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ever since i started some meds about 2 years ago i have been getting a blue flash of light before my eyes it is only a tiny light about the size of a pea and as soon as i see it its gone again but i can have this up to about 5-10 times a day, asked the doctor and she said it was silent migraine but i have never heard of this before.

2007-11-16 07:47:05 · 5 answers · asked by . 3 in Health Diseases & Conditions Other - Diseases

5 answers

Sorry to hear of your bout with migraine. Silent migrains is not somthing I am familiar with but all of those symptoms you mention could be associated with something else, symptoms of what is also causing your migraines.
Interesting that you chose to eliminate peanuts. Do you suspect food to be a trigger? I have found elimination diets to be very tricky, hard to know if the suspect food item is the trigger or if the eliminated calories is also a trigger. Then there's the possibility that ANY food is a trigger, as it was for me.
You say you wake in the morning quite groggy and blurred vision, a symptom of low blood sugar which is also a migrine trigger.
How about this theory....You sleep in on the weekends (like most of us) and because of this your blood sugar levels plunge much more than usual. Or maybe you stay up later on Friday evenings or go out for a few drinks, all of which will have the effect of causing a lowered blood sugar (LBS) condition some hours later. The next morning your blood sugar levels hit bottom and you awaken from the associated adrenalin rush feeling like you've been run over by a moose. Eye shape actually changes during a LBS condition causing the blurred vision. The migraine hits a few hours after the LBS episode.
Between 3 and 5 in the morning are typical LBS times and again 12 hours later.
My migrains of 3 to 4 a week for some 25 years vanished once I went on a low blood sugar diet. It wasn't the particular foods I was eating, it was the fact that I ate ANYTHING that was giving me migraines. Yes, a total food elimination diet was once used to cure this...trouble was the patient often expired before the cure was complete. NO kidding!
For you, I would suggest that you buy a glucometer at the local drugstore (I assume you live here in the US) and record your glucose levels at different times of the day, particularly the early mornings and on Saturdays and see if your blood sugar levels are falling dangerously low. Average fasting levels are about 80 to 100 mg/dcl. For me a level below about 65 was good for a migraine, although some people can go as low as 35 and remain awake.
Normal levels following a meal would be 120 to 160 with a slow drop over the next 3 to 5 hours. Mine was rising to about 100 and then plunging to 65 about 15 minutes after putting the first bite of food in my mouth, a sign of an overactive pancreas (hypoglycemia).
Low blood sugar is a common trigger listed in virtually any book about migraine, and you've apparently already made the association between your symptoms and your diet. Maybe it's time to take this to the next level and do the testing. Just a suggestion.
I hope this helps.

2007-11-16 07:56:39 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

i used to get it too, its the weirdest thing, and the like flash of light would make me sick to my stomach. Usually after I would get a full blown migraine. I dont think that "silent migraines" are really that bad, as long as you are not also getting a big migraine after like i was... but 5 to 10 times a day sounds crazy. Maybe you should try switching to a different medication and see if that helps.

2007-11-16 07:51:57 · answer #2 · answered by Kyle 4 · 0 0

Yes, my Dad gets them, his vision would go funny then he would feel very nauseous. We convinced him to go to the Dr and he said it was a silent migraine which sounded weird to us as he didn't have any pain/headache. But the Dr said it is quite common. My Dad is very fit and active and that can be a reason for not getting the pain usually associated with migraines.

2007-11-16 07:57:51 · answer #3 · answered by starburst 1 · 0 0

Silent migraines are ones that occur without an actual headache. This and other types of migraines are caused by abnormal changes in blood flow to certain parts of the brain. You should be happy that your migraines don't cause headaches!

2007-11-16 07:59:25 · answer #4 · answered by formerly_bob 7 · 0 0

Very interesting, no, I have never heard of this before!

2007-11-16 07:50:39 · answer #5 · answered by mistickle17 5 · 0 0

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