my eyes, I was in a classroom full of seventh graders.  I realized that I was seeing this jagged line, that it was getting bigger, and that it was interfering with my ability to see the kids and my work. I panicked!  I thought that I must be having a stroke!

I immediately called the office and said I was having a medical emergency.  I asked for coverage for the rest of my classes that day, and they granted it. I flew out the door and drove immediately to my family practitioner. I had NO IDEA what was happening.  Of course, because it was just an ocular migraine, a word I had not heard of at that time, it was OVER before I got to the doctor.  They typically last 15-25 minutes at most.  That first one was followed by no pain at all.  I was feeling pretty stupid for panicking by the time I got to the doctor.

She did not make me feel stupid; however, she explained all about ocular migraines.  Mine was classic.  She also suggested that I should seen an opthamologist just to rule out any actual eye issues or possible retinal damage.  I did that and all was normal.

So from then on, I was not surprised when they came on periodically. They came and went quickly and never left me with any pain or other migraine symptoms.  They were a brief nuisance, and I mostly worked right through them.  If you've ever had one, you know that you can't avoid seeing them.  They are just as bright if your eyes are opened or closed, and they are in both eyes simultaneously. In fact, that's one of the things to watch out for. If it's only in one eye, it can be a retinal migraine, which is a serious condition.  Typical ocular migraines are not considered a serious condition.

Over the last 18 years, I have had many ocular migraines.  Mostly they popped up two or three times a year.  I never had any after effects, so it was just a small annoyance now and then.  About five years ago, I remember having the first one with pain and nausea following it.  That surprised me. I took some Advil, lay down in a dark room (fortunately this was in the summer when I wasn't working), and waited for it to go away.  It only took a couple of hours.  That one surprised me, so the next time I got one, I was worried the pain would return; however, it did not. 

Then there was a time about three years ago when I got three in one DAY!  THAT was truly surprising.  In fact, I started having several a week at that time for several weeks, but none caused pain.  I did mention those to my family doctor.  She suggested that if they continued at that frequency and started causing pain regularly, she could prescribe some medications.  I didn't need the meds because they stopped again.

I had not had one in quite awhile.  Last October I got one that lasted about 15 minutes and left no pain.  Then I had another this past January, again lasting only 15 minutes and no pain.  That's why I was so surprised by this week.

I had one Monday evening around 7 p.m. when I was sitting in the rehearsal for the Starliters show.  It only lasted 15 minutes and left no pain.  Not too surprising, I thought.  Bad timing, but not too bad.  Then BOOM!  I got a big one on Wednesday.

Wednesday was a lovely day.  I wasn't feeling any stress at all.  I was happy about the little weight loss. I was having "The Works" at my nail salon.  The salon appointment lasted about three hours.  During the last few minutes, when I was preparing to pay and leave, I could see the jagged line appear.  I thought, "Darn, that's weird. I just had one two days ago."  I also had to go to a little rehearsal for a recital on Sunday afternoon. I'm singing just one song, "Colors of the Wind," so I was rehearsing with the accompanist in the venue.  It was a short car ride and walk from the salon.  I sang the song three times with the accompanist, and by the time I was on the second time the aura was gone.  Unfortunately, I was left with a nasty headache.

When I got home, I ate a snack so I could take some Advil. I took 800 mg of Advil and lay down for awhile.  The pain continued along with nausea and sensitivity to light.  About three hours later I also took 2 extra strength Tylenol.  About an hour after that, I could tell the pain was gone.  The whole episode left me feeling very fatigued.

Then the really shocking thing is that yesterday I had the third episode of the week. In the morning, I had gone to a water aerobics class which lasted about 40 minutes, then I swam a few laps when it was over. I got out of the pool feeling very happy and relaxed. I sat in the shade, relaxing, enjoying myself, and waiting for Mark and some other friends to join me for lunch at 12:30.  BOOM!  At 11:45 I started to see the jagged white line.  DAMN!  I was angry that it was happening again.  I called Mark and asked hm to bring Advil and Tylenol to lunch, which he did.  I took the 800 mg of Advil and the two extra strength Tylenol simultaneously about 12:45 while I was eating lunch.  I did not mention my headache to our other friends. I just continued to act normally, but I really couldn't wait to get home and crash.

We got home about 3 p.m.  I laid down in a darkened room until about 5 p.m. when we headed out to dinner.  By then, I still felt tired, sluggish, foggy in the head, but I did not have as much pain as before, fortunately.  After dinner, we went to see The Descendants, and I was feeling fine by then.

So, that's my ocular migraine story.  This morning, I have a headache.  Hm...no aura, but a pounding headache over my right eyebrow.  I have had breakfast while I was typing the blog, so I'm going to go take another 800 mg of Advil and hope to get rid of this headache ASAP.  I don't know if it's related to the migraines of the last few days or not. 

I have not mentioned these to my new family doctor in Poinciana. I have an appointment with her in July, so I put them on my list of things to discuss.  If I get more bad ones like these last two, I will probably call to get an earlier appointment.  Unfortunately, there's not much she can do other than prescribe some migraine meds. I don't really want them.  She could give me anti-nausea meds, but I don't want them either. It's not that bad.  It's not like chemo nausea.  I don't want to take any meds that are going to make me feel tired, foggy-brained, or sluggish. I already feel that way anyway when I get the pain after the aura!  I have read a lot about them on the internet.  There are no particular causes and no great remedies.  They are common.  They are something people just live with, so I will live with them. I don't have to like them, though.