Hi Mike,

Thank you for your input and the information.
Note that I don't really have much by way of aura.  Bit of "sparklies"
for only a few moments before everything greys out into blindness.
It's most definatley only in one eye - I have closed each eye to be
sure during an episdoe.

Thanks

It's "official" enough, because it's a distinct entity in everyone's clinic
experience.

Ocular migraine is far, far more common than retinal migraine. Ocular
migraine indistinguishable from "regular" migraine except there's no
headache. It involves the posterior cerebral artery and affects your visual
cortex, almost always on just one side of the brain. So the visual symptoms
always appear in _both_ eyes and always appear _to one side only_, stopping
in the middle. They tend to be "formed" hallucinations like zigzags and heat
waves.

"Retinal" migraine aura would virtually never appear in both eyes. It would
not likely cause nicely-formed and colorful hallucinations. It may well
cross the midline. It may also be confused with non-migraine conditions like
an arterial obstruction that can vary with thoracic pressure (bending over,
bearing down).

The understanding of migraine in general has changed a lot in the last
couple of decades, but the relationship of _any_ migraine to bending over
makes one cautious about your cerebral circulation.

If you have the aura again, notice and tell your doctor whether it's
hallucinations with shapes, or just gray fading, and try to notice whether
it crosses the midline. Sometimes it's hard to tell that both eyes are
involved, so cover each eye and check.

-MT, OD

Thanks for your assistance Teri!

I have read that ocular migraine is not much of an "official"
description and not formally recognized.  Certainly I've found myself
that descriptions of it vary widely over the internet.  Sadly, with
all the numerous events that seem to get blamed on ocular migraines,
I've not found anything that seems to relate to how bending over so
frequently kicks of an episode for me.

I want to believe ocular migraine fits since that's not terribly
serious....but perhaps my neural opthamolagist is correct that this is
NOT just some form of migraine.  I really hope the neurologist will
order an MRI or whatever.

Thanks for the term Retinal Migraine.  Searched on it quickly, and it
seemed just a variation of ocular.  But I'll look more extensively
later today and maybe can find a better fit for my symptoms using that
as a search string.

Thanks!

It's hard to answer questions about ocular Migraines because it's not a
standard diagnosis under the International Headache Society's International
Classification of Headache Disorders, which is pretty much the gold
standard. Thus, the term is used differently by different people. If it is a
Migraine it actually sounds like retinal Migraine, which is the one form
that causes full, but temporary blindness in one eye. Here's an article:
A Look At Retinal Migraine
http://www.helpforheadaches.com/articles/WhatRetinalMx.htm

Hello all,

I'm experiencing some frightening symptons.  Went to the ER one night
- they referred me to an opthamologist who was stumped - and he
referred me to a specialist neural opthamologist who was stumped - and
he has now referred me to a neurologist at the Stroke Prevention
Clinic.  I'm currently awaiting that appointment.

There are quite a few details, but I'll present the typical episode I
experience.

I have never been an experiencer of migraines.  Out of the blue I'll
now  occasionally bend over to pick something up, and I'll feel a bit
of a head rush sensation.  I'll feel pressure in my eyes and get sort
of star bursts in my left eye (always the left)  Within a few moments,
my vision in that eye will go completely grey (as though looking
through a curtain - totally blind except for perhaps a brighter area
if I look directly at a strong light source.  Within 5-15 minutes,
vision slowly returns.  Initially in patchy grey scale, and eventually
colours come back and all is totally normal.  No pain through any of
this.  Left with a feeling of pressume in the eye that goes away in an
hour or two.

There are a few variations.  Sometimes I have a mild and pressure-like
headache after.  A couple of times an episode has been initiated by
adrenaline rush when I suddenly worry about something.  A few times
I've been able to straighten up or calm down quickly, and the event
doesn't progress beyond just the star bursts for a few minutes.  If
I'm helping the kids and bent over a lot....sometimes I can feel a bit
of a ache developing in my head such that I feel I might have an
episode.....and then if I've not stopped bending over, boom....I'll go
blind a few bend overs later.

Used to happen perhaps once a month beginning maybe 8 months ago.  Now
I'm having some sort of event at least every 2 weeks, and have
frequent headaches resistant to Tylenol.

Have had a blood test, a carotid artery ultrasound, and an orbit
ultrasound.  All normal.  Am otherwise healthy and a 39 year old male.

The neural opthamologis said ocular migraines were his most common
referral and this wasn't it.  Initially he said because 'bending over'
didn't make sense as an initiator.  But when I had episodes without
bending over, he changed to say that an ocular migraine's visual auro
wouldn't resolve in <20 minutes - and it can be as short as 5 miinutes
for me.

Spontaneously going blind is obviously quite terrifying and I'm very
concerned about my health and if all this could be a tumour or lead up
to a stroke.  Am doing all I can through the health system.....but 3
weeks was the quickest the Stroke Prevention Clinic could schedule me.

I'd REALLY appreciate any input from people if you think this may in
fact be an ocular migraine.  And IN PARTICLUAR I'd love any comment if
people have heard of ocular migraine's being initiated by bending
over!!

Thanks so much for any input!

Please reply to the group, or if you like my email address:
maes_REMOVE-THIS_tro77@rogers.com
Obviously remove the portion so the name reads maestro77.