Sudden temporary blindness in both eyes

Hello @traces, welcome to Connect. What a scary experience. I understand your fear of driving if it were to happen again. I'd want answers too.

Was there any consideration of migraine aura or artery blockages? According to this Mayo Clinic link, migraine aura can cause blindness for both eyes:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/migraine-headache/expert-answers/ocular-migraine/faq-20058113
Here, WebMD discusses blockage in retinal arteries:
https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/temporary-blindness-short-term-vision-loss
Have these 2 possibilities been ruled out?

My only experience to offer comes from my mother's occular migraine vision loss, but only in one eye.

Hi Rachel. Thanks for replying. I do have vestibular migraines and have had aura but my neurologist said that my experience was not related. The vast majority of vision loss seems to be for one eye only. I have been checked by a cardiologist and told that I have no arterial blockages and ophthalmology testing has all been fine. I would just feel better to know why and there has to be a reason but I haven’t found it. I even had a brain MRI and it didn’t show any sign of MS. I was hoping to find someone else who has experienced something similar but no one seems to know anything. Unfortunately, I didn’t go to the ER when it happened. It was so fast and then after my racing heart calmed down, I felt fine. I assumed it was related to migraine but so far, I’ve been told it isn’t.

I hope another member is able to share a similar experience. It's frustrating to not pin point an exact cause and always wonder.

Here's hoping it never happens again, but if it does you know to go to the ER.

Thanks!

You're welcome. Have the doctors and specialists you've seen so far been part of a large teaching hospital or medical center like the Mayo Clinic?

I just had an experience similar to yours -- brief loss of vision in both eyes followed by brief double vision in both eyes. In looking into this I found that the Cleveland Clinic describes this same phenomenon and notes that it is one way in which an ocular migraine can manifest--it is an aura. I also have ocular migraines. Hope this is of some help. Take a look at the site for the Cleveland Clinic - Health - article "A migraine without pain, yes it can happen, and it's called an ocular migraine.

Hi @christine9, I noticed that you wished to post a URL to an article with your post. You will be able to add URLs to your posts in a few days. There is a brief period where new members can't post links. We do this to deter spammers and keep the community safe. Clearly the link you wanted to post is not spam. Please allow me to post it for you.
- A Migraine Without Pain? Yes, It Can Happen, and It’s Called an Ocular Migraine https://health.clevelandclinic.org/a-migraine-without-pain-yes-it-can-happen-and-its-called-an-ocular-migraine/

Thank you.

That happened to me last year. I woke up and I started having an ocular migraine. At first it was like my usual migraine, then all turned black. It seemed to stay that way for a very long time, and I thought I had lost my vision and was blind. I was trying to call for help, but was unable to figure out how to call on my iPhone. My site returned and I realized I’d had a migraine and feared I was losing my site. I was afraid to do anything like walk to the mailbox. After awhile I was okay, but Im afraid to drive. Prior to that it seemed much less dangerous with the visual and I worried about driving. I also have epilepsy and thought there might be some connection. My eye doctor just said we already talked about it which we hadn’t and I was thinking I should find a new eye doctor.

I am sorry to hear about your health issues and visual disturbances. It is frightening, and I thought the same thing -- am I going to be able to drive? From what I read on the Cleveland Clinic web site it seems that what happened to us is the aura of an ocular migraine, but it always pays to look into all the possibilities. I don't blame you for thinking about changing your eye doctor. It's not a good sign when a doctor doesn't read his notes, doesn't remember what you talked about or doesn't listen to you. You could certainly go to someone else for a "second opinion" but not commit to any doctor until you feel sure one of them is right for you. My ophthalmologist of 40 years retired so I have seen several others in the search to replace him, which will be hard. Sending you wishes for good luck with it and good health!