I get these frequently. I can remember seeing strange colours and apparent objects/shadows at least ten years ago (I'm 19 now). The migraines became really troublesome four or five years ago. When I had my first serious attack, I figured I was going blind or something and nearly panicked.
The worst part is trying to get to sleep. They appear even when I close my eyes, and can be a horrible distraction (think screensaver).
But sometimes I don't see colours so much as a kind of blank grey patch. Sort of like when you focus at some object without blinking at length, and your peripheral vision gets fuzzy. These are worse because I won't know when they conceal parts of my view until I consciously have trouble seeing something in their field.
I'm also sensitive with retinal burns -- a glimpse of black text on white paper in medium light can leave an impression lasting a few seconds. I can't handle high-contrast at all. Checkerboard patterns are deadly.
In bright settings, I see strange objects like translucent cells or strands and darting pulses/dots, while in dark settings, it all gets grainy and I extrapolate false images from shadows.
I've managed to get a handle on things for the most part by now. I tend to get migraines (even the painful kind) when I'm fatigued or dehydrated, so I try to keep them in check. I expect I'll be consulting an eye doctor for the other problems not far in the future, though I've almost gotten used to them.
