Persistent migraine aura symptoms (e.g. visual snow)

I hope that we can all join together and beat this...

"Hi All,

Well, it is really upsetting reading all this, I'm in fact in tears, but am also happy to have found people who have similar problems. First I would like to say I hope that we can all join together and beat this, because there is no way I'm putting up with this shit for much longer...

Here is my problem:

I started getting migraines in November 2004, I didn't know what it was because it was just the visual disturbance - just zig-zags and a few other bits. Then, three more with headache (a-ha migraine) and visual disturbance quite bad. My third one was quite crazy and I had problems with my vision for a whole week - seeing something and then seeing it again. My fourth migraine February 2005 had really mad aura - skipping lights, things seeming to melt, zig-zags and finally kaleidoscopes spinning and skipping in fours. So scary! Then nausea, then Sumatriptan, then fucked up vision that has not really gone away.

Vision proplem: I look at something, turn my head and then see it again. Or I am looking at something, move it and still see it where I moved it from (the longest an image has remained in my sight is 8 seconds). I am having biggest problems watching tele and driving. Am hyper aware of reflections and shadows, problems looking at the sky - sort of turns into stars, also looking at white walls. (Sunglasses do help on computer.) Feel overall confused, disoriented, less coordinated, and really upset about this as am active person with pretty good health until now. (Had some tingling in back of head.) (Had MRI and results were normal.) Did sort of think stroke at one point.

So, I hope that a doctor will read this and have the proper diagnosis and solution, and if not I hope that all the people that are having this problem can get together and come up with something. I would love to hear more. Thanks everbody for discussing this.

Best, Sofia"

(Sofia [subject #1], Brain Talk Communities – Specific Neurological Conditions (M-Z) – Visual Impairments - HELP!! Visual disturbances drive me crazy!, March 29, 2005)

Click to Peer Out At My Within

"Click to peer out at my within. With closed eyes, I may see 'The Sandbox' - this is a small patch of vision that resembles a field of sand particles drifting past my vision. They're almost always moving, and they can drift in any direction either on their own, or I can 'steer' them. Again there are green, red, yellow and blue 'sparklies' - these look like confetti - just a few bits of luminous confetti trickling towards me from some point in the distance. The colors of the sparklies come in pairs - they'll either come in red/blue pairs, or yellow/green pairs. Meaning if I see a yellow sparkly, a green one is usually also nearby and/or soon to follow, and if I see a red one, a blue one is also nearby and/or soon to follow, and vice versa."

(Dion Shore [subject #386], Email to Klaus Podoll, August 12, 2007)

Diagnostic work-up of persistent perception disorder/persistent aura without infarction (for more information see here)


Obligatory tests:

Ophthalmologic examination
Neurological examination
Psychiatric examination
Thorough headache history and family history
Thorough drug history (including illegal drugs, especially hallucinogens: LSD, Ecstasy, mushrooms, other?)
CAT or MRI of head

Facultative tests:

EEG
Evoked potentials
Routine blood work
Lumbar puncture (spinal tap)

Unnecessary for individual diagnostic purposes:

SPECT
PET
fMRI
qEEG