Could this be a migraine?

[whitestavern]

Dd13 was complaining this morning of blurred peripheral vision; not blurry really but zig zaggy like an unclear TV picture.  She also said it was like the effect you get after staring at a bright light.  After about 15 minutes I put in a call to her doctor (I'm still waiting to hear back).  Shortly after that she said her vision was fine again, and it's still fine 20 minutes later, however, now she's got a headache on one side of her head.  It's the side opposite the eye she was having trouble with.  I did a quick Google search (I know, I shouldn't) and migraine kept cropping up.  For those of you with experience with migraines (especially in teens) does this sound like it could be a migraine?

[Starr]

Visual auras often go with migraines. It's good to check with your doctor.  :grouphug: I hope she feels better soon.

[justasque]

Yes.  I get a flashing zig-zag light in my peripheral vision off to one side before a migraine.  It is still there if I close my eyes.  If I take ibuprophin *as soon as* I see this aura, I can avoid the headache part entirely.  

[lavender's green]

Her description sounds like my migraine auras, like the picture in this article: http://worldsciencefestival.com/blog/what_is_migraine_aura

 

I find it best to try to sleep them off.  As soon as I get an aura, I have some caffeine, natural calm (magnesium), sometimes a bit of alcohol (my theory is to relax my muscles and get to sleep ASAP; obviously you wouldn't give it to a 13 year old!), and then hop in a nice, hot epsom salt bath with a bit of lavender oil.  Once I get out I have DH rub my shoulders, then I just lay in a dark, silent room and wait for it to pass.  Sometimes cool or warm compresses are nice too.

 

I used to have migraines twice a week when I was under a lot of stress.  I went gluten-free and they stopped completely.  Now I'm under a lot less stress, and I eat limited amounts of gluten, about a serving a day, and I get migraines only a few times a year.  I also regularly take magnesium, and that seems to help.

[AmyontheFarm]

After 20 years of this, I have no head pain with mine, just sore eyes and easily blurred vision.   My eye dr with my general dr agreed that I was having ocular migraines.  Eye dr told me to drink a can of pop with caffeine.  I was surprised, what I historically thought was just general tiredness and lazy eye feelings after episodes that would last for 4-6 hours was just my body trying to recover.  When I first get these auras now, I drink the soda and 45 minutes later I am very clear headed and my eyes no longer give me trouble. 

 

Get it checked out, my eye dr figures I've been coming in since I was teen, telling him my eyes were getting blurry and he'd test me to find I had perfect eyes.  He even thought at one point that I just wanted glasses for the sake of glasses. Wrote me the script for something incredibly weak, but I never had it filled because by the time my parents could get me to the store to pick out glasses, I said I didn't need them any more.  Everyone just chucked it up to me growing and my eyes being funky while I was growing.  Looking back, now we can see that there was more to it.

[whitestavern]

Thank you so much everyone!  You've been more helpful than the on-call doc who told me to bring her to an opthalmologist, which she has seen and does have poor vision in one eye but excellent in the other so as of yet she's not prescribed glasses.  Anyway, she's laying down now and it's getting a little bit better.  Lots of good suggestions here for avoiding/heading them off and also treating them. 

[gardenmom5]

yes.

 

for me, when I've had aura's - it was like blinding light reflecting off water and it would interfere with my vision.   when I was pregnant with 1dd, I only had auras and they'd last 45 minutes and that was it.   it was nice to not have a headache too.  the headaches throb, and are often accompanied by nausea.  I've friends who throw up and end up in the ER for drugs before they got them under control.

 

my triggers were

not enough water

too much sun

too much sugar

not enough sleep.

 

so, start helping her write down things so when she has another one, she'll get more information and hopefully start to be able to see if there is a pattern.

 

the only otc that has ever helped me is Excedrin.  crushed ice packs to the back of the neck can be glorious.

[gardenmom5]

Thank you so much everyone!  You've been more helpful than the on-call doc who told me to bring her to an opthalmologist, which she has seen and does have poor vision in one eye but excellent in the other so as of yet she's not prescribed glasses.  Anyway, she's laying down now and it's getting a little bit better.  Lots of good suggestions here for avoiding/heading them off and also treating them. 

as someone in this boat - hie thee to another eye dr poste haste.  she needs a prescription for the weaker eye now.  her eyes should be performing at a similar level or her vision will be screwed forever.  they need to work together to have binocular vision.

some people with poor vision in one eye - will eventually go blind in that eye because the brain shuts off the input.

 

take her to a developmental eye dr.  doesn't matter if it's an ophthal or an optometrist, as long as they are developmental.   I can't tell you how many eye drs (both kinds) I've been to over the years who had no clue how to treat me - and some even made things worse.

I was 18 the first time I went to a developmental ophthal.  the first time I put glasses on prescribed by him - my tension headache was gone - instantly.  I hadn't even realized I was having eyestrain headaches because for me - it was normal.

[whitestavern]

yes.

 

for me, when I've had aura's - it was like blinding light reflecting off water and it would interfere with my vision.   when I was pregnant with 1dd, I only had auras and they'd last 45 minutes and that was it.   it was nice to not have a headache too.  the headaches throb, and are often accompanied by nausea.  I've friends who throw up and end up in the ER for drugs before they got them under control.

 

my triggers were

not enough water

too much sun

too much sugar

not enough sleep.

 

so, start helping her write down things so when she has another one, she'll get more information and hopefully start to be able to see if there is a pattern.

 

the only otc that has ever helped me is Excedrin.  crushed ice packs to the back of the neck can be glorious.

 

Thanks gardenmom...she did have some nausea with the headache.  She also told me she hadn't been drinking enough water and the last few nights have been late ones.  I'll pick up some Excedrin--I guess it's the caffeine that helps it work better.

[whitestavern]

as someone in this boat - hie thee to another eye dr poste haste.  she needs a prescription for the weaker eye now.  her eyes should be performing at a similar level or her vision will be screwed forever.  they need to work together to have binocular vision.

some people with poor vision in one eye - will eventually go blind in that eye because the brain shuts off the input.

 

take her to a developmental eye dr.  doesn't matter if it's an ophthal or an optometrist, as long as they are developmental.   I can't tell you how many eye drs (both kinds) I've been to over the years who had no clue how to treat me - and some even made things worse.

I was 18 the first time I went to a developmental ophthal.  the first time I put glasses on prescribed by him - my tension headache was gone - instantly.  I hadn't even realized I was having eyestrain headaches because for me - it was normal.

 

What's a developmental eye doctor?  Is that their title?  How do I find one?  The one she's been going to is a pediatric ophthalmologist...is that the same thing?

[Kalmia]

My triggers include:

 

Heat (especially a sudden change in the weather or barometric pressure change)

Overstimulating visual input (a gift shop with many shiny patterns, an autumn foliage walk on a windy day)

 

As soon as I notice the zig-zags (they are usually preceded by a spacy kind of feeling), I remove myself from the visual input (leave the store, put away the book, etc.), take advil or excedrin, drink a caffinated soda, and try to fall asleep in a cool, dark room. If I can do these things and fall asleep, the pain/nausea part of the migraine can be averted. 

 

Occasionally days just "feel like" they are going to be migraine days (weather change, upcoming trip to the mall, or that "spacey feeling"), and I take some preventative Advil. 

 

[momacacia]

Could also be hypoglycemia which can be accompanies with a headache/nausea/ blurred vision.

[kbutton]

Developmental eye docs can be found at the COVD website.

 

I get these types of migraines as often as 2x per year but sometimes go years between them. They started in high school. My dad gets the exact same kind. I started having other types of migraines pretty much all the time a few years ago. I went gluten free, and it really helped. I still get migraines, but now I have to have several weird things going on at once (lack of sleep, time of month, too much sugar, weather, etc.) to prompt one. I still get the migraines with aura at about the same frequency I always have, oddly enough. The aura has its benefits--as others mentioned, it's like a timer counting down, and if you take meds (or other treatment) in that window, you can often continue on with life as usual.

 

In addition to the excellent suggestions by others, natural and otherwise, I would add that you might have her see a chiropractor that adjusts the atlas bone (if you are open to chiropractic). If you want to see a regular doctor since this is all new, they can do a quick neuro exam very easily to rule out anything sinister. If she ever gets a migraine that comes and goes for days (or stays for days), a family doc/urgent care is likely to be able to give her a Toridol shot, which is like super ibuprofen. It's really effective, but you can't get them very frequently because it's hard on the liver.

 

Migraine with aura is a contraindication for some types of birth control in case she needs to know in the future. My doctor didn't really think it was a serious link, but I believe that I heard on the radio a few days ago that someone recently had a stroke and/or died who was taking bc with aura migraines.

[Tammi K]

Ocular migraine, like many have said. It's like he aura that precedes a typical migraine. My 20 year old son gets them frequently. Fortunately for him, they rarely develop into a full blown migraine. He just deals with funny vision.

 

OTC relief and a take-it-easy approach works for him. They usually resolve in an hour or two.