WTF was or is this? [Archive] - The Art of Sound Forum

Reid Malenfant

29-11-2010, 16:36

Hi people, something kind of disturbing just happened to me & i'd like any opinions :scratch:

I was sitting watching TV when all of a sudden i noticed there appeared to be some kind of distortion to the picture. At first i couldn't identify what it was i was seeing but i realised something was going on in my periferal vision.

To best describe it it was kind of shaped like an offshaped capital C, but it appeared to be made up of lots of diagonal lines which were moving about & changing colour very rapidly. At this point i wondered what the hell was going on so i thought i'd see if i could find out by experimenting.

I shut my left eye & i could still see it, doing the same with my right eye i could still see it :eek: Shutting both eyes & the movement was still there but the shape wasn't as bright but it was still definately there - in my mind!!!

At this point it proceeded to get bigger & it was to put it mildly very obtrusive in my normal field of vision & i guess you could say i was wondering what was going to happen next & tbh i was kind of getting very worried :rolleyes: Thoughts of what i can only describe as kaleidoscopic vision on a permanent basis certain didn't fill me with happy thoughts..

Anyway, i got up & wandered about & considered going to see the quack etc when i noticed that it was gradually moving away from where it was & towards the edges of my vision on the left had upper side. Right now i can't see whatever it was at all :) Total time of the whole thing from noticing it at the beginning to it being non noticeable was about 20 - 30 minutes which i don't want to repeat frankly...

Prior to the event i hadn't had any bright lights or anything like it ingrained on my retina, it was inside my head & hense my worrying :mental:

Anyone have any ideas or have experienced similar please let me know. As i say i had a nightmare that it was going to become permanent ;) If it's something to worry about then i'll be going to see the doctor & as i have absolutely no idea what the hell just happened (apart from me nearly crapping myself) i might still just go & see the doc anyway :)

Never had an experience like it, but all appears to be back to normality thankfully. No jumping lines, no colour changes & no letter C, just normal Mark type vision :cool:

Barry

29-11-2010, 16:51

Probably just a "one off". But if you have a recurrence of the event or anything like it, go and see your doctor.

I woke up the other day with a hum in my left ear. I was worried it might be tinnitus but after an hour it faded away, disappeared and has it not happened since.

Regards

Ali Tait

29-11-2010, 16:51

Chill dude! It's just a migraine.I get these occasionally,though only say 3 or 4 times a year.I don't get the headaches,just the visual interference.Don't worry about it,goes away after 20 mins or so.

Reid Malenfant

29-11-2010, 16:57

Cheers guys, interesting you say migrane Ali as i did experience a bit of twinge in my head but after the event. Maybe 20 minutes or so afterwards :scratch:

Take it from me that if it happens again i'll definately be seeing the doc ;)

Ali Tait

29-11-2010, 16:58

Maybe best to visit your GP though,just to be on the safe side.I found I get these more if I'm tired or been drinking too much,but that's not the sole cause,often get them for no reason.It can be quite disconcerting when you are driving!

Dave Hewitt

29-11-2010, 16:58

Hi,I would agree its a migraine I get these sometimes also without the headache.
Dave.

Ali Tait

29-11-2010, 16:59

Yep I've had a little twinge now and again too.So whatever it is,we've both got it!

Ali Tait

29-11-2010, 17:01

Just be thankful you don't get the headaches too,they can be horrendous!

ourdogmax

29-11-2010, 17:04

Christ on a bike! That sounds weird.
Hope your OK.

Reid Malenfant

29-11-2010, 17:05

Just be thankful you don't get the headaches too,they can be horrendous!
Aye, i know a chap that really used to suffer with them so know where you are coming from :eek:

Think i'll do a bit of research on this anyway, it definately appears to be what you chaps are describing. As a first time event it was pretty worrying as i'm sure you can imagine :eyebrows:

Thanks for the reassurance :)

Dave Hewitt

29-11-2010, 17:06

Got one once at Marcos :lol:

tannoy man

29-11-2010, 17:12

Hi Mark, it sounds very similar to what happened to me, the Optician called it an Occullar Migrane. Mine are triggered by something in Red wine but there could be other causes, The optician said its nothing to worry about but you should see your own. IL give you an example of what happens to me, Bottle of red on Friday, Saturday lunchtime driving along the sun reflects off the car in front causing a bright flash, 5 mins later I have to pull over and close my eyes for 10 mins. I hope this helps.

The Vinyl Adventure

29-11-2010, 17:13

yes, i suffer with migraines too and they often dont turn into a head ache... or sometime a mild head ache at worst. every time i get one thats how it starts.
the head ache (for me at least) if it does come, comes about 20 mins after the visions end ... next time you are in superdrug or what not... buy your self some migraleave, iyou get a migrane and a head ache and its a bad one ... you will bloody well know about it...
when i get a bad one they last about a week, the first day is the worst, then after the first day its just a head ache that pain killers dont touch ...
def mention it to your doctor... especially if they become frequent...
the funny thing with migrains though, they can come and go, some people never have them, some people only once in a while, some people more frequently ...
i get mine when i have problems with my back - either before or after a bout of bad back pain ... this is due to the mechanics of my muscles in my back and my poor posture ...
its perfectly reasonable to assume (if this is a one off) that it could be down to pulling a muscle in a completely disconected part of your body... you might not have even known you did it ...

Jonboy

29-11-2010, 17:21

My eldest sister gets migrianes and a lot has to do with what she eats, one of my employees gets Cluster Headaches which are extreme migraines, he has had a lot of time off lately trying to get the drugs right to keep it at bay, he knows when its coming on and takes medication then has to go to sleep for a few hours, it all leaves him exhausted :(

DSJR

29-11-2010, 17:22

I do think a GP visit is in order here, if only for peace of mind..

My severe outer-ear infection a few months ago was, by accident, a trigger for the blood-tests that confirmed my T2 Diabetes, and that was because of long standing spots being noticed which wouldn't clear up (sugar in sweat acting as a bacterial feeding ground). I've had a retina scan to ensure nothing amiss and also had my feet checked for circularity issues, as well as the usual blood-pressure and cholesterol/weight reducung lectures and Statins for the former. I have more blood tests in January to confirm my future medication.

One good thing though - I've lost nearly half a stone in weight - just another stone or more to go to get back to my pre-marital weight.

Reid Malenfant

29-11-2010, 17:26

Again thanks for all the replies :)

Now as far as i know i have only ever had one headache in my whole life & it was a real b**tard i can tell you. The only thing i could do was attempt to sleep it off, which is exactly what i did do :eyebrows:

This though, i can feel something & i'm getting an occasional twinge in the head for a few seconds & about 15 minutes or more apart. Not really painful but it'd definately be damn annoying if it was there for any length of time.

Vision is perfectly back to normal now, looking up the symptoms of migraine & the aura that's seen it fits perfectly, even the diagonal lines is spot on :eyebrows:

I must admit i nearly crapped myself though having never seen anything like it previously & only having consumed tea, coffee & ciggies & a decent healthy meal so far today :lol:

Ali Tait

29-11-2010, 17:29

Aye, i know a chap that really used to suffer with them so know where you are coming from :eek:

Think i'll do a bit of research on this anyway, it definately appears to be what you chaps are describing. As a first time event it was pretty worrying as i'm sure you can imagine :eyebrows:

Thanks for the reassurance :)

Yep,scared the shit out of me too the first time.

colinB

29-11-2010, 17:36

My friend gets ocular migraine with some red wines, coffee ( decaf is ok ) cheese and oranges. The wierd thing is sometimes the smell of oranges sets her of.

Alex_UK

29-11-2010, 18:56

Hope nothing too serious, Mark - doesn't sound like it, but as us men are terrible at admitting there is something wrong and going to the doc until we're virtually dead better safe than sorry I would suggest...

Crikey, if these can be set off by red wine coffee and cheese then I'm surprised I can see at all! If I had to avoid those I don't think I would survive! ;)

Reid Malenfant

29-11-2010, 19:13

Well all appears to be ok now, obviously at the time it damn well wasn't though :doh:

No twinges of pain every so often, only had about 3 or 4 little niggles for a few seconds with what felt like some pressure behind my eyes, but as i say, just for a few seconds. A slight bit of neck pain earlier, again just for a short period.

Bloody odd i must say. It was the vision going crazy that freaked me out though, never experienced anything like it (even on acid all those years ago :eyebrows:). It just started off as a slight localised distortion & then got more & more noticeable until i was almost looking through a tunnel which was doing a fantastic impression of a kaleidoscope..

It got scary when i realised i could still see it with my eyes shut :eek: At the time i thought i was having a brain haemorrhage, i didn't know what else to think :rolleyes: I thought about dialing the emergency services as it was beyond a joke & i didn't know if it'd get to the point i couldn't see anything except jumping multicoloured diagonal lines :eyebrows:

Weird crap & scary as i live on my own... What does one do when freaky stuff happens in a situation like that?

Anyway, all appears to be good again :smoking:

Many thanks for all your replies, at least i'm just about 100% sure i now know what was going on & it's not life threatening ;) You all made me feel a lot better - Thank you all

goraman

30-11-2010, 03:18

Nothing a few shots of single malt can't fix.

Tony Moore

30-11-2010, 09:14

I'd certainly recommend seeing your GP if this is the first time you've had a migraine, just for peace of mind. From what you describe it does sound like the classic symptoms of migraine though. I've had them on and off infrequently all my adult life and I've never worked out what triggers them for me. Mine start as a flickering in peripheral or centre vision, getting bigger into swirling colours and then around 20 - 30 mins later a tremendous headache and feeling sick. At worst I'd have to shut myself off in a dark room in silence. Mostly though once I get the flashing lights I take Migraleave and the headache is mild or non-existent. Sometimes the visual effects are very strange. I think it was last time there were no flashing lights but a dead patch in my vision. ie I looked at myself in the mirror and my face was missing! :scratch: Freaked me out that one! :eyebrows: I thought I'd gone vampire. :stalks:

Here's wishing you no more migraines for a while..or ever.

Thermionic

30-11-2010, 11:30

Mark, just go and see the doc. It’s probably nothing at all but who knows? Go and book an appointment now.

Spectral Morn

30-11-2010, 11:48

Mark

Sorry but no one who has commented so far is a Doctor (?) so I would go get yourself checked out.

I don't want to come across all negative and I truly hope it is only migraines but it may be something else, so get your self as fast as you can to your doctor for a full check up.

PLEASE....

Regards D S D L

WAD62

30-11-2010, 12:20

Mark,

As everyone says get yourself checked out, just to be safe...my partner is a Doctor, and advised the same to me in similar circumstances, just to be on the safe side.

However as stated on other replies I'm pretty sure you're experiencing the 'aura' from a 'classic' migraine. I've suffered from them all my life...

Classic Migraine;

Visual Aura (can be either eye), then tunnel vision, nausia, crippling headache, stomach issues...usually in that sequence, however sometimes I have less or more of the headache/nausia.

The bouts could be every 6 months or so, or a couple in a week, I've tried identifying what triggers them and I reckon it's a combination of things.

Stress is always the 'build up' for me, and the trigger is usually visual, it can be low sun flickering through trees as you drive, or a flash camera, or even just relaxing after a period of stress (and by stress I mean working hard towards a deadline etc.), I often get them on a Saturday morning...which is shit!!!

I've also found that a low refresh rate on a monitor, or certain types of florescent lights can be problematic. Do you wear glasses? I've had less problems since I started wearing glasses for reading or using a monitor, as I have astigmatism.

And if you see anyone wearing a fine checked shirt look in the opposite direction, or put your specs on quickly...that'll trigger it every time, oh and those nasty cheap metal tables with the swirly metallic finish...that'll do it too.

Reid Malenfant

30-11-2010, 14:43

Hmmm, ok i'll get myself checked out then :)

It won't be cheap though as i'm bound to have my blood pressure taken & judging how things were last time i was there they'll be having a fit this time :doh: So no doubt i'll be seeing a prescription for something to lower blood pressure :rolleyes:

Next up will be the stop drinking & smoking lecture :doh: At least i eat decent healthy meals...

No i don't ware glasses, never needed them so far.... :eyebrows: That'll probably be next on the list - a full eye test :scratch:

WAD62

30-11-2010, 15:41

...don't take this as lifestyle advice however;

One of the effects of a Migraine is that there is a constriction of the capillaries supplying blood to the brain, so it could be argued that caffeine and nicotine are pretty good at counteracting this effect, as they increase the blood flow.

If I feel I'm having a big attack (tunnel vision after the flickering) I have a decision to make, if I can get back to home within 30 mins, it's time for a great big bifter and bed, and sleep through the worst.

The other direction is loads of coke (the fizzy variety), plenty of cigs, and a mixture of co-codamol and paracetamol (my missus found this in the British Medical Journal), and tough it out.

I've tried migraleve and other such things, all they seem to do is postpone the attack.

It's as if there is a build up of chemicals in the brain that will and must come out, and ultimately it will. Hence the digestive problems, as one of the symptoms is that your digestion just stops, something to do with your autonomic system.

Out of interest do you notice the flickering of monitors when they are on a low refresh rate? I can actually see monitors at 60hz or less flickering in my peripheral vision as I walk through an IT dept and can reliably pick them out...me and my 'magic' eyes!

Reid Malenfant

30-11-2010, 15:48

Out of interest do you notice the flickering of monitors when they are on a low refresh rate? I can actually see monitors at 60hz or less flickering in my peripheral vision as I walk through an IT dept and can reliably pick them out...me and my 'magic' eyes!
Yes i can & it doesn't have to be in the periphery of my vision either, i can often see it head on so to speak ;)

I actually take quite a bit of co-codamol anyway to easy the pain in my back, though i do try not to take it on a daily basis i'm often forced to along with ibuprofen just so i can hopefully get the basics done :doh:

aquapiranha

30-11-2010, 16:04

Agree with the above about it being a migraine. I have been to see a specialist at the hospital about a dodgy eye, and I told them I had a similar episode and they said it was a migraine. Get it checked though anyway.

WAD62

30-11-2010, 16:12

...and florescent tubes too ill bet.

I'm a keen cricketer/batsman (well when the old body is still up to it), but an awful lot of other batsmen suffer from migraines too, much higher rate than normal I think, Rob Key, Collingwood, and Bell for example.

I've often thought that there was a connection between the ability to detect something moving very rapidly towards you, and ones susceptibility to migraines.

Obviously only circumstantial...

As for the back, I have bouts of sciatica, as a result of a slipped disk a few years ago, when things are at their worst a couple of valium before bed help. They relax the constriction around the vertebrae, thus curing the problem not the symptom, just a bit difficult to get your doctor to prescribe them as they assume you're an addict, or a dealer, or both.

The Vinyl Adventure

30-11-2010, 16:28

I've often thought that there was a connection between the ability to detect something moving very rapidly towards you, and ones susceptibility to migraines.

i always thought it was a sensory thing... i find it difficult and confusing being in a room where a tv and hifi is playing at the same time ... they do it all the time at the shop and that makes me feel funny in the head ...
but then, as i said, mine are almost definitely down to my back problems

WAD62

30-11-2010, 16:30

i always thought it was a sensory thing... i find it difficult and confusing being in a room where a tv and hifi is playing at the same time ... they do it all the time at the shop and that makes me feel funny in the head ...
but then, as i said, mine are almost definitely down to my back problems

I've had them since a kid but only had back trouble in the last 10 years, although one man's back trouble may be only a twinge compared to someone else's.

Reid Malenfant

13-03-2011, 15:37

Ok, i'll definately be seeing the quack this coming week :eyebrows: Until i just had a second attack of the same thing i totally forgot about this migraine thing :doh:

Same sort of pattern, a small distorted C shape that was initially small that gradually got bigger until it was like looking down a tunnel.. Same kaleidoscopic effect.

At least this time it was vastly less worrying :) Thought i'd find this thread to see when it occured previously :scratch: Looks to be about 3.5 months ago :(

Shopping tomorrow, quacks on Tuesday :exactly:

Ali Tait

13-03-2011, 16:40

Yes, best to get checked out.

Reid Malenfant

27-11-2011, 19:31

Actually I didn't see the quack that week, but I have since ;) Went to see them just under a fortnight ago having had another recent episode. Blood pressure taken - slightly raised, booked in for blood tests, done. ordered to take an eye test, check... Another blood pressure check tomorrow :rolleyes:

Excellent eyesight but not quite so good up close, though no need of reading glasses as of yet.

So I was informed it was probably an optical or ocular migraine... A little research shows this only occurs in one eye & is due to something happening to the blood vessels in that particular eye. I thought me mentioning that it occurs in both eyes & even if I shut them I still see the freakiness might have given it away.

So I guess I'm lucky I don't get the headaches as it appears I'm getting the aura of a full on migraine attack but with no headache :scratch: Quite uncommon apparently :eyebrows:

So I guess I'm just going to have to live with it :rolleyes:

Marco

27-11-2011, 23:30

Too much wanking, dude, combined with a lack of alcohol! :eyebrows:

Marco.

The Vinyl Adventure

27-11-2011, 23:43

So I guess I'm lucky I don't get the headaches as it appears I'm getting the aura of a full on migraine attack but with no headache :scratch: Quite uncommon apparently

I dont get the head aches so badly these days, just a mild one for a bout 4-5 days.... It used to be a lot worse!
The worst of it is how bloody wierd they make me feel... that seems to be getting worse! I get this oddly disconnected from the world feeling... zero ability to concentrate! Hannah hates it, she says I might as well not be there for all the sense she can get out of me ... very odd

Darren

28-11-2011, 03:56

Too much wanking, dude, combined with a lack of alcohol! :eyebrows:

Marco.

Too much wanking? Now I'm concerned..... How much is too much? If I'm forced to cut down how will I fill my time?

Rare Bird

28-11-2011, 05:12

Too much wanking, dude, combined with a lack of alcohol! :eyebrows:

Marco.

:lolsign: One of the two is unhealthy can you guess which!

Darren

28-11-2011, 09:56

:lolsign: One of the two is unhealthy can you guess which!

Nmh! Surely the lack of alcohol. Ive been shaving my palms for years now.....

WAD62

28-11-2011, 12:34

I dont get the head aches so badly these days, just a mild one for a bout 4-5 days.... It used to be a lot worse!
The worst of it is how bloody wierd they make me feel... that seems to be getting worse! I get this oddly disconnected from the world feeling... zero ability to concentrate! Hannah hates it, she says I might as well not be there for all the sense she can get out of me ... very odd

Yes, I get the same sort of 'dopey' disconnected feeling the day after an attack, it's a bit like having a 'reboot' of the brain...

I suffered from 'Brachial Neuritis' (nerve damage) in my right arm once, which was excruciating, I felt like chewing my arm off!!! I was given amitriptyline as a pain killer, it's also used as an anti depressant, and that gave very similar effects to a post migraine...dopey, detached, etc. Thank heavens I'm off it, I was sh1t at anything creative workwise...some might say no change there then ;)

My biggest post migraine issue is that ones autonomic digestive system grinds to a halt, and can be several days before 'normal service' is resumed...:)

worthingpagan

28-11-2011, 15:57