9-11 had a surprise in store for me about 4:30 in the afternoon. While watching TV news show, I commented to DH something was wrong with the picture on the screen..the guy in the picture has a funny looking circle around his nose. When I looked away, I was out from about eyebrow level these magic marker black zigzags with a sort of silver lining and no matter which way I looked I kept seeing them..couldn't really tell which eye was seeing this...so after about 10 minutes I called our eye doctor and got his PA and she asked me a lot of questions..did I have a headache, no, did I have holes in my vision like swiss cheese, no, was I blind in one eye, no etc She said from what I was telling her I had an Opthalmic Migraine...not serious but to come in tomorrow which I did. Answered all the questions again and then after a pretty comprehensive exam, my eyes are fine, no damage seen etc....I was told to keep a log book of events, what I was doing, what I had eaten or had to drink etc to see if we an pinpoint a trigger. If these events become bothersome, more frequent, more intense then the doc would send me to a neurologist.

I came home and read several sites on the subject and then dug out my dad's " Cecil's Book of Medicine"...looked up the condition and this type of migraine was not discussed other than to say what the websites said...causes generally the same as for a migraine headache, you know the kind that is not a normal run of the mill misery. Triggers can be MSG, glutamate, nitrites, chocolate ( oh groan on that one), red wine, citrus, and depression, lack of sleep ( or in my case with a sleep apnea person, quality sleep) and stress and resentment.Oh yes, caffiene was mentioned and fizzy drinks, not specific to colas just said fizzy drinks..

This episode is a sort of wake up call that I need something, some kind of help with DH...on the one hand he is not one to get into everything, he is not aggressive, and sleeps a lot..But he does nothing for himself unless I press the issue to do it yourself.

So if you see sparkles and flashes and it isn't New Year's Eve or the 4th of July, get thee to the eye doctor..who knows what is cooking next.

I started getting those type of migraines when I was 8 years old. They run in the female side of my family going back as far as my great-grandmother that we know about and my great-grandnieces have them. Back in the "olden days", they were called "bilious attacks" and they certainly were bilious!!! I was in my 30s before I ever heard the term migraine. They would come out of nowhere and in a really bad one, my hand and arm would get numb. I never found a specific trigger. they would just happen.

Altho I still have them, they have decreased in number and severity since I went thru menopause. Now when I feel one coming on, I take three "excedren migraine tablets" and either drink a can of coke or a cup of coffee.

Caffeine is supposed to be a trigger but the only thing that will knock them for me is a triple dose of caffeine.

I had this happen to me twice this year. Both times right before I quit work. I was running on 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night and was always tired. I am sure that is what caused mine. Now that I have a clue as to what it was. No headache followed either time.

Stress.......ha ha us under stress.....I know it was not the coffee, chocolate or wine!!!

Years ago when I was sent to a neurologist to rule out anything serious, he was surprised that I never had it happen when I would get migraines. The painful migraines are gone but I do get what I call starburst. Makes it really hard to see when working. I just take 3 or 4 ibuprofen - same as for a headache.