duration of scintillating scotomas

[rj]

hi group, hi edith, im ronnie, male 58,  ive been bothered by sss since age 33.  the first one happened when my ex wife decided she wanted a divorce after one year of marriage. i was visiting my mum and dad one day and there they were, my first scintillating scotomas. as no one can see what we are seeing, my mum thought i was imagining but eventually i went up to a and e and they thoroughly checked my eyes and said  nothing wrong. id had three bouts that day. one every hour, lasting half an hour at a time. ive had ss on and off since that time.  sometimes once a  week , sometimes once a month. sometimes once every six months.  ive been up to see eye specialist twice and had eye tests. but all say nothing wrong. recently i read that its the cortex of the brain that suddenly is overwhelmed by electrical depressions that causes the aura.  by the way , ive never had a migraine headache afterwards.  this got me thinking, and something the doc said to me last week,   he said,  when i showed him a google images pic of an aura. that it sounded like my brain was playing tricks on me.  i thought about this yesterday and i  decided to try something,  when i got the blind spot yesterday when looking at my computer screen , instead of looking at the prisms colours, fortification swirling pulsing lights take me over,  i tried to ignore it completely and did not watch it taking place,  and as a result  it only lasted five minutes or less, a big difference from the usual frantic light show i have to endure for half an hour .   today i had the blind spot and the fortification again starting up and once again i ignored it and thought about something else.  only a few minutes again,  so maybe i have found a way of not letting these auras get a hold of me for half an hour. i forgot to mention that ive woken up with one in full pulsating swing during the night time sleep and in these circumstances the only way to get rid is to try get back to sleep.  i too, have worried about brain tumours causing this, but after reading your excellent forum here  , i feel much better about everything, keep up the good work edith. and i will regularly read this forum as long as i am bothered with these auras.

 

 

    ronnie

[mirj...@sbcglobal.net]

i am 55 and i get these for over 30 years, but before it was only 2
times a year, then every month now it seems to come almost every day,
it seems when the weather changes drastically more so, i tried to
ignore it like you said but it didnt seem to help, i am so glad for
you, because this frightens me and i constantly think about it , i
read so many websites and forums but it seems like nobady has any
solutions, tried drinking water more, tried eliminating food, tried
almost anything, but it still comes i wish there is a cure, wish you
all the best

[Kevin]

I'm new to understanding SS but I see a pattern here (really, no pun
intended). I'm 48 and these events which I've managed to deny and
suppress since my twenties have suddenly increased in frequency and
strength. So much so that I finally told a doctor about it. I had
three last month and one was so bad I couldn't move about my office, I
was effectively blind. That one was caused by an emotional shock. A
confused and hysterical telephone message led me to think one of my
children had been killed. Turned out not true Thank God. But ten
minutes after the call I couldn't do anything but watch the light
show.
I also get these after a harrowing traffic near miss or altercation.
I stopped flying airplanes (as a pilot) in my twenties after having an
episode while in flight. I guess I wasn't in that much denial.
I also notice that a hot shower after strenuous effort/exercise will
bring one on almost on cue.
What's scaring me is putting together some of the other symptoms. Neck
and shoulder pain afterward. Wrong/jumbled words during speech but the
scariest is hearing my name called out when I know no one is around.
I've never put these together with the "UFO" landing in my head every
couple of months until discovering websites and discussion groups on
this topic. Even if there's no cure it's a big relief to share and
learn about others in this predicament.