Oh how we take our sight for granted

[Kirstie]

Food, a sneeze, a snooze, a nice poo, vomiting and orgasm are all cited as possible methods of stopping a migraine in its tracks (probably best not to try these all at once).

Is there a preferred order? Food would have to come before vomiting, and also poo....snooze after orgasm...sneezing - well eight of those before orgasm, apparently...

 

[onlyhuman]

Is there a preferred order? Food would have to come before vomiting, and also poo....snooze after orgasm...sneezing - well eight of those before orgasm, apparently...

Are you saying if you sneeze eight times you have an orgasm?

 

[Arch]

Are you saying if you sneeze eight times you have an orgasm?

<Arch hunts out pepper grinder>

 

[Kirstie]

Are you saying if you sneeze eight times you have an orgasm?

It's an urban myth...allegedly

 

[Archie_tect]

Must deserve testing before dismissing out of hand?

 

[Kirstie]

Let's see what Arch says ...

 

[PaulB]

Today I was casually reading the news on my laptop and suddenly I was unable to read it.

It was wierd and to be honest and a little scary. You must all know what it's like when you look into a bright light and there's a bright patch on your retina that takes a few minutes to go away.

This was very similar but this time there was no bright patch and it lasted for ages, about 30 mins. My peripheral vision was really fuzzy and it almost seemed like there was a streak down the left side of my eyes. It's still there a little.

It's freaked me out a little, especially as for quite abit of that half an hour I was struggling to read anything. I'd just look at the paper and it felt like there was a black blotch in the centre of my vision.

I will pop and see my GP soon. For a moment I felt like I was losing my sight. I have a new found sympathy for those who lose their sight. I'm not sure what's worse, losing your sight, losing your legs arms or your hearing?

That sounds exactly like the onset of migraine. I get one or two attacks a year and they are just as you described.

 

[purplepolly]

Why not just ring around a few opticians for a eye examination today and pay the lolly? I wouldn't waste a second. The Dr will send you for an eye checkup but you could wait ages unless there's an eye hospital nearby.

Because an optician wouldn't be allowed tell you what they think is wrong in a case like this - they're not even allowed to do this for some conditions which only require correction by glasses or contact lens. The optician would either have to send the OP to see his doctor or (if they knew it was an eyesight problem) they could contact OPs doctor and ask for the patient to be referred to opthalmology outpatients.

 

[Headgardener]

Numbnuts is right get to the Eye unit at the SGH I think they have a casualty department for eyes.

 

[Dayvo]

<Arch hunts out pepper grinder>

Erm, I think you're meant to sniff the pepper, not . . . er, oh, never mind!

 

[wafflycat]

As others have said, it sounds like a type of migraine aura that those of us who suffer migraines may experience.

BUT

Saying that, if you've not had a migraine before and even if you have, if this is a new experience, you should get it checked out medically. There is a *small* chance that it isn't a straightforward migraine experience but something a tad more serious. Don't wish to scare you - truly - but you should get such things checked to make sure it isn't the very small risk of something serious.

Example: my mother (a migraineur) developed visual disturbances she'd not experienced before in relation to her migraines. She went to her doc who initially pooh-pooh'd it but she insisted it was different. She got a referral to a local specialist and it turned out she was suffering minor strokes. She was put on to medication for that and had her specs altered to deal with the visual imagery and she was fine for many a long year afterwards. On the plus side it meant that the minor strokes were picked up on and dealt with in a way to reduce her risk of having a major stroke.

Suffering migaines myself - I now know to make sure any changes in my migraine pattern are something I get checked out. I do this not to scare myself, but to stay healthy, if you see what I mean.

 

[asterix]

Today I was casually reading the news on my laptop and suddenly I was unable to read it.

..
It's freaked me out a little, especially as for quite abit of that half an hour I was struggling to read anything. I'd just look at the paper and it felt like there was a black blotch in the centre of my vision.

I will pop and see my GP soon. For a moment I felt like I was losing my sight. I have a new found sympathy for those who lose their sight. I'm not sure what's worse, losing your sight, losing your legs arms or your hearing?

That was one of my symptoms after waking up from a head injury when I was doored. In my case it was a subdural haematoma caused by the impact when I struck the deck and in due course that problem cleared itself but I might easily have required treatment. Can you think of anything that might have caused it in your case?

It would be most wise to see your GP - when I was in the ward, another patient with a problem of that sort had struck his head with a pole he was using to erect an aerial. He was a doctor himself (paediatrician) and as soon as he started getting headaches went for advice. Having caught the problem in good time he was soon successfully treated.

 

[Archie_tect]

How did you get on Riverman?

 

[Stud]

Cant see anything through this dam mask..so much for the force.