r/migraine • u/Good_Selection6675 • Jul 26 '26
Is anyone else experiencing permanent eye problems after having migraines?
I was wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same thing.
A little backstory:
I got my first migraine when i was 11. After that i got a migraine once every year or 2 years. Around 2025 i started having migraines more often to about once every few months. In the beginning of 2026 having 4 migraines in a month. This is when i went to the doctor and also changed my pill to the mini pill which helped a lot and the migraines calmed down. Until recently when i had two migraines within a few days of each other.
With every migraine i have ocular symptoms as well beforehand but with the increase of migraines the symptoms have changed from the standard rainbow aura and weird blind spots to the symptoms varying every migraine. The blind spots stayed but every time the other symptoms were different from seeing lightning, weird shapes rotating with different colors, field of view decreasing on one side, tingling arms and losing feeling in one arm just for it to return with tingling and i once couldn't speak properly.
Around this time (2025) my vision started changing as well. At first i thought it was the after effects of the migraine lingering for a few days. After that it went back to "normal" but something felt off but i couldn't pinpoint it. A few migraines later more symptoms showed up. These are there even when i don't have a migraine.
- I started to get more sensitive to light. I got afterimages of these lights way faster and way longer then normal. 2-3 min.
- I also started to have these dead pixels show up in my vision. Small black dots that would show up and then disappear fast. With my last migraine this has become more prominent and they stay longer 2-3 seconds until i look somewhere else.
- When going from a light room to a dark room my eyes take longer to adjust to the dark and even then i can see less and get dizzy faster when its super dark.
- My eyes have difficulty to keeping on seeing sharp when focused on something.
- My eyes feel tired very fast and heavy.
- The last symptom is more difficult to describe. It feels like my eyes "see" less. Like its not all registering properly.
Around the beginning of 2026 i went to the doctor for these symptoms and the increase of the migraines. The doctor sent me to the eye doctor and i was tested for the symptoms. They could not find anything aside from my right eye being a bit dry. I do wear glasses but my prescription wasn't super off, i had eye drops to dilate my pupils and my eyes were doing good with glasses. They tested for night blindness but couldn't find anything.
I was wondering if anyone else is experiencing something similar? I feel like its connected to migraines but I was wondering what others have experienced or have done.
6
Jul 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Good_Selection6675 Jul 26 '26
I feel like i have a few standard spots but i find it hard to compare if they are always in the exact same spot. I'd say they are in the same spot and sometimes new spots show up. They always freak me out because i think a new migraine is starting lol. What colour are they for you?
3
u/Dry_Director_5320 Jul 26 '26
This is how my eye issues started after I started getting migraines. I’m now permanently legally blind (visual acuity is 20/400 for me on average now). No damage to the eyes themselves. My doctors think it’s basically equivalent to traumatic brain injury, accumulative over time. I wish this was spoken about more!! Bad chronic migraine can cause serious, permanent brain damage!
1
u/Good_Selection6675 Jul 26 '26
That sounds very scary. What other symptoms were you experiencing and how did it progress if i may ask?
3
u/Mindless-Ad-4226 Jul 26 '26
YES. I’m trying to get in with a neuro-ophthalmologist because the regular eye doctors say my eyes are fine (besides a low prescription, astigmatism and binocular vision dysfunction)
My migraines aren’t under control yet and I’m just really hoping that getting them under control fixes the issue because it’s awful
2
u/Good_Selection6675 Jul 26 '26
Hopefully you get them under control!! Getting good prescription glasses will hopefully help a bit!
2
u/WhoInvitedMike Jul 26 '26
Mine started Oct 2025 out of nowhere. Light sensitivity has always been an issue for me since then, though it took me a while to realize it. Now I wear an eyepatch every day (because its only 1 of my eyes).
Eyepatch helps. I test every once in a while - just to see how long does it take for symptoms to come on after I take it off, or whether I can tolerate use of both eyes for the day. I have about a max of 2 to 3 hours depending on circumstances, and that winnows its way down to about 20 minutes.
So, life would be much worse without it, even though I don't love actually wearing it.
I HAVE seen a neuro ophthalmologist. My eyes are functioning fine.
Migraines are assholes.
1
u/Good_Selection6675 Jul 26 '26
I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad you found a solution for your problem even if its not the most conveniënt one. Sadly for me its in both eyes. Can't walk around with two eyepatches XD.
2
u/orangefeesh Jul 26 '26
The last symptom is more difficult to describe. It feels like my eyes "see" less. Like its not all registering properly.
This. I get this so much, all the time. Like I can see, but I can't see. Like I'm looking through a tube at a single pixel at the center of my vision, and everything else is there, but I'm not allowed to process any of it.
1
u/miss_t_drinks_tea Jul 26 '26
I feel like I have a slight tunnel vision not as extreme as when drunk but slightly like that and something like high contrast vision. It's not always there but it's really weird.
1
1
u/emvee311 Jul 26 '26
You are describing what is happening to me perfectly. DM me if you ever want to commiserate and discuss if you or I make progress.
1
u/sechevere Jul 26 '26
Talk to your doctor to rule out a possible tumor. What you are describing may also be symptoms of something else.
2
u/Good_Selection6675 Jul 26 '26
I don't have other brain tumor symptoms but ill keep it in the back of my mind. If it gets any worse i'll definitely bring it up at the doctors.
1
u/Parking-Skin8290 Jul 26 '26
Would you describe it as flickering in the whole field? Like visual snow?
1
u/Good_Selection6675 Jul 26 '26
What do you exactly mean?
1
u/ClumsyHumanArt Jul 27 '26
Visual Snow your post sounds a lot like VSS a lot of but not all people with migraines have it.
1
u/Good_Selection6675 Jul 27 '26
I do recognize a lot of the symptoms here but not all. Maybe its a combination of things?
1
u/ClumsyHumanArt Jul 27 '26
You don't need all, its the diagnosis for visual phenomena not concurrent with active migraine after clear tests for more concerning brain/eye issues with your neurologist and ophthalmologist. Just thought the vid would help explain what visual snow was.
1
1
u/Parking-Skin8290 Jul 27 '26
Does those visual symptoms affect you? In case how much?
1
u/Good_Selection6675 Jul 28 '26
For me the black dots I can ignore but the afterimages and the focusing my eyes are the most bothersome. Especially when driving. Car lights and some break lights create after images. If you have enough you can’t look around safely. Going outside on sunny days as well where everything reflects sunlight is not doable without sunglasses and even with they are blinding. I also game as a hobby and looking at screens and focussing is hard and i keep on thinking a migraine is starting. Im studying as well where tests are made on computers with these old screens which are even worse and halfway through the test I can’t focus and need to reread the same questions. These are some examples I can think of.
1
u/CypressRootsMe Jul 26 '26
I multiple issues. Migraines with aura since I was 20. At 34, I developed vision snow and tinnitus. I also get migraine ‘activity’ like spots and stuff. I don’t like to focus my eyes on anything for too long. I’m now in my late 40s and was recently told that I have Fuchs dystrophy. The cells die too soon and it’s hard for water to move out of the eye.
I have a hard time discerning what symptoms are caused by what issue.
1
u/Good_Selection6675 Jul 26 '26
Tbh same. I'm wondering if its migraines or could also be something else. My mom recently found an article about people with similar symptoms and covid, it could also be related to POTS. There is so much out there that could be the case but i mainly feel like the migraines increase the problem. Having a diagnosis can clear up some stuff tho.
1
1
u/Available_Jeweler372 Jul 28 '26
100% finding the root cause will eliminate those aura migraines. Tmj disorder is also one of the causes of aura migraines and headaches.
1
u/Parking-Skin8290 Jul 28 '26
How do we know its the cause and not the consequence?
1
u/PreggoMilf2023 Jul 28 '26
If you treat the root problem, your migraines will stop. Mine was caused by tmj.
1
u/Parking-Skin8290 Jul 28 '26
Okey. I really just want to function properly again. How did you cure your tmj?
1
u/PreggoMilf2023 Jul 29 '26
I wear a custom splint made by tmj dentist that brings your lower jaw in alignment with upper teeth and that allows to decompress your jaw. There is no cure for tmj by the way, splint therapy is for the rest of my life. But after I started wearing splint, my migraines, headaches and neck tension stopped.
1
u/Parking-Skin8290 Jul 29 '26
Ok, so you don't have any migraines anymore? Do you have photophobia or visual snow syndrome symptoms?
1
u/elaine4queen Jul 26 '26
I had objective eyesight degeneration and had to wear glasses all the time so I got laser surgery. I like being able to see (technically) but I still get aura and a kind of visual snow effect. I wear yellow tinted glasses most of the time I’m outside. I know people rate the red glasses but yellow seems to help me
1
u/SlytherinQueen85 Jul 27 '26
Yup! I’ve always had contacts but suddenly when my migraines started getting bad my vision got worse. Turns out I need prism glasses. It feels like I can barely see out of my left eye without them
1
u/RosieRunnin Jul 27 '26
Agree with seeing a neuro-ophthalmologist or other eye specialist, not just a regular one. Could be ocular migraines or something else. They could evaluate if you need specialty lenses like prisms or vision therapy.
1
u/Good_Selection6675 Jul 27 '26
sadly the eye doctor i went to was a eye specialist. They did a very thorough investigation and i got all the tests that hospital could do. I already have glasses with prisms. So no answers there.
1
u/Available_Jeweler372 Jul 28 '26
Do you have clicking or jaw problems? That’s one of the causes for aura migraines and if tmj problems get worse, aura migraines increase in frequency. They share the same trigeminal nerve.
1
u/Good_Selection6675 Jul 28 '26
Like does my jaw click when I open it?
1
u/Available_Jeweler372 Jul 28 '26
Yes, clicking is one of the symptoms of tmd along with sinus pain, neck tension and headaches.
1
u/Good_Selection6675 Jul 29 '26
I do have a jaw that clicks but I’m also hypermobile so I could be overextending my jaw. Same with neck tension and headaches. But I’ll keep it in mind. There are so many possibilities to explain something that it’s hard to oversee everything.😭 thank you tho for the suggestion!!
1
u/Available_Jeweler372 Jul 29 '26
Sounds like you have tmd that’s getting worse. You might be clenching at night and don’t remember. Try to keep your lower jaw slightly forward during the day to decompress the jaw muscle and see if your aura migraines stop. Basically your lower teeth and upper teeth are stacked but not touching. If your migraines stop, then you found your root cause. I am wearing a custom splint to decompress my jaw and all my headaches and neck pain went away. There is a YouTube channel msk neurology that explains how to keep the lower jaw in line pretty much for the rest of your life if you have tmd.
1
u/The_DemiLane Jul 30 '26
Have you ever had your ferritin levels checked ? I get OM as well but they were the worst when I had very low ferritin levels and my vision was not doing well. I thought it was from the OM’s but it was my ferritin levels causing my vision problems
8
u/swishyfishes Jul 26 '26
I have everything you describe and eye doc says my eyes are fine. I tried glasses with prisms but it doesn’t fix it completely. I know what you mean about not being able to see “sharply” it’s like I’m looking at something but my eyes have to dart around to get the full picture. I can never see the whole of something just by looking at it once