Occular Migraine? Aura without headache?

Hi Zebra,
Thank you for sharing your vision experiences. I'm sorry you have been through all that. I watched the video on Amaurosis Fugax which is really excellent.
I have had partial vision loss several times. It lasts for roughly an hour or longer. I was interested that the physician in the video said that if an incident lasts longer than a few minutes, it is likely not a TIA. My eye doc didn't have any helpful thoughts and I'm going to ask my cardiologist.
Thank you again and wishing you all the best with your health.

Hi @lyleswan

Sorry to hear about your vision episodes. That hour must feel like forever. So unnerving. I hope you find some answers soon.

If you don’t already, keep a medical diary to see if you can find the trigger. Jot down everything during the 24 hours prior to the episode like food eaten, any new meds or supplements, activities, stress, sleep, any other symptoms, etc. Describe the vision episode while it’s fresh. It’s surprising how fast we can forget details. I’m always surprised when I read old notes. I write it like Captain Kirk on Star Trek asking questions, capturing my thoughts about what it could be. I’m the only one that reads it later and it’s helpful to know what I thought at the time. Maybe something simple like food allergies or dehydration…something preventable. One can hope!!! Best of luck! Zebra

I've been having recurring migraines with aura since I was 18. After I turned 60 years old, it manifested as dizziness. My doctor sent me to a cardiologist, ENT, neurologist, etc. She ordered brain MRI. After she confirmed there wasn't much sign of serious illness, she sent to me to UCSF Neurology Dept. The doctor said my dizziness and aura came from migraines. He said my blood veins in brain sometimes contracted to create migraines. When the contractions happen, it doesn't necessarily manifest as headaches.

The neurologist prescribed Rx for Sumatriptan to stop migraine when I first see the aura or feel migraine is starting. I also take once a month preventive shot for migraine prevention. This Rx is called Emgality. I heard treatments for migraines is one of the most advanced field in past 15 in neurology field. I hope you can find some method to contain your symptoms. Please take care.

I have had this for 50 years. In the past, I would have a slight headache. Now, I sometimes have no headache.
I will see things as fuzzy, then a blue lighting bolt appears. The perimeter is wavy. This freaked me out for years. Now, I just wait it out. Lasts about 30 minutes. I had one yesterday while I was working. Kept going.
I’ve had MRIs of the brain. No one ever thinks much of them.
I recently was asked by a NP about a TIA she saw on my chart. This was news to me. She said that the cardiologist had noted it. No one has ever mentioned this to me. So, if you can’t see a tia unless it’s happening, how can this be diagnosed?
As a footnote, I had a bad fall a month ago and currently have a brain bleed. It’s being followed and hasn’t really affected my life. Including migraine auras.

Omeprazole! - My wife had migraine auras without headaches for a number of years. I know it does not sound logical but we tied it to her Proton Pump Inhibitor use - Omeprazole. She started taking a larger dose of Omeprazole and shortly afterwards started having several aura episodes each week. After many years of trying to find a cure we ran across an article from Harvard Medical linking Omeprazole to brain issues including dementia. Once she stopped taking the Omeprazole her Migraine auras went down to one every several months. A neurologist she was seeing was extremely skeptical at first but then about a year later he praised her for this discovery and confirmed the cause/effect relationship between auras and Omeprazole (for her at least).
If you are on a PPI you may want to try stopping for a while to see if that helps.

Hi, @chuval - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, and thanks for sharing this experience about your wife's migraine auras and omeprazole. Glad to hear she is now doing much better.

When she has a migraine aura once every several months now, how does her doctor have her treat it?

I've had visual migraines since 1968. They started following a car accident. I'd had a concussion and I started getting these visual disturbances that scared me stiff. I went to our old country doctor who knew immediately what they were but he referred me to a nearby nationally known eye clinic. They assured me that these episodes were not causing further harm. First I got them several times a day but that decreased over time and now I get one maybe twice a year. I usually get them when I'm stressed. I try to sit back and relax and the flashing lights and picket fence will be gone in 15-20 minutes. No headache before or after. They start with a crescent-shaped vibrating light that looks like you are moving past a picket fence and that gradually gets larger and eventually I get a blind spot. Then it gradually wanes and my vision is normal again.

Thanks for the reply, Thankfully she is not currently being treated for migraine aura as it is so infrequent now. It does get triggered by bright lights and unexpected movements on computer screens.

Absolutely! I have had ocular migraines (with no pain) for years. The first one about scared me to death. In the last year, they have increased greatly in frequency - to the point where most evenings I have the fluttery edge to my vision. I do not have glaucoma. I did have cataracts (I just had the second eye done today), and having cataracts removed did nothing to stop the "fluttering". My eye doctor said it is an issue for a neurologist - because the problem is not the eye, it's what's going on in the brain that is affecting the vision. Haven't gotten to a neurologist yet, because I have other issues I'm dealing with and this gives me no pain.

@thisfatoldlady
I just want to say when I saw your screen name it made me burst out laughing! Obviously you have a good sense of humor. That could easily be my screen name too. Thanks for a good laugh!