Just experienced some shimmering in my left eyes peripheral vision for about 3 or 4 minutes
I do suffer from positive vitreous detachment ( PVD ) which causes flashes in your peripheral vision using detected at night, but its possible this symptom could have been an Ocular Migrane which is caused by irregular brain activity sending spurious signals to the retina.An ocular Migrane as far as I’m aware has nothing to do with a headache as I feel fine.
Has anyone heard of or experienced this eye condition or a similar eye condition that could cause these symptoms ???
Not a serious condition, symptoms go away after a few minutes, mine usually last 10 to 15 minutes. I see scintillating/shimmering colours in an arc, usually just one eye. My doctor and my optometrist both have no concerns. I just go and have a cuppa while I wait for it to go away., tea not coffee.
Count your blessings, there is no pain associated with it!
Cheers, Chris
Sorry to hear of your experiences, hope you are well.
I have experienced a Posterior Vitreous Detachment (PVD) and was advised to go to Emergency to get an eye check up within 24 hours of the symptoms appearing (floaters in my case).
This was to establish that is was a relatively harmless PVD and not a much more serious retinal detachment, which apparently must be addressed within 24 hours of occurrence.
I would recommend you seek immediate medical advice, to minimise any risk to your vision.
The folks at Emergency were very supportive and said I was doing the right thing by presenting within 24 hours, even though it was only a PVD, a natural change that occurs during adulthood, when the vitreous gel that fills the eye separates from the retina, the light-sensing nerve layer at the back of the eye.
No advice from me, only to say I've had "scintillating scotoma" on 4 or so occasions in the last 5 years. They appeared without any known reason or trigger. They last for 30mins, and 2 of the 4 times, I've been rewarded with a nasty headache for the rest of the day.
I have no other problems I'm aware of. The 1st time this happened I went to the ED (which was 100m from work... walked in). There was no comments, or offers for further consultation. Simply, "Take these, expect a headache in 1 hour, and drop back in if it happens again". As promised, the headach happened, and I haven't been back.
It was a strange relief to see the example images showing just what I was seeing. It's weird, and somewhat unnappreciated being blind in one eye for 30mins.
I get them often they last anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, most times they have no adverse effect, other times I get sleepy. It is much rarer now than before
No long term effects.
This is How I see them ,they can be zigzag start small get big then slowly dissipate but it does affect your vision for a little bit. Never a headache.
I do get something similar when I’m starting to get a migraine.
Left eye peripheral vision usually goes blurry , then the headache follows.
Can be mild or severe but luckily only happens once or twice a year!
Doctor suggested taking 2-3 Panadol and 2 shots of strong coffee . Seemed to help.
My optometrist suggested the floaters were fine, but come back for an appointment quickly if I saw flashes of light. The number of things that could be a problem with your eyes is beyond me. The most urgent is acute angle glaucoma, my brother almost lost his vision, and then there is retinal vein occlusion, a colleague requires injections, the list goes on. Go to an optometrist at least.
Thanks all for your reply’s
Back in July I did go to the Sydney Eye hospital to have a full eye check
Retinas were ok
No macular degeneration
Eye pressure ok
Eye scan checked out ok
No glaucoma
No cataracts
All ok
I still have floaters , had them for a few years , but my flashes have greatly reduced from last year , only in my right eye now and not that intense , just a faint flicker now and again
This new symptom has all the benchmarks of Ocular Migrane. A detached Retina apparently gives you a permanent white sheet across your peripheral vision. This is just a shimmering on the far side not across the whole field of view and it goes away after a few minutes , no side affects at all
I suppose I’ll just monitor it and if it happens again and again , back to the Sydney Eye Hospital for more tests
I get them, same as Nikolas described. Zig-zaggy coloured flashy snakes. Start as wee small shimmer, and grow over 15-30 minutes, eventually passing outside my "FOV". No headache, unlike the past horrific migraines I experienced as a teenager. I always figured they were a holdover from the past. I just close my eyes, or layback in a darkened room until they pass. Probs get one every 3 months or so.
Only help I can suggest is to get some knowledeable person ASAP. I can recommend excellent optometrist who saved my vision sending me to the right person.
Good luck. PM me if you need details.
Just experienced some shimmering in my left eyes peripheral vision for about 3 or 4 minutes
I do suffer from positive vitreous detachment ( PVD ) which causes flashes in your peripheral vision using detected at night, but its possible this symptom could have been an Ocular Migrane which is caused by irregular brain activity sending spurious signals to the retina.An ocular Migrane as far as I’m aware has nothing to do with a headache as I feel fine. Has anyone heard of or experienced this eye condition or a similar eye condition that could cause these symptoms ???
Appreciate any advice or comments
Hi Martin,
since you asked, yes there are some other (more serious) conditions that might, in the some cases , cause such (particularly asymmetrical) symptoms: a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) or its big brother, a stroke, high BP, localised atherosclerosis...... It's probably fine, and I don't wish to give you any cause for any concern, but since you asked and in the spirit of full disclosure of thought and as part of any thorough differential diagnosis- get checked out nonetheless. Start with your GP.
I get an ocular migraine a couple of times a year. Looks like a wavy, shimmering arc in the left peripheral vision. Like sunlight shimmering on water. Lasts 10-30mins, no headache, resolves without issues. Usually occurs if I have had too much caffeine....
My brother in law is an opthalmologist, he checked everything and said not to worry about it
Common conditions do present commonly, but so do rarer more serious conditions. If you have made the diagnosis “suspected”, then my advice is to see an optometrist or GP in the first instance.
New undiagnosed Flashing scotomas in a middle aged and older male, needs to be investigated. I’m sure it may be a harmless cause, but getting a professional opinion and formal tests would be sensible.
This thread has been most illuminating, was diagnosed with PVD in my right eye ( observing eye ) about 5 years ago after experiencing flashes and permanent floaters and going to the optometrist to get the eyes checked out.
In the last year or so am now getting the similar flashes and floaters in the left eye.
What I have been experiencing occasionally is what I've now come to understand is Scotoma. Manifests as , seemingly, both eyes not being able to focus on the same target but am realising that my left eye, mainly, gets a blurry ring around the field of vision, sometimes combined with scintillating as well.
Still haven't connected a relationship with them and the headaches I occasionally get as well but possibly there is a link.
Thanks for starting this thread Martin.
