any ideas?

Hi all,

On Christmas I had a serious of lightening storm like visual disturbances and now have a large floater in my eye. Have seen 2 different eye docs -one said definitely not a TIA the other said maybe a TIA. Other than the eye exams to rule out a detached retina no other tests
I was scared I was having a stroke but the lighterning bolts were my only symptom. Other possible dx were a vitreous problem or an ocular migrane.
Last a fib episode was 3 weeks ago for about 10 hours. I am on aspirin and have never had an a fib episode over 10 hours- usually once every 3 months.
Any ideas- I'm still feeling anxious

Thanks,
Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Sounds like you had a vitreous detachment. This can cause flashes of light, particularly when you look to the extremities of side vision.

Check out [www.nei.nih.gov] for more info.

Generally not serious if vitreous comes away cleanly. Can cause floaters to appear.

Very important to have it check by an eye specialist to rule out more serous causes such as impending detachment of retina.

Regards

I have migraines with those same visual disturbances. Blind spots, floaters, light shows with lightening affects, they are common. I know migraine sufferers who had the visual disturbance and didn't get nausea or headache so my guess would be along the lines of migraine.

Since I've begun supplementing with magnesium, my migraines went from 4x a year to once in 20 months.

In the absence of other symptoms (nausea, vomiting, headache, speech trouble) I wouldn't worry too much. If they are migraines stress can trigger them.

Best of luck, happy new year.

Hi Lisa, wishing you well! Erling

We know well the magnesium-AF link. Probable the migraine link is nothing new to you, but just in case:

[www.newmediaexplorer.org]

A few excerpts from Making the Magnesium-Migraine Link:

....It's very likely that magnesium deficiency is a widespread cause of migraines, maintains Dr. Herbert Mansmann [professor of medicine]. Studies show that many people don't even come close to getting the Daily Value of magnesium, which is 400 milligrams. "On a daily basis, 30 to 40 percent of American people take less than 75 percent of the Daily Value of magnesium," says Dr. Mansmann ...

....What's more, several different things, from the caffeine in just two cups of coffee a day to the chemicals in most asthma medications, remove some magnesium from your system. "We know that intake is low for a lot of people. We know that a lot of medications, such as diuretics (water pills) and a variety of cardiovascular medications, can increase magnesium losses. We know that people with diabetes who have high blood sugar lose a lot more magnesium in the urine and, as a result, run the risk of magnesium deficiency," says Karen Kubena, Ph.D., associate professor of nutrition at Texas A & M University in College Station. Even stress, a frequent cause of migraines, can remove magnesium from your system, says Dr. Mansmann....

....According to his records, Dr. Burton Altura (professor of medicine) says that about 50 to 60 percent of his migraine patients have low magnesium levels. But once they begin treatment, he says, they often experience immediate relief. "We can say that 85 to 90 percent of these patients are successfully treated, and that's pretty miraculous," says Dr. Altura...

Lisa - Many years ago when I experienced my first 'floater shower,' I called the opthmalogist who said it was important to be seen immediately to rule out detatched retina and that the light flashes were a key symptomf for that. Fortunately, it was just floaters. Some people think the floaters occur because of dehydration. I had only 2 in one eye and one in the other. I now only have one minor floater that is not in my vision field and I have to work to find it so mine seem to have either disappeared or improved to the point where they are no longer visable. I hope yours do too. Jackie

Hi again,

Thanks all....1st eye doc said this could be an embolus but he thought it was an ocular migraine- I saw a different one on Tuesday who thought it was the vitreous problem and didn't think it was vascular at all.
The 1st one sent me a copy of his report and said I might need to be on coumadin

Best,
Lisa

Lisa - you need to be seen by an MD who is an opthmologist and if needed, he can refer you to an MD who is a retinal specialist. Do not rely on optometrists for something that involves ruling out vascular problems.
Good luck. I hope it is just a case of benign floaters. Jackie

Lisa;

I agree completely with Sujo's diagnosis of a vitreous detachment.
I had a huge floater, flashing light at the edges of my eye, etc. several years ago. I was thoroughly examined by a excellent opthomologist MD and he told me that the flashing was caused by some remaining vitreous attachment. He said to watch the symptoms carefully since the remaining attachment could possibly detach and pull the retina into detachment also. After several weeks the flashes subsided and the floater has both diminished in size and my brain has learned to ignore the remaining floater.

hmmm, the blind leading the blind ;-)