Hi. My name is Joy, and I'm 42 years old (as of this writing).

I decided to do a documentation of my experiences with ocular migraines (also known as aural migraines) for personal documentation reasons, and to let others that experience this know that they're not alone. I started getting ocular migraines in the summer of 2009. I had two of them that year before September. I have a history of getting normal migraines, but this is unlike any migraine, or anything else that I've ever experienced in my entire life. And it was really scary to me the first time I had one. I didn't know what the heck was going on. The first time this happened, I was by myself, driving to town (I live in the country). I was about 3 miles away from home, when all of a sudden, I started getting tunnel vision. My peripheral vision just started slowly disappearing. All I could see was whatever was straight ahead of me. Of course, I immediately pulled over to the side of the road until I could see better. Needless to say, I was a bit freaked out about it. Well, I slowly started gaining my peripheral vision back. But then something else took its place. I started seeing this circle of bright, colorful zig-zag lines that seemed to kind of dance and flash. It was kind of like disco lights. And it was mostly lines of red, green and blue, if I remember correctly. This whole thing lasted for approximately 15-20 minutes. And I remember feeling a little weak once it was over. I finished my trip, and headed home. I did end up getting a little bit of a headache though. I remember thinking at the time, that my problem may have been caused by low blood pressure or something. I've never had problems with my blood pressure in the past, but I couldn't think of what else to attribute it to. So when I got home, I told my husband what happened. And one of us called a friend of ours, to see if we could borrow her home blood pressure testing kit. She said we could, so we went and picked it up and brought it home. After checking my blood pressure, I noticed it wasn't what it normally is. But I can't remember if it was too low or too high. But my husband said he thought it was blood pressure issues (even though I've never had that problem before). So, I went and laid down for a little while. And I felt fine after I woke up.

Now, I will say that each occurrence of these ocular migraines is not always the same. But it still kind of worries me when I have one. And thankfully, I don't always get the tunnel vision. I have also started worrying if this could eventually cause me to lose my sight altogether. I'm really hoping it doesn't, because my sight is very important to me. I'm a wife, mother, artist, amateur photographer, and a jewelry designer. And I don't want to even imagine what it would be like if I ever got to the point where I couldn't actually see my husband, daughter, other family members, friends, or nature, much less not be able to do any kind of visual art. And other than my vision getting distorted, I don't really have any way of knowing when one of these kind of migraines are going to start. There are no warning signs leading up to it, except that my vision starts acting weird. And it happens just every once in a while. It's not something that happens on a regular basis, like once a week, month or year. Thinking back on the time frame of it, it typically only occurs once every few months or so. There was one incident when my husband and I were at our local Walmart. I was feeling fine that day. We were standing and talking to an old friend of mine, who I hadn't seen in a while. Then all of a sudden, my vision started getting kinda screwy like it usually does when I start getting my ocular migraines. Then I started feeling weak and light-headed, like I was about to pass out. And then the tunnel vision started. I had to get my husband to help me stay standing. I then had to apologize and excuse myself from my friend, and had my husband help me walk over to the pharmacy area where they had a blood pressure machine. This way, I could sit down, try to get over this ocular migraine, and check my blood pressure (which ended up being my usual low reading). On the following pages, I will tell what happens to me during each stage of these ocular migraines I get, and show an image of what each stage looks like (to the best of my ability).

Stages of my ocular migraines, and the symptoms during each stage

Where possible, I've included a visual of what each stage looks like. I created a digital re-creation of each stage to the best of my recollection and ability.

Stage 1- The Beginning:

This is what happens now when my ocular migraines start (as I said before, it's not always the same. But now this is generally how they start. Except for the very first one I had.): 1. Whatever I'm looking at, whether it's text or an image, parts of it become either distorted, or invisible to my eyes. And it doesn't matter if I'm on the computer, or not. As far as text goes, I am unable to see the entire text (not able to see parts of letters, or not all the letters of words). 2. The duration of this occurrence varies. Sometimes it lasts only a a couple of minutes, sometimes it lasts for a few minutes, and sometimes it lasts several minutes, before it goes into the next stage. 3. The distorted vision starts out being very minimal, but as it progresses, the distortion worsens. The following images will give you an idea of what Stage 1 looks like for me sometimes: Stage 1 with text:

Stage 1 with images (the white spots represent the parts where I just can't see anything. Like that part isn't even there.):

Stage 2- Circle of Colorful Triangles:

This is something that just started happening during my most recent ocular migraine (on August 24th, 2013). Which is partly what prompted me to document all of this. 1. Stage 1 is still going on, with the distorted vision. 2. To add to this, Stage 2 starts. I start seeing a circle of multi-colored triangles. But inside each triangle, is another triangle, which is a little bit smaller, and is a different color. And all the colors are very bold. Stage 2 eventually leads into Stage 3.

Stage 3- The Disco Lights:

This is something that has been occurring ever since my very first ocular migraine. I see a circle of bright and colorful circle of zig-zag lines that dance and flash. It isn't always a complete circle though. It depends on how far the migraine progresses, on how complete the circle is. When I experienced my very first one, if I remember correctly, it became almost a complete circle. But when it gets to this stage, I know it's time to take an ibuprofen, and just go lay down and rest. And shortly after Stage 3 starts, I typically end up with a headache, with some pain in my eyes, and a bit light-headed and weak. This is exactly what it looked like during my very first ocular migraine (this is an image I found on deviantART.com. The person who created it, had the same experience, visually, that I did. But it only happens in their right eye, where mine happens in both.):

Stage 3 with tunnel vision. Imagine these lines dancing and flashing around:

Stage 3 without tunnel vision (as I said above, I don't always get tunnel vision with this). Imagine these lines dancing and flashing around :

I went to see a nurse practitioner about this in 2010. I've also done some research online, and have watched a few videos on YouTube of other people's experiences with this. And from what I've seen, not everyone's experience is the same as mine. So please don't only go by what I've written here, or do a self-diagnosis. I'm only saying what my experience has been, and what I was diagnosed with. If you have similar symptoms, please seek medical attention as soon as possible. I have only had two major ocular migraines since my first one, but I still get a minor one every once in a while. I just take some ibuprofen, go lay down, and that usually takes care of it. But I think the N.P. was wanting to run further tests, but unfortunately, I can't afford it right now. But what I consider major ones, is when I get the tunnel vision along with all 3 stages, and the weak and light-headedness. And the minor ones are usually just all three stages with a little weakness and light-headedness. So that is basically how it goes for me. I still plan on doing further research to see what I can learn about it. Hopefully one day I'll be able to afford to go back and see a doctor about this (an eye doctor preferably), and find out in further detail of what's going on with me and this type of migraine. I'd also like to see if there's a treatment for it that isn't expensive or invasive. I really don't like strange things happening to my body, not knowing what the cause is. And not have a way to prevent it from happening anymore.

Thank you for reading this, and I wish you the best on your journey of learning about, and/or dealing with, ocular migraines.

Best Regards,

Joy McP herson Underwood

Useful Links
Migraine-aura.org: http://www.migraine-aura.org/content/index_en.html The Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ocular-migraine/AN01681 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/migraine-aura/MM00659 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/migraine-with-aura/DS00908/DSECTION=symptoms WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/guide/ocular-migraine-basics

Links to Articles About Other's Experiences with Ocular/Aural Migraines

http://vantan.org/archives/2009/10/the_day_i_thoug.php http://rubenandres77.deviantart.com/art/Right-eye-138209294 This next link is interesting, as it is an eye doctor who had an experience with an ocular-migraine. http://www.vistaeyecareco.com/ocular-migraine/

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Disclaimer:
The information included in this e-book document is provided for free, for informational purposes only; and in no way constitutes said information as a medical diagnosis or treatment. For specific medical advice, diagnosis, and treatment, consult a qualified medical physician of your choice. All images in this e-book are property of Joy McPherson Underwood, unless noted otherwise. (CC) This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. You are welcome to share this document as long as you: leave it intact, do not assume credit for any part of this document (except for those to whom credit has been given in this document), and do not charge for sharing it.

Image Credit: Cover image by: Dez Pain (http://www.rgbstock.com/user/xymonau) Cover image link: http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/2dyXwIo/Flare+2 Image on page 6 by: Ruben Andres Martinez (http://rubenandres77.deviantart.com/) Page 6 image link: http://rubenandres77.deviantart.com/art/Right-eye-138209294 Images on pages 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 by: Joy McPherson Underwood (a.k.a. Celticpath/Celticpath Arts): (http://celticpath.deviantart.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/Celticpath.Arts)

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