Weird dazzle in vision

First off, I totally understand that this is no replacement for seeing an actual doctor.  I will do so.  But the migraine discussion got me thinking of an event that happened last week or so, and then it coincidentally just started happening again a few minutes ago.

My eyes aren't great - I'm a bit nearsighted and as I approach 60 I've developed a floater or two, which have been deemed normal by my ophthalmologist.  I work on a computer all day.

Last week - and again right now - I've lost a touch of focus right at the center of my vision for maybe 10-15 minutes.  But more interestingly, that has been accompanied by a bit of dazzle, like a diamond rotating under a bright light.  Maybe about the size of a dime, held at arm's length, just left of center.  It's visible with both, either, or no eyes open.  It seems to move with my eyes.  As we speak, the dazzle is fading; though the focus is still a little weak.

First time it happened, I was watching TV in a normally-lit room, maybe 10 feet away from the screen.  This time, I was actually reading this forum on my phone, so it was much closer and smaller.  There is no real pain or headache involved.

Anybody had as issue like this?  Thanks.

My wife has something similar. It might be an ocular migraine. Harmless, but not so fun. She does not have migraines, however. 

Shadeux said:

My wife has something similar. It might be an ocular migraine. Harmless, but not so fun. She does not have migraines, however. 

Came to suggest this. I have had a couple. Doc said reduce stress in my life.  

My ocular migraines look a lot like this artists rendering

The sparkly crescent is what I notice most but yeah, I can't see very well when it happens and had to pull off the road once.

My doctors response was "You are lucky you don't get the associated headache, there is nothing we can do" so I left it. It happens maybe once a year for me after an initial run of 5 or 6 in a month when they first started

I'm grateful to you guys for putting a name to this. While I'm not sure if this is what I've experienced, knowing what this is called will help me ask questions when I see my doctor. 

I've had similar.  No migraines.  Sit in front of a computer all day.  More likely to happen when wearing contacts as opposed to glasses.  Usually goes away after a bit (30 minutes or so), especially if I rest my eyes or specifically look at multi-distance things.  Like going outside and focusing on multiple distances for a bit.

Never happened when I was at the optometrist, so nothing to "look for". 

Always went away.  Seemed to be related to eye strain/stress.  If it happens more often, seek professional help.  :D

-Rob

Thanks, folks.  It looks quite a bit like that rendering up there.

This comes with a kind of disconnected feeling, like I'm not really processing sensory input of any kind very well.

Feels a bit like crashing blood sugar or what DW and I dubbed "COVID brain" - general lack of processing power.

My wife briefly got ocular migraines. This sounds like that.

I also work on computers all day and use to get these for years.  It really sucked when it set in while doing the 30 minute commute home.  Now I work from home, but the fix for me was to get special computer glasses set to focus at where I sit relative to my monitors (about arms length away). That took away a significant amount of eye strain.

I get the ocular migraines, definitely related to stress (also known as a normal day at work). 
 

In my experience, I will have a small, white blind spot in the center of my field of vision. They last for about 15-20 minutes. 
 

I'm not an expert but can share this. When it happens, try closing one eye at a time to determine if it's from your central (neurological) vision center or affecting a single eye. Ocular migraine would affect both eyes equally. 

I've occasionally had a similar problem over the last 2-3 years and my eye doc said it was probably scintillating scotoma, which is apparently related to ocular migraine. I'd get them when I was under a lot of stress. There was usually a tightness in my chest like an anxiety attack that went away with the eye issue.

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

Yes, I did try closing left, right, or both eyes. It was definitely there no matter what combination.

What was weird is that even with my eyes closed, it stayed in the same position relative to my perceived center of focus, when I moved my eyes around behind closed lids.

I get the blind spot and then a big fat dazzle like a very bright TV turned to a dead channel where the blind spot is.

I also have a pretty hefty amount of visual snow, which I understand goes hand in hand with this type of migraine.  I joke that I have 320x200 vision with heavy dithering.

On the plus side, I see no reason to buy a 4K television, given that I can barely see a difference between a DVD recording and a VHS recording.

Duke said:

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

Yes, I did try closing left, right, or both eyes. It was definitely there no matter what combination.

What was weird is that even with my eyes closed, it stayed in the same position relative to my perceived center of focus, when I moved my eyes around behind closed lids.

That is because it is neurological, not an eye problem.  Video driver bug with no ETA for an update.

You're an architect. That's a highly paid, low stress job right?

(sorry I got nothing else - seems like several others may have nailed the Dx up above)

As others have said, you described an ocular migraine perfectly. My symptom is that I have a hole in my vision, usually right in the middle. I've had two in my life, each time I've gone to the doctor to rule out a detached retina (just to be sure). Stress definitely contributes in my case, and one time I spent the prior day bending over and picking rocks out of some topsoil we had just spread out and seeded. I think the combination of bending over and focusing to pick out the rocks did me in. Both instances were also around changes in weather, with the rain bringing on the ocular migraine.

When I asked my doctor about a similar thing, he called it "aura with migraine", where the visual phenomenon is the "aura" and the headache is the "migraine".

I've had it a few times, the first thing I noticed with it is that I have difficulty reading because the center of my vision is blurring.  Then over the course of an hour or so that blur gradually increases in size, becoming a donut where the center is sharp again.  That's apparently a classic symptom of an aura, but so far so good on me not following it up with a headache.

If you get what looks like sparklers or flashes in your vision it could be the beginning of a detached retina. I would at least see an Optometrist who would be able to diagnose it. I have had them but in the early stages they have gone away.

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

I had those sparklers once; fortunately it wasn't a detached retina issue and they went away, but it's nothing to be messed with.  When I called my clinic they got me in right away to check it out, there was no waiting.

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

Yes, I've never had issues with flashes or sparklers, but I know someone who did have a detached retina, and it is very serious.

I didn't get the grey spot at the center of my vision, but it refused to focus right were it needed to.  Slightly down and left of that, like I said, it was like there was a little diamond twinkling in the light.  There was never any pain at all.

I took some Excedrin with caffeine, and it seemed to clear eventually.  After sleeping overnight, it seems entirely gone.

Thanks for everyone's input - I really appreciate it.

Go see a eye doctor - It could be a retina separation.   When I was have separation of the viscous layer, a common occurrence for those over 60, my eye doctor told me that if at any time I start seen flickering lights in my vision to call her. 

Day or night.  Because if its the retina I would need emergency eye surgery. 

Let me tell you something that I've learned in the last few years.

Do Not Mess Around When It Comes to Vision! 

If you have anything strange happen and you can see an ophthalmologist about it do so. Sooner than later. If you made it to 60 with good vision be thankful, now get on the phone an call the doc and get it checked. If its nothing you'll be relieved. If it's the beginning of a problem there is nothing better than catching it early. 

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

When I asked my doctor about a similar thing, he called it "aura with migraine", where the visual phenomenon is the "aura" and the headache is the "migraine".

I've had it a few times, the first thing I noticed with it is that I have difficulty reading because the center of my vision is blurring.  Then over the course of an hour or so that blur gradually increases in size, becoming a donut where the center is sharp again.  That's apparently a classic symptom of an aura, but so far so good on me not following it up with a headache.

I was initially told it was an occular migraine, but had the good fortune to live near what I was told was the migraine doctor in Canada. She told me it was classic migraine aura. I don't feel any pain, but have also experienced numbness, dizziness, and a few other unusual things. At least I don't feel pain, but with the numbness on one side of my body, dizziness so bad I thought I was going down in a heap, and the impaired vision, I got an emergency trip to the hospital from work one night thinking it was a stroke.

My trigger seems to be hunger

Just got this meme

Funny, I posted that, went out to the shop and one started within a few minutes. Often it's a hunger thing, or it seems to be, other times it's just out of the blue. When they start it's like I was just looking into a bright light, then looked away, and the bright light is now in my field of vision.