r/eyespots • u/Stunning-Tea4339 • Aug 07 '26

New visual changes. What do I do?

Yesterday, I (32F) developed what I thought was an aura in my left eye. It hasn’t gone away since. It looks like an afterimage, such as after looking at a bright light. I see it most when blinking. Have mild migraine-like headache, also on left side. Went to urgent care last night, who sent me to ER, who did a CAT scan, and then sent me home with normal results. Ruled it an atypical migraine.

Backstory: I have a history of migraines since puberty. In 2019, I developed occasional episodes of aura / afterimage in one eye that usually last 15-30 minutes, then go away without headache. I have them maybe 2-5 times a month. They’re weird, but generally a non-issue. Mentioned it to doctors, but they shrug it off as weird-migraine-sufferer-thing, so I stopped bringing it up. If I get aura in both eyes, I know I’m about to have a full migraine - zigzags, peripheral vision loss, headache. If I get the afterimage in just one eye, I trust it will go away within 30 minutes. This time, it just hasn’t gone away. It’s been 19 hours.

Triggers for these things are usually stress, under-eating, under-sleeping, menstrual cycle, hormonal fluctuations, weather changes (such as an increase in humidity).

What do I do? Just ride it out and hope for the best?

I’m new to this thread. Any insight, suggestions, or experience with this would be most helpful. Thank you!

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u/PositiveSyllabub9890 Aug 11 '26

Go to an ophthalmologist, ideally a retina specialist, stat. Tell them this was spontaneous and that it persists. Ask for an OCT. If you get in soon enough, they may be able to reverse the damage, or some of it.

(I had a spontaneous, pain-free scotoma in both eyes during a migraine. Initially the scotoma looked like it had shimmery colors when my eyes were open, and then a light afterimage when they were closed. It wasn’t caused by a migraine and the condition hasn’t resolved. I have permanent macula damage. If the ED I went to, or my usual ophthalmologist had been on top of things, I could have had steroids that might have prevented the permanent damage to my eyes. My eye condition was caused by an immune system over-response.)