# Ocular Migraines -- Need some fact-checking here...



## The Green Shield (Jul 3, 2017)

M'kay, need some fact-checking here.


Basically, in my Colonial Mystery Amos Garnier (my MC) has ocular migraines. He's already blind, yes, but he experiences brief periods of severe pain in his right eye that lasts for half an hour and makes him dizzy and unable to really do much besides gripe about it. It happens on and off, and it usually gets triggered by certain lighting situations (he is able to distinguish between light and dark)


Thing is, I never had ocular migraines and in addition to my research of it, I wanted to hear personal experience from anyone here who has them. What's it like? Does Amos' migraines ring as realistic or complete bull? 


Thoughts?


----------



## -xXx- (Jul 3, 2017)

feel free to throw some nausea in there.
jussayin'
do you give a proposed origin for the
apparent ocular migraine result?


----------



## The Green Shield (Jul 3, 2017)

-xXx- said:


> feel free to throw some nausea in there.
> jussayin'
> do you give a proposed origin for the
> apparent ocular migraine result?


Here's the gist:

Amos is legally blind; he can distinguish light from dark and can _juuuust_ make out blobs and shapes. His eyes are super-sensitive to bright light so when he's outside, he often keeps his eyes closed in an effort to protect them. His left eye is the one that hurts the most.

My idea was that when he has the ocular migraines, he gets these arcs/auras going in his eyes and they last for about half an hour, followed by an intense headache on one side of his head. He feels nauseated and hazy for a few hours until it subsides. He's had it his whole life.


----------



## Sleepwriter (Jul 3, 2017)

If he doesn't have to "shut down" while having one, then its just a bad headache.  Migraines will shut you down if you don't seek dark quiet spaces immediately.  I get violently ill if I don't heed my warning indicators when one is coming on.


----------



## The Green Shield (Jul 3, 2017)

Sleepwriter said:


> If he doesn't have to "shut down" while having one, then its just a bad headache.  Migraines will shut you down if you don't seek dark quiet spaces immediately.  I get violently ill if I don't heed my warning indicators when one is coming on.


Ah, I see. So migraines are basically the big bad bullies of headaches...

So in Amos' case, if he doesn't heed the warning indicators, he'll find himself puking his guts out and laid out in bed for a good while?


----------



## Sleepwriter (Jul 3, 2017)

Yes.  Migraines can incapacitate me for several days at their worst.  The best I can hope for is only losing half a day.   I've been very fortunate that mine have decreased in occurrance.  I'm down to one every couple months now


----------



## Terry D (Jul 3, 2017)

To be precise, an ocular migraine only has it's visual disturbances in one eye, and doesn't always result in a headache for every sufferer. Not all migraines are debilitating although many are. Your original description is pretty accurate.

I occasionally suffer from the visual distortions associated with ocular migraines (in fact I had one last night). The subsequent headache is, for me, moderate, but very distinctive. Usually starting in my eye and moving to the back of my head and lasting for 2 to 24 hours. For years I would occasionally have the oddly geometric patterns of multi-colored light in my vision, but with no following headache. Over that last few years the headaches have started to follow the aura, but they still aren't debilitating.


----------



## -xXx- (Jul 3, 2017)

i am intrigued by the source/cause of onset,
etc.
i understand that ocular migraines may tie
to genetic predisposition; some manifest
around a particular age, some prompted
by a different change (injury, secondary to diabetes, etc.).

perhaps there is research on "since birth",
but preverbal children would have little reason
to think it unusual.
discovering that most people don't experience it
would be a nifty character depth bit.

your amos sounds interesting.


----------



## Theglasshouse (Jul 5, 2017)

Buy a book if you must even though that sounds like obvious advice. There are probably some cheap Kindle books out there not dismiss the excellent advice in this thread. Someone with a Ph.D. that has written on the topic. For example, I am thinking when I can to buy science fiction research books on Kindle when the time or occasion arises books written by people with PhDs.


----------



## The Green Shield (Jul 5, 2017)

Sleepwriter said:


> Yes.  Migraines can incapacitate me for several days at their worst.  The best I can hope for is only losing half a day.   I've been very fortunate that mine have decreased in occurrance.  I'm down to one every couple months now





Terry D said:


> To be precise, an ocular migraine only has it's visual disturbances in one eye, and doesn't always result in a headache for every sufferer. Not all migraines are debilitating although many are. Your original description is pretty accurate.
> 
> I occasionally suffer from the visual distortions associated with ocular migraines (in fact I had one last night). The subsequent headache is, for me, moderate, but very distinctive. Usually starting in my eye and moving to the back of my head and lasting for 2 to 24 hours. For years I would occasionally have the oddly geometric patterns of multi-colored light in my vision, but with no following headache. Over that last few years the headaches have started to follow the aura, but they still aren't debilitating.


I'd say these were good responses but I don't want to sound like I'm taking pleasure in your sufferings. D: Sounds like a very shitty thing -- the headache. 

So I guess it's safe to say the headache experience is unique to the person? In other words, some are downed for hours on end while others can still function but they _are_ miserable because of it?

Last question for now: does it have a specific pattern? I was thinking for Amos, he'd have it once a month or so. Sometimes he can push through the pain that follows while other times he is knocked down by it for the next couple of hours.

Also, according to my research, the sensation of the pain occurs on one side of the head and feels like it's pulsating/throbbing and moving makes it worse.


----------



## Terry D (Jul 5, 2017)

The Green Shield said:


> Last question for now: does it have a specific pattern? I was thinking for Amos, he'd have it once a month or so. Sometimes he can push through the pain that follows while other times he is knocked down by it for the next couple of hours.



Mine do not. The one I had the day before I posted earlier was the first I had experienced in months.


----------



## The Green Shield (Jul 5, 2017)

Aaah, I think I'm starting to get it.

So it depends on the person, the ocular migraine. Sometimes it has a pattern, sometimes not. The pain varies, sometimes you can push through it and other times you can't. For some, there is no pain -- just the floating arcs.

But ultimely it just depends on the person.


----------



## Bloggsworth (Jul 5, 2017)

Mine consist of semi-circular alternating black & white zig-zag lines - If I take 600mg of aspirin immediately they start I'm OK, otherwise major headache, but no nausea.


----------



## -xXx- (Jul 6, 2017)

mine tend to be prompted by certain sound frequencies/
physical vibrations.
so yes, i think amos can experience a unique "set" of
"manifestations".
he may or may not recognize "sources" &/or "remedy(s)".


----------



## The Green Shield (Jul 9, 2017)

Question: I was thinking of writing that scene where Amos has the ocular migraine and posting it here so you all can see what I'm talking about. Should I post it here, or put it in in the critiquing section?


----------



## -xXx- (Jul 10, 2017)

if not here, leave a link.
sounds interesting to me


----------

