Experiencing Purple Squares and Hot Pink Circles in Vision

[Evo]

Now that this has happened a second time, I'm really puzzled over what I am experiencing, just wondering if any of you have heard of this.

The other day I was lying in bed and I noticed that there was a large circle about 1 inch in diameter made of bright hot pink filaments in my vision. It looked like the circle was made of filligree instead of solid pink. I closed my left eye and could see the *after image* in my closed eye, then I opened my right eye and instead of a hot pink circle, I had perfectly square blocks of deep purple with a lime green haze around them, the blocks were randomly scattered, but in my left field of vision. They disappeared after 2 seconds, so I closed my right eye and opened my left eye, and there was the hot pink circle, closed it and opened the right eye, the purple blocks again.

So left eye had a pink circle, right eye purple squares.

The purple blocks would always disappear within 2 seconds, but the pink filligree circle was constant. If I opened both eyes at the same time, I didn't see anything except a very faint impression of the circle in my left eye, it only became very bright when I closed my right eye.

This went on for 15 minutes and was a bit unnerving, so I decided to just keep my eyes closed until it went away.

It happened again this morning. I already have an appointment scheduled with a neurologist due to vision problems that the opthamologist has ruled out as being in my eyes. I have other things like a spinning circle of tiny black pulsing triangles in my right eye, but only when I close my eyes. I have had the classic ocular migraines of the crescent with the glowing, pulsing, undulating geometric patterns inside of it. These are not in that category.

I told my doctor the other day and she said she'd never heard of two distinctly different scotomas in each eye. I've read about a singular retinal migraine, but the symptoms don't match.

So, you, the vast unpaid research department, got any ideas?

 

[OmCheeto]

Now that this has happened a second time, I'm really puzzled over what I am experiencing, just wondering if any of you have heard of this.

The other day I was lying in bed and I noticed that there was a large circle about 1 inch in diameter made of bright hot pink filaments in my vision. It looked like the circle was made of filligree instead of solid pink. I closed my left eye and could see the *after image* in my closed eye, then I opened my right eye and instead of a hot pink circle, I had perfectly square blocks of deep purple with a lime green haze around them, the blocks were randomly scattered, but in my left field of vision. They disappeared after 2 seconds, so I closed my right eye and opened my left eye, and there was the hot pink circle, closed it and opened the right eye, the purple blocks again.

So left eye had a pink circle, right eye purple squares.

The purple blocks would always disappear within 2 seconds, but the pink filligree circle was constant. If I opened both eyes at the same time, I didn't see anything except a very faint impression of the circle in my left eye, it only became very bright when I closed my right eye.

This went on for 15 minutes and was a bit unnerving, so I decided to just keep my eyes closed until it went away.

It happened again this morning. I already have an appointment scheduled with a neurologist due to vision problems that the opthamologist has ruled out as being in my eyes. I have other things like a spinning circle of tiny black pulsing triangles in my right eye, but only when I close my eyes. I have had the classic ocular migraines of the crescent with the glowing, pulsing, undulating geometric patterns inside of it. These are not in that category.

I told my doctor the other day and she said she'd never heard of two distinctly different scotomas in each eye. I've read about a singular retinal migraine, but the symptoms don't match.

So, you, the vast unpaid research department, got any ideas?

I wrote the sequel to "Snow Crash" in about 10 minutes, in my head, while on Vicodin last night.

What prescription drugs are you on at the moment?

 

[OmCheeto]

ps. This is the first time in 51 years that I've enjoyed a prescription drug.

It made me sweat.

I have an apparently female tolerance for pain, and therefore do not seek out such devices.

The last time I had a root canal, the doctor missed the nerve, and started drilling on a live tooth. It wasn't until I kicked the lamp above my head, that he'd realized that there was something amiss.

Life can be such a surprise sometimes.

um...

I appear to be off of all topics at the moment.

Please feel free...

 

[Borek]

Knowing the forum I wonder when Evo will come to close the thread with "we don't give medical advice" comment...

 

[Evo]

Knowing the forum I wonder when Evo will come to close the thread with "we don't give medical advice" comment...

But I'm not seeking medical advice.

 

[Borek]

That's what they all say.

 

[Evo]

that's what they all say.

lol!

 

[OmCheeto]

If it was dark, and you were near slumberland, then your mind will see what it wants to see.

Last week, before the pain and Vicodin were even a forethought, I heard a sound, like a rumble, that ...

one moment please. I just pooped my pants. hmm... Clindamycin...Adverse effects: Common adverse drug reactions (ADRs) associated with clindamycin therapy — found in over 1% of patients — include: diarrhea. Ok. Never mind. I should not have tried to fart. Back to the subject.

roused me from a semi-dream state, and I saw crawling across the ceiling, a bat-like creature.

Which totally freaked me out, only to have me come back to reality, and realize, that the mind plays tricks.

hmmmm...

Evo, have you been playing farmville lately?

 

[Evo]

I wrote the sequel to "Snow Crash" in about 10 minutes, in my head, while on Vicodin last night.

What prescription drugs are you on at the moment?

I think Percoset is stronger than Vicodin, but I'm not taking them right now.

 

[hypatia]

I have heard that geometric shapes can show them selfs in a migraine aura. I know you have had them before, maybe just a new image to amuse your mind with?

 

[lisab]

I appear to be off of all topics at the moment.

 

[lisab]

Now that I'm older I don't get nearly as many migraine headaches, but I do get the aura without the headache. I have visual disturbances. You know, I never considered which eye I see/don't see things in until I read this.

The visual disturbances are in my whole field of vision. In fact it doesn't even seem to be an "in the eye" thing, somehow it seems to be coming from a different place.

 

[Evo]

If it was dark, and you were near slumberland, then your mind will see what it wants to see.

No, it was daytime. And since the same thing has happened on two different days, I'm wondering what's causing it.

 

[OmCheeto]

No, it was daytime. And since the same thing has happened on two different days, I'm wondering what's causing it.

Daytime? And you were in bed? hmm...

I was laying in bed last night thinking about this and noticed that my bedroom door was open and that there was light shining in from the living room and that my rectangular door frame was a parallelogram from the angle I was viewing it at, and discounted this as an effect.

purple squares in one eye, and pink circles in the other?

and why 1 inch in diameter?

This would imply depth perception. Obviously, not something one could perceive with just one eye. So it has to be in your head. Just like my bat crawling across the ceiling.

And my reference to writing a 500 page book in 10 minutes?

Did you actually look at a clock and know this all transpired over 15 minutes? Or was it 15 seconds that seemed like 15 minutes?

Maybe you have a cranial blood flow problem, that is creating intermittent strokes.

They are interesting to watch from the inside.

http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

 

[Evo]

Daytime? And you were in bed? hmm...

I have to lay down to relieve hip pain.

purple squares in one eye, and pink circles in the other?

and why 1 inch in diameter?

If you touch the tips of your index finger and thumb and hold it about 6-7 inches from your face, that is how much space the circle took up in my vision, I'm guessing that's about an inch. Of course I have small hands, your circle may be bigger.

This would imply depth perception. Obviously, not something one could perceive with just one eye.

See above. Yes, I believe it is not in my eye, just as an ocular migraine is not in the eye.

Did you actually look at a clock and know this all transpired over 15 minutes?

Yes.

As I mentioned in the OP, I have been referred to a neurologist to rule out brain lesions or tumors. I have also experienced sporadic small blind spots and the sentences in a book will go in all different directions making it difficult to read at times, oddly the effect is not as bad looking at a monitor although the lines of text aren't always straight.

Then there are the groups of "lightning bolts", then the sparkly clear jello effect, but the two separate images in each eye at the same time I consider the oddest.

If I'm dying, do you want to take over as mentor?

 

[OmCheeto]

I have to lay down to relieve hip pain.

If you touch the tips of your index finger and thumb and hold it about 6-7 inches from your face, that is how much space the circle took up in my vision, I'm guessing that's about an inch. Of course I have small hands, your circle may be bigger.

See above. Yes, I believe it is not in my eye, just as an ocular migraine is not in the eye.

Yes.

As I mentioned in the OP, I have been referred to a neurologist to rule out brain lesions or tumors. I have also experienced sporadic small blind spots and the sentences in a book will go in all different directions making it difficult to read at times, oddly the effect is not as bad looking at a monitor although the lines of text aren't always straight.

Then there are the groups of "lightning bolts", then the sparkly clear jello effect, but the two separate images in each eye at the same time I consider the oddest.

It sounds almost like a neuro-symbolic representation of PF mentor overload.

If I'm dying, do you want to take over as mentor?

ergo, no.

 

[Proton Soup]

my vote is for wakeolepsy. my term for the condition of being aware and doing things, but with the bizarre feeling that random parts of the brain are taking a nap. and apparently dreaming of shapes here.

 

[misnderstudge]

it may be a form of Epilepsy, you are taking action to see a neurologist (is that spelled right) which is good. there are many many forms of Epilepsy but i really have no idea at all but the neurologist should find out if it is something wrong or right (happy endings happen to). sorry just a shot in the dark do you feel confused/ dazed or does light affect you in a abnormal way. as i said before i am just a emt

 

[Ms Music]

I would be interested in hearing the thoughts of the neurologist. I have often thought of posting a similar thread, but was afraid of the:

Knowing the forum I wonder when Evo will come to close the thread with "we don't give medical advice" comment...

I would have never thought of it having a medical reason, or that it could be tied to migraines. But I find it very strange how you can see things when your eyes are closed. I would love to know what is happening in the brain.

OmCheeto, I too have seen things flying in my room. I always figured I was sleeping with my eyes open. Creepy when it happens.

 

[apeiron]

So, you, the vast unpaid research department, got any ideas?

Hazarding a guess, it sounds like you were experiencing a retinal migraine in one eye, then getting a secondary after-image effect in the other.

You said the purple blocks were only in the left half of the right eye field. You probably know that there is a left/right split so that the left hemifields of each eye get projected back to the same bit of brain on the right side of the occipital cortex. And it is in the higher brain that more complex shape and colour sensations would form as afterimage interpretations.

So possibly the retinal migraine creates the pink circle (which would seem to be the afterimage of a darkened scotoma produced by the migraine). And then what the other eye appeared to be seeing would be the brain's higher level reaction to this visual disturbance in the left hemifield - projected back so it seems to be something the right eye is seeing.

This would appear to match the symptoms you described (and so everything reduces to "just a retinal migraine"). But as you would yourself say, ask a proper doctor.

 

[Evo]

I would be interested in hearing the thoughts of the neurologist.

My appointment isn't until May 11th, but I'll try to remember to post here after I see him.

Hazarding a guess, it sounds like you were experiencing a retinal migraine in one eye, then getting a secondary after-image effect in the other.

You said the purple blocks were only in the left half of the right eye field. You probably know that there is a left/right split so that the left hemifields of each eye get projected back to the same bit of brain on the right side of the occipital cortex. And it is in the higher brain that more complex shape and colour sensations would form as afterimage interpretations.

So possibly the retinal migraine creates the pink circle (which would seem to be the afterimage of a darkened scotoma produced by the migraine). And then what the other eye appeared to be seeing would be the brain's higher level reaction to this visual disturbance in the left hemifield - projected back so it seems to be something the right eye is seeing.

This would appear to match the symptoms you described (and so everything reduces to "just a retinal migraine"). But as you would yourself say, ask a proper doctor.

Interesting, might be.

I had it happen again this morning, except this time the hot pink filaments were just a few and didn't make any specific shape. The purple was just in odd patches of varying sizes that would come and go, and then I started getting the purple patches in both eyes. But it's only when I have one eye closed. Then I noticed that I was also getting parts of the darkness from the closed eye in my open eye's vision. It would come and go every few seconds. I noticed this by comparing what I could see with my eyes closed to the patches that were appearing.

Our brain normally takes what it sees from both eyes and makes us *see* one coherent picture, it seemed instead of blocking the image from the closed eye from what I saw with the open one, images from the closed eye were mixing in with the open eye. Perhaps that is the same thing that is causing lines of text to look like they're moving or going in different directions, instead of my brain doing the trick of making the two separate views into one, I'm getting the conflicting views from both eyes.

 

[OmCheeto]

Have you checked Evo-spawns room for erasable pink and purple pens? Maybe she's lurking in the next room, waits for those cute little "mom's don't snore but they do snores", runs in and doodles squares and circles on your glasses, and then runs out of the room. Only to sit snickering after you wake up, wondering what all those images are, then runs back into erase the evidence when she hears the "mom's don't snore but they do snores" again.

Just covering the possibilities.