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Wendi Triplet Mom: February 2007, 40 years old.

Visual snow for as long as I can remember. It's across my entire visual field, and consistent. Sometimes I 'see' it, and other times I can turn it off, but it's always present. If I think about it, I can see it under any conditions, even with my eyes closed. Within the past year the static seems to be worse at night and upon first waking up than it used to be Using the simulation provided by www.visionsimulations.com/VisualSnow.htm as a reference, my visual snow corresponds to density 49 and flicker rate 1 right now.

I also occasionally see the blood flowing through my capillaries of my eyes - or somewhere. I can see the outline of a road with little circles (which I'm assuming are the blood cells) moving through them. They move faster with my heart beat. This usually happens against light blue or white, sometimes yellow, and in bright sunlight.

I also see squiggly lines moving all in one direction at times. And I do have flashes that are not associated with a detached retina. But I do have thinning of the retina in both eyes at exactly the same spot in each eye (diagnosed by a retinal/vitreous specialist) and am told the flashes are when the vitreous pulls on the thin area of the retina.

When I was pregnant, I would once in a while see what looked like tadpoles made of light, all swimming across my field of vision Sometimes just one or two, and other times like a whole school of fish. During pregnancy they would last about 10-15 minutes. At first I would panic then after a while I would just enjoy watching them. They always 'swam' left to right in straight lines (sort of, though the tail went up and down just like they were swimming) and it seemed to be in both eyes. This would happen almost every day, sometimes twice a day, in the second half of the pregnancy (which was only 33 weeks, so about 15 weeks approx). I was told these were visual migraines (no headaches) by an optometrist. I have had these several times since the pregnancy ended, though there are not as many tadpoles as I had while I was pregnant, mostly it is just one tadpole and it swims around all over, not just across like it did while I was pregnant. After the pregnancy I had about 3 years without them at all, but the past 3 years I have gotten them I think 4 times, once it was two swimming around and they seemed to be almost playing with each other, the other times it was one tadpole but swimming in circles and all about the visual field aimlessly, entering from the left and eventually exiting to the right, for about 10 minutes each time. The last time it seemed to be only in the right eye. I always was able to see them when my eyes were closed or open... I would test that during an episode.

For as long as I remember, I have starbursts and ghosting around lights at night, which gets much worse in the rain. There are starbursts around lights during the day, too, but not as bad.

I have a convergence problem, the left eye wanders if I am not concentrating on focusing.

I see trails in the peripheral vision. I think it is all the time since my pregnancy [200 . At first it was extremely annoying and distracting, but I have learned to block out the distraction most of the time. Any time I pay attention, it is there. I never noticed it before or during the pregnancy.

After-images are usually negative, but sometimes positive.

Very dry eyes, feels sandy... visual symptoms are WORSE when i use artificial tears. Opthalmologist’s tests show dye in eyes does not move or dispurse with blinking.

3D vision is not really existing with no glasses or wearing regular glasses. Things look like a photograph, where I know things are closer because of their size or that they cross in front of the other things. When I wear Irlen filters, I can see in 3D.

I read very slowly and only can see two characters at a time and have to piece together words. I see the letters pop out at me and the white in between the letters makes 'rivers' with the white being the water, swirling through the black letters as if they were stones in the water. I get headaches associated with eye strain pain all the time, which also produce tension headaches. I am photophobic.

I have been diagnosed with Dyslexia and Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (SSS) (at age 37 – the brain is not able to process certain light waves). I have Irlen filters (lenses) and overlays. The filters are better than the overlays because it is not only covering the page but everything in between, so I use them more often. With the filters on, reading is much easier, and I have no eye strain, therefore the headaches are much better. I never realized I was getting that headache... it was just normal for me all the time... until I got the filters. I wear the filters most of the time and the headaches do not occur while I have them on. When reading with either the overlays or filters, the letters do not pop out and the white does not river. I am able to see 3 or 4 characters at a time. I timed myself with the filters at able to read 6 pages an hour instead of 3 pages an hour without them (of a novel). I also am able to find my place a lot easier and comprehend what I’m reading a lot better and don’t have to keep going back to re-read things. With the filters on, I am able to see 3D... depth, and the static is not as bad, though it is still present. My balance is much better. I do not get the eye strain headaches. I do not wear the filters at sunrise or sundown, for some reason I cannot see well with them in that light even inside, unless the blinds are all closed. I can see fine with them in the dark or light.

Retinal mapping showed I have a thinning of both retinas in the same exact place in both eyes, but the specialist insists this is not related to any of my visual symptoms other than occasional pulling of the vitreous on the retina and flashes. It is not bad enough for surgery.

I have had 'atypical migraines' from childhood on. I did not know they were migraines until about 3 years ago when I read an article stating they did not have to have all the classic symptoms, then I went to a neurologist who diagnosed them. Then I started having some classic migraines in my mid 30’s, which are much worse than the atypical ones. They do not seem to be associated with any visual symptoms other than large gray spots in the visual field of the left eye a few hours before a left side migraine (which I know does not make sense), but this is not consistent. This only happens with a very severe migraine, not with milder ones (which happen more often).

I can remember having them [the 'atypical migraines'] as a child, but I always thought it was related to my chronic muscle spasms in my shoulders and neck. I would think they started when I was about 7 or 8 yrs old (?). They have become more often as I grow older. As a child, I had them maybe once or twice a year. After the age of 24, I would have to leave work at least 3 times a year because I was in so much pain, and I would have at least another 3 a year outside of work, so I would say about once every 2 months or a little more often maybe? I remember only having 2 during the pregnancy. The first 3 years after the pregnancy I think I had maybe 2 or 3, but in the past 3 years they are much more often and seem to come in clusters. Now I will have from 3 to 6 within a 2 week time period and then they can go away for up to 4 months, but more often they recur before that. Once I had a 2 month time period where I was having them every 2-3 days.

The 'atypical' migraines: I start getting confused anywhere from one day to three days before one starts, difficulty thinking (a few times this has been up to a week). This is how I know one is coming. Usually the day before (sometimes 2 days) I begin to have a LOT more sensitivity to light, where even if I have the Irlen filters on I am squinting and have eye pain (sharp aching feeling all around the eyes). The pain ALWAYS starts with an intense burning pain in the left side of my neck (which is why I thought they were related to muscle spasms), then anywhere from 1 to 24 hours later the left side of my head will start to hurt very badly. It does not pound, it is a steady pain. I do not get nauseous, and sometimes eating something helps a tiny bit. No pain meds help. Sleep in a dark room is the only thing that helps. If I can get to bed early enough after the neck pain starts, sometimes it goes away, but most times I cannot. Sleep usually helps make it less intense, though. I am wondering if by doing this it only prolongs the cycle being played out and that is why I am getting them in clusters. Once in a while I have right side 'atypicals'... they are not as often, but the pain is much worse. I have had a couple of two sided 'atypicals' as well.

A 'classic' migraine is worse. They only started November, 2005. The first was very, very bad and lasted 3 days... pounding, nausea... more often on the right side. I have had 4 of these. Those start the same as the others: confusion, pain in the same side of the neck, but along with the confusion I get gray patches of vision in the left eye (always the left, even with a left side migraine) which get bigger till they cover the entire vision in the left eye... they are opaque but unless I’m covering my right eye I feel as if I cannot see out of the left eye at all. The first time it happened I thought my retina had detached!

I was tested for auto-immune diseases and lyme disease, negative. I have had several MRIs and CT scans, all normal.

I have recently been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and a bunch of anxiety disorders.

Drug history (pre VS): Some pot when in high school, but I did not like it so I stopped. Someone slipped something into the pot twice and I hallucinated.

Drug history (post VS - effect on VS - negative, positive, not at all): HCTZ for high blood pressure, albuterol for asthma, proventil for GERD - no effect on VS

Allergies (food, environmental, scents, dyes, medications),

Pinched nerves from car accident (at 18 yrs old) in neck and lower back

I've always had neck and back pain. I started going to doctors about that when I was 14 I think. Chronic spasms in the muscles, neck cracks when I move it a certain way and when it cracks it relieves a lot of pressure/pain, a sound like sand is stuck between the vertibrae and little snapping sounds when I move my neck any time in any direction.

I have had headaches all the time for as long as I can remember. Sometimes they are worse, sometimes better. They have been diagnosed as a combination of SSS, TMJ syndrome, chronic sinus problems from allergies, from the chronic muscles spasms, and the occasional migraines (atypical and typical). I can usually tell which types of pain are from which problem. I am also very sensitive to low pressure weather systems, which makes my whole body feel a sort of painful pressure and achiness.

I used to get a visual "pushing back" sometimes... where everything was the right size and seemed to be moving away from me, getting smaller, then it would snap back to normal size and do it again and again for a while. It happened once when I was driving and was at a (long) red light, but it was done before the light turned green, so I'd say it was maybe 2 minutes? I have not gotten that in years (mostly when I was in college, so about 18-20 years ago), but it was quite scary. It has happened a few times later than that, but it was happening often back then.

On January 31, 2007 I had a 5-10 minute episode with no VS for the first time in my life that I know of. It gradually returned over the next 2 hours.

January 8, 2007
Trying to fall asleep, I closed my eyes and saw white light, and it would slowly shrink down (in a circle shape) to a pinprick, and as soon as it got to the pinprick it would start again. Open my eyes, nothing looked out of the ordinary. Close my eyes, and the same thing would happen over and over and over. This continued for longer than 45 minutes (last time I looked at the clock) and I kept opening and closing my eyes to see if it would happen with my eyes open but it did not. I must have fallen asleep because I don't remember it ending. It was in both eyes.

This seems familiar though I do not remember when it has happened before, and did not remember it happening in the past before I experienced it again.

December 2006: Over the past week and a half I started noticing an increase in floater 'activity', and today I've had a killer left side migraine for the past 6 hours. Once the pain started, the floaters disappeared completely.

November 2006
I always wake up with the snow worse... whether I wake up in the middle of the night or sleep all night, it is always worse when I first open my eyes. Does that mean that I had migraine aura all night?

Sometimes I have been noticing lately colors swirling or making moving patterns like a kaleidoscope when I wake up, as well as the snow being worse. Sometimes I see a grid, but this is only when I first wake up and if I open and close my eyes a few times, then close them.

I also have asthma which is always worse when laying down (from the GERD) and thought maybe it is a lack of oxygen? I sometimes don't wake up from the asthma and just breathe more shallow until my alarm goes off or the kids wake me up in the middle of the night, then I realize I need to use my inhaler.

I also have muscle pain and joint pain all the time, and severe muscle spasms that seem to come out of nowhere and start a chain reaction on one side of my body which lasts days at times. I have sciatica pain, sometimes much worse than others, but there is always some pain there. The spasm chain-reaction triggers this very bad, as well as pinching the nerves down my arms. I have carpal tunnel syndrome (wrists) and tarsal tunnel syndrome (ankles).

Had Mitral Valve Prolapse until my last echocardiogram 2 years ago, after which I was told it is gone.

Cannot think of anything else right now but I will edit later as I think of things.