Periodic shimmering in the eyes.

[NiamhP]

My husband of 73 gets periodic simmering in his eyes, lasts about 10 minutes. It happened about once or twice yearly, but now happens about once a week. It can be hard to focus and he just sits whilst it passes -/0-15 minutes. He has been checked for TIAs but is clear. Hard to know where to go with one, but any one out there experiencing something similar.

[springcross]

Hi NiamhP. When you say shimmering, do you mean like coloured zigzags? I get it occasionally and have been for a number of years now - it's really odd and I can usually tell when it's going to happen as my vision suddenly goes a bit blurry but not badly so. It lasts for about 15 minutes, sometimes a bit longer and then it's gone and I don't get a headache with it. Sometimes, I seem to get it weekly for a while then I don't get it for quite a few months, it's most strange.

[NiamhP in reply to springcross]

Hi, Yes sounds exactly the same, but whereas going back it used to be a couple a year but much more frequent now. It usually lasts 10-15 minutes. Once, twice weekly but he has had various eye tests without anything showing up. He went on high blood pressure tablets a few months ago but as he had it before and since there is no connection. He is not on any other medication. A bit of a mystery as to what may be causing it.

[springcross in reply to NiamhP]

It's called optical/ocular migraine. I remember the very first time I had it (several years ago now) it really frightened me but after speaking to an ophthalmologist at the eye hospital (I went there for another reason but mentioned it whilst there), she said it sounds like an optical migraine and couldn't think of anything else it could be. I too used to get one or two a year but it has increased as the years have gone on. As far as I know, it isn't anything to worry about but that's not to say you shouldn't ask about it, maybe at your husband's next eye test at the opticians.

[NiamhP in reply to springcross]

Thank you. He has booked with an independent optician who comes recommended so will see how that goes. Thank you.

[springcross in reply to NiamhP]

Let us know how he gets on Niamh. x

[dinahdough]

I would also suggest that it's ocular migraine. I've had them on and off for years. They are a bit scary when you first get them. I would definitely check with your optician next time you see him or even your doctor just to put your mind at rest.

[MikeG1944]

Yes optical migraine; I've had it for many decades. usually starts near the centre of vision and migrates out to the edge of vision and disappears. It's normally in a curve that twinkles. I've never been able to pin down what triggers it, but fortunately only get it about twice a year. When it comes on, lie down in a darkened room and take a couple of paracetamol. Don't come out into the light till it's gone and then wear sunglasses for a little while. That's what I have found the best way to treat it.

[NiamhP in reply to MikeG1944]

Thank you.

[ElviraKate]

I have had optical migraines too for decades on and off, well before any problems with my retinas. I usually get two in a row with a day or so between them, then nothing for months and months. The first thing I notice is that I can't focus at my focal point in either eye, this becomes a shimmering/sparkling point that extends in an arc of kaleidoscopic zigzags curving right or left (I seem to get one and then the other) that moves slowly away from the focal point out to the margins and disappears after about 30 minutes. Sometimes I get a headache, sometimes just an odd spacey feeling. Paracetamol helps. The thing to notice is if it is different in one eye - a migraine will be the same in both, a retinal problem will be more marked or only present in one eye.

I have also had a kind of sparkle/shimmer in one eye only, in a sensitive patch on the retina in my left eye - this often gets a faint but lasting semi-circular afterimage from sunshine, which sometimes sparkles. Optometrists can't see anything but the drusen, so I am not worrying about this...

[Cockerspadge]

Hi, like everyone else has said, it sounds like an ocular migraine. I had my first about six years ago & it was very scary. It started as a dark shape with an illuminated edge. The shape enlarged until it consumed all my vision in my left eye. When it happened a second time, I didn’t panic so much but was able to tell that the dark image I could see was actually the inside of my eye, like a black & white fluourescein angiogram image. I get them more regularly now but they can be different. Sometimes flickering or swirling images, sometimes total loss of sight etc. I’ve found that my triggers include exertion, stress, bending down & moving from a bright area to a dark area (particularly in the summer when entering shops etc). My consultant is not worried about them, they come & go with no lasting side effects but obviously there is a safety risk (depending on what I’m doing) when they occur. Best wishes.

[NiamhP]

He has had two check up with an eye specialist and through the hospital and it has been confirmed as optical/ocular migraines. Thank you for all your feedback it has been very reassuring whilst waiting for tests etc.

[springcross in reply to NiamhP]

Thanks for letting us know NiamhP.

[cormorin]

Never had an explanation or a name for this when I have asked about it. So good to realise that there is a name for it & that it seems fairly common. Will mention at my next appointment as it was just brushed away as possibly a migraine. So thank you all for the information!