Light spot in centre of vision
Off the bat i would like to mention that i am a migraine sufferer of about 17 years. I get classic migraines and have had auras about 4-6 times a year, usually followed by the worst migraines of my life. I am healthy, eat well and exercise.
About 2 years ago, about 2 months before I got married, i had my first encounter with this spot that mysteriously appeared in the centre of my vision. I thought it was yet another migraine aura that would start pulsing and growing in size, but it never did. In fact, it stayed put. It didn't strobe or grow and wasn't present in my vision all the time. It only appeared when I would blink and then quickly vanish. Same thing would happen if i looked from a bright window into a dark room and vice versa, but would vanish. It honestly looked like the after glow of a camera flash or like when you stare at a light too long. This symptom lasted a day or two then (so i thought) was gone. I had met with my Neurologist about a month later to explain this strange new symptom. He ordered an MRI of my head out of sheer precaution but told me it was probably just another migraine symptom. MRI results showed no abnormalities, so I went on my merry way. In an unrelated matter i had another appointment with a neurologist in January of this year to follow up on some issues i was having with my hands and arms (carpal tunnel like pain an numbness when I sleep or lay on my sides). This neurologist looked through my chart and talked to me about my last MRI and the symptoms i had encountered before my wedding. Much to my horror, she ordered another MRI of the head and neck and genetic blood tests to rule out NMO and MS.
About a month ago, the same vision phenomenon has come back to haunt me...except it has lasted so much longer. This spot appeared for the first time March 22 and stayed for about 2-3 weeks. It then dissapeared for 2-3 weeks and has reappeared and been present for the last 4 days. The only common theme between the 2 vision episodes described is that they did come about during stressful times in my life (getting married + new job) and were closely timed to periods of frequent migraines (i've been getting one almost every day for about 5 days now) which is not the norm for me. I usually get about 1-2 migraines a month. When i started my new job about 1 month ago, i got a migraine every day for 7 days straight. I'm wondering if this could be stress related.
After almost 4 long months of waiting i will be meeting my neurologist on Wednesday to finally get my test results. I just thought i would share this with the community as it has been hell for me the last couple of weeks trying to figure out what is going on in my brain, and i only hope someone else can benefit from this information. I will follow-up with my test results (crossing my fingers).
Hi b7v231
I'm sorry you are having such a rough time right now. Thank you for sharing your story with us, and yes, I'm sure others will benefit from it.
The first thing that comes to mind is have you been to see an eye doctor, or ophthalmologist, not optician or optometrist? If not I would encourage you to do so. An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who specializes in disease of the eye. I see one for glaucoma and IIH.
There is lots of conversation about stress being a migraine trigger, whether it's the actual stress that triggers attacks or the things we do and/or don't do during stressful periods. Here is information on stress and migraine; https://migraine.com/blog/your-worst-migraine-triggers-stress-really/.
Please let us know how you make out at your doctor,
NancyI've just come back from my neuro follow-up. MRI completely clear, no signs of lesions or abnormalities so YAY! Bloods came back normal as well. My neurologist seems to think this "after glow" spot of light that doesn't block my vision but appears sporatically when i transition from light to dark and vice versa is a migraine effect (some kind of prolonged aura). She seemed to have heard of this before. She's aked me to follow-up with her in 6 months for a status on symptoms.
Nancy thanks for your feedback. I will discuss this with my GP next week and ask for a referral to an opthalmologist, just to be safe, to check all is well with my retina.
Hi b7v231,
Thank you so much for letting me know how you made out. I was thinking about you this morning.
I'm so happy to hear things are clear in your MRI, but would still follow up with an ophthalmologist to be safe.
Looking forward to your next update!
Nancy
I thought it might be a good idea to update on my latest test results. I went to see an ophthalmologist to have my retina and optic nerve checked and everything came back normal. I still experience the same intermittent "After-flash" in my right eye. It never remains in my vision, but can appear from time to time as i explained in the past. I'm still not sure what causes this... although my neurologist believes it is migraine related, it doesn't precede or follow migraines, it just comes and goes. I can go days without noticing it, and then have a morning where i notice it often. The spot itself hasn't changed in size or location and still only appears mostly when transitioning from very bright to dark. I've read a great many posts online about this phenomenon... quite a few people experience it however there seems very little information in terms of cause.
