posted
I've had these but for only a few minutes at a time. Previously, I've had 3 migranes. It is an other lyme symptom, probable...don't know for sure. This disease causes all kinds of symptoms.
Posts: 911 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
I had a couple of episodes where I got these a few years before I knew I had lyme. I would sort of lose a little of my vision, then I would see a prism in the shape of a triangle. They would last about 20 minutes and then whammo.....HEADACHE!
Posts: 37 | From kansas city,mo | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
I've had the kaleidoscope effect happening in the left eye continually for years. Neither the optician nor the LLMD said too much about it. It was always more noticeable first thing in the morning or going from a light room into a dark room. Never had a headache from it though. It is one of the very few symptoms that cleared up with antibiotics - (touch wood)!
bf
Posts: 191 | From Ontario | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
I get these! I have wondered about this. Its in the left eye and starts small like a crystaline semi circle like a kaeliadescope. It takes about 10 to 15 min to dissipate. It grows larger and larger until it disappears. But no headache, just annoying. I had one three days ago.
Posts: 160 | From texas | Registered: Oct 2005
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Just Julie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1119
posted
Just another "symptom" that I see someone else besides me (with lyme) has . . .
these episodes are called "optic migraines" per the opthalmologist (medical eye doctor, ,an MD, not an optometrist) that I saw when mine first started, oh, about 16 years ago. Years before my lyme diagnosis.
I thought I was having a stroke, so I went in to see a doc. He was an elderly gentleman (in his late 60's--maybe early 70's). I described what was happening, which I described as having the clear "squigglies" coming into my field of vision slowly, to completely obscure my visual field so I felt I couldn't drive, or read. It lasted about 25-30 minutes, every time.
I did not associate these "squigglies" with any one thing. I did not get bad headaches at that time either, before or after.
This doc told me that I was going to be okay, he in fact, got them himself. He said they were more often happening to women, vs. men, that low blood sugar (like getting too hungry) can trigger them to happen. Stress also. He said it is just a spasming of the blood vessels in the brain. Some times they can be a precursor to migraine headaches, but sometimes, they just occur on their own.
One tip: he told me that if I laid down flat immediately after noticing the first squiggle, that I could short circuit the duration of the episode. And that was amazing to me. He said that you could cut it short by 20-30 minutes. Like, it would only last about 5 minutes instead of a half hour or so.
So, I tried it. It worked! I was amazed. I still get them, all this time later, and when I am able to immediately lie flat (no pillow either) I can absolutely get it to last no longer than 5 minutes. His reasoning behind this is that when you are flat, your heart does not have to pump the blood to your brain as hard, and the spasming goes away faster than if you were upright, with your heart having to really work through the spasming blood vessels in your brain.
Try it, it does work, at least in my case. It's the only thing that works, too.
Called an "optic migraine", google it. Julie
-------------------- Julie Posts: 1027 | From Northern CA | Registered: May 2001
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feelfit
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12770
posted
Ok! so there are a few of us. Just Julie, I have noticed that I have short circuted these by lying down.....so that doc knew what he was talking about.
Aren't these the freakiest things?
The chrystalline appearance, the geometric patterns......that we DO NOT seem to get headaches afterwards, though the symptoms are called "an occular migraine".
And we are obviously having the same experience as the descriptions that you have given are exactly the same.
the first one I ever experienced freaked me out, but after 15 years and nothing "bad" happening, I just ride them out.
Thanks for all of your responses, Feelfit
Posts: 3975 | From usa | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
Yes, ocular migraines is what I've heard them called.
I've had a few as well. One started while I was out shopping and lasted a couple of hours. Very annoying. I was so glad to get home, not have to drive anymore, and close my eyes.
Thankfully they are infrequent for me and don't usually proceed into a headache.
Nutmeg
Posts: 386 | From WA state | Registered: May 2005
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posted
These optic migraines are a little scary. I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who gets these.
I remember having them on a few occasions before being diagnosed with Lyme as well. When I started treatment last year, I had a week where I got them everyday and then nothing for almost a year. Wouldn't you know it, about 2 weeks ago they started again and I got them 4 days in a row. It's very bizarre.
Thanks for the tip about laying down, anything to shorten these would be great.
Lastly, I read that they can be caused by bright lights, low blood sugar/improper diet, etc.
Posts: 157 | From connecticut | Registered: Feb 2007
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tickbattler
Unregistered
posted
My 4 year old boy has been seeing yellow and blue and sometimes black spots almost constantly for the last 2 months. It started about 3 weeks into treatment.
I am so concerned but have heard this is a lyme symptom. We went to a lyme literate neuro opthamologist and he said his eyes are fine and that this is coming from his brain.
My boy has lyme, babs and two strains of bart. Headaches are his other primary symptom at this point.
I am not sure if he is seeing patterns like you all, but he does say that the spots move.
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