In the last post we introduced two concepts – visual snow (VS) and persistent migraine aura (PMA). The first is a specific symptom which can have a number of causes; the second a diagnosis which can include the first.
First, persistent migraine aura (PMA) is diagnosed when other causes are ruled out. But as we’ve said there are a number of things that can cause visual snow (VS).
Doctors will take a careful drug history for patients with VS, because one cause is hallucinogenic drugs. The drug may only have been taken once, and time may have passed since it was taken, but it can have permanent effects.
Optic neuritis, an inflammation of the optic nerve, can also be a cause. Optic neuritis usually develops from an autoimmune disorder. Read more about optic neuritis here.
There are many other things that can be involved – even vitamin deficiencies.
Dr. Klaus Podoll, Dr. Markus Dahlem and Sofia Greene list common tests that are done for persistent aura symptoms here. These include:
- Ophthalmologic examination
- Neurological examination
- Psychiatric examination
- Thorough headache history and family history
- Thorough drug history (including illegal drugs, especially hallucinogens: LSD, Ecstasy, mushrooms, other?)
- CAT or MRI of head (the MRI is important to rule out what is called a migrainous infarction)
Other examinations may follow, including an EEG, evoked potentials (a testing of the functioning of the nervous system), blood work, and a lumbar puncture.
Obviously, if anything shows up on these tests, you’ll be following that up.
Assuming these treatments are out of the way, there are some treatments that have been tried, with some success. There is no tried-and-true established treatment, but some options include:
- valproic acid
- acetazolamide
- lamotrigine (particularly for VS not classified as PMA)
- topiramate (Topamax)
Sometimes injections of furosemide (frusemide) are used, if other treatments fail. Clonazepam is also used for patients who have symptoms from hallucinogenic drugs.
Do you have experience with ongoing migraine aura, or visual snow? Have you found anything that has helped? How did the symptoms start?
Popularity: 5% [?]
Loading ...
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
thanks for this post. i’ve been suffering from visual snow/palinopsia for a little over a year now. i actually think it was brought on by topomax, which i’ve been taking as a treatment for migraines. symptoms did not subside when i went off the drug. all normal mri’s…. it’s so scary.
You’re welcome – thanks for sharing your experience. Hope we can find a way to fight back!
I think clomazapem (Klonopin) is a nightmare drug that should be avoided at all costs. If I had it my way it would be taken off the market, along with most benzodiazepines. They are highly addictive, and Klonopin in particular is one of the most difficult drugs from which to withdraw. It is up there with Zanax, Adivan, Methadone and Heronin in terms of withdrawal difficulty.
They are not beneficial for headaches and can actually make a headache worse in the long term. And when a patient decides to try to come off a benzo, chances are the headache will return worse than ever, as these drugs change brain chemistry; it takes up to two years for the brain to revert back to its previous state after going off of a benzo, particularly the more potent ones, like Klonopin.
Hi i suffer from hemplegic migraine and migraine aura and basically people think im taking a stroke when they hit me sometimes the effects can last for weeks at the worst i was in hospital for nearly two months and to this day my right leg is still not 100% and as i keep having these then i can only see things getting worse however they started me on topmax to try and prevent them but they arent working give them there due used to take 2-3 a month now im taking 1 or 2 so they’ve reduced them by 1 so if anyone has any other ideas would be glad to hear them!
One of the biggest challenges, Francesco, is that there is so little that so far seems to work for these symptoms. Klonopin is used in this case only in very specific cases. But there are certainly a lot of issues with Klonopin – it is certainly something you’d want to carefully research and talk to your doctor about before you jump into taking it (of course that’s the case with any drug!).
Lisa, don’t miss our articles on hemiplegic migraine. I don’t know what types you have, but there are links on that page to more in-depth articles.
Hi,
interesting comments. My migraine history is about 36 years long,not always with aura, also paresthesias. This case stared in August with aura for a couple of days then only pain -every day until mid December. Then the aura hit me again but only this time it became persistent. MRI, EEG, neuro-oftalmologic status done, nothing alarming. Now I´m on Topiramat 50+50mg, Verapamil 80+40+80mg, Actysailic.acid 100mg, Amitriptylinhydochlorid12,5mg+chloridiazepoxid5mg for nights and the nightmare just goes on. Have no history on drugs, due to asthma avoid B-blockers. normal weight. Seems to me that the neurologists do not really know how to break this vicious circle. Any good ideas? Need to get back to work -soon!
I have had visual snow for almost 4 years. It began when I was 20 and has been slowly getting worse ever since. I went to four different eye doctors over the years and had so many tests done! I just found out what this condition was when I went to a neuro-opthalmologist two days ago. I am so relieved that other people have experienced this, I thought I was the only one!
hi rachel im graham 42y/o have had this visual snow for about 2 years now . feels like its getting worse and seems very bad in the dark.it is worrying but try to carry on as best as i can. have you been advised on any medcation at all, as my diets not the best and i wonder if its worth trying multi-vits.what do you think ,somebody mentioned magnesium and vit-c and co q 10 . let me know your experiences and thoughts thanks
Hello everybody,
I apologize because my “english” is very bad
I’m french from Paris, I’m 30 years old and I have had “visual snow” for 8 months. With this disturbance, i’ve several headaches by days. The beginning of this probleme was a panik attack due to an excessive and chronic anxiety.
Today, i’m afraid of this condition
Is it really a definitve one ?
All “organics exams” have been done: eyes scan, cerebral IRM, blood tests, EEG, heart exams… I’m desappointed.
I’ve visited several neurologists in Paris but they are thinking that my problem is only a psychological one because all the tests are ok…
I think french neurologist don’t know what is “persistant migraine aura” or “visual snow”. So, i’m feeling alone with my disturbance
Do you think there is a hope to find an efficient traitment for this condition?
Have you ever read a case of remission? with wich traitment?
Is “furosemide” really efficient and why ?
Thanks a lot and have a good days
Camille- your problem is caused by migraine activity in the brain. It’s not psychological. I first had visual snow on Oct. 30, 2009, and it lasted for 6 days. It started after several days of lack of sleep, and I’d been having daily headaches for a long time, which I didn’t realize were probably migraines. My visual snow has gone away, but now I have visual afterimages or “palinopsia” and other visual auras of flashing lights. I’ve been told by my neuro-opthamologist that sometimes it just goes away, but for most people it stays. Some drugs used to treat it are Depakote, Topamax, and Klonopin. I take 50 mg of Topamax twice a day and 1 mg of Klonopin at night, and my visual snow is gone, but my afterimages and flashing images are still there. But, overall, it’s improved about 50% and I’m learning to live with it. Getting lots of sleep and keeping your stress levels low helps too. I’ve heard of people treating it with Furosemide in Europe but don’t know of American doctors using it or heard of any success with it. Go to: http://thosewithvisualsnow.yuku.com/ and http://www.visualsnow.com. Good info there.
Thanks you very much for your answer Betsy.
Do you live in United States? Does American neurologists recognize the existence of this condition ? (“persistant migraine aura”)
In France, they always says to me : ” all yours exams are ok, so there is no problem, you must be happy and go visit a psy…”. Now I’m fed up with them. They don’t believe that my disturbance is a real one because i’m very anxious
Why there is no neurologic research for this condition? We are a lot of people who are suffering from this visual disturbance because of our brain…
Thanks, I’ve been on the web sites.
I’m afraid because there is nearly no case a remission named. Depakote, Topamax, and Klonopin (“Rivotril” in Europe i think) could be prescribed for migraine?
It’s very hard to learn to live with it.
Thanks again
Hi Camille-
Yes – I live in the United States in Colorado. Not all American Neurologists are aware of PMA – but I went to a Neuro-opthamologist at a large university hospital (University of Colorado Hospital) who was aware of it, and diagnosed it. He said he sees about 10 – 15 cases a year. My eye surgeon (I also had Lasik eye surgery) was also aware of it too. There isn’t a lot of research on it, I guess because it’s so rare, and it’s not life-threatening. But it is annoying for sure. Sometimes it doesn’t bother me and other times I get very upset about it, especially since I’ll probably have it the rest of my life. I don’t like the idea of taking medications for it the rest of my life, and I don’t know if it will get worse or not. But I have noticed that getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night and reducing my anxiety makes it better. And, I’ve been doing yoga too. Here’s my full story: I have a history of anxiety and depression, and last year I stopped taking antidepressants for the first time in 10 years. Then I started having neuro symptoms , such as numbness and tingling in my hands and feet and face, and painful joints, which started about the same time as my PMA. So my theory is that when I stopped my antidepressants, my neurotransmitters went into overdrive (or underdrive). I had an MRI that was normal, and all other tests were normal, so my doctors think my serotonin or norepinephrine levels are abnormal, causing all these symptoms of pain, migraines and depression/anxiety, and almost fibromyalgia type symptoms. So I’m trying to get my depression under control (and neurotransmitters under control) with antidepressants and psychotherapy, sleeping 8 hrs a night (using sleep aids), exercising regularly, doing yoga, going to physical therapy, and trying acupuncture. Hopefully this will keep my symptoms tolerable. You are not crazy, and PMA is a very real condition, it’s just your doctors haven’t heard of it before. Doctors don’t know everything. But maybe you should see a psychiatrist, just to help get your anxiety levels down. That could help your PMA symptoms too, and help you deal with it better.
Hi Betsy and thanks for you answer,
Yes i also thinks there is a direct relation with the level of anxiety.
)
)
Me, i’ve never tried antidepressants but I will do. I’m a very anxious person but i was not a depressive one (but i will become with this disturbance
In your previous message you have said “My visual snow has gone away, but now I have visual afterimages or “palinopsia” and other visual auras of flashing lights”
For you, what’s the difference between “visual snow” and “flashing lights”.
I’m happy to know that your visual snow stoped with Topamax and Klonopin.
What kind of antidepressant do you use? Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ? (I want try Citalopram)
What do you think about hypnotherapy?
Have a nice day or night ! (it’s 14h33 o’clock in France
Hello everybody.
I read this recently and i want to share this text with you american friends
I’ts a extreme case reported in England.
Maybe research will start with this kind of disturbance?! I hope.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1261480/How-Danielle-started-seeing-colours-rainbow-snowing.html
Have a nice day
Hi Camille-
Sorry I haven’t responded sooner. I read that article from England. Hopefully it will fain some attention on PMA – I laughed when the article mentioned only 20 other people have it. I bet after that article comes out, they’ll have many more cases! So to answer your question, the “flashing lights” I have that are different that visual snow are sometimes when I blink, I see a flashing white ball of light in the middle of my field of vision. It just happens a few times a day. Also, in my bottom and peripheral fields of vision, I see dancing lights – like little swirling balls of light – like fireflies (do you have those in France?). The also happen a few times a day, but not every day. Also, as an update to my other symptoms, I went to see my neurologist again about my numbness, tingling and pain in my hands and feet, that happened the same time as my PMA, and they think I have peripheral neuropathy, so I’m being tested for that. This is very strange because I’m only 36 yrs old, and I don’t have diabetes and I”m not an alcoholic, which are the main causes of that. These symptoms happened first, which caused me to become depressed and very anxious – because I thought I had a terrible disease – I’m a nurse so I see patients all the time with bad diseases. My anxiety shot through the roof and my depression became very bad since it took forever to get answers from my doctors and to get appointments, and I was left to think of all these terrible things I could have had. So I think it was that high level of anxiety, depression and not sleeping, etc, that started my PMA. Have you started any treatments to reduce your anxiety yet? Any improvements with your PMA or visual snow?
Hi Betsy,
no, i have not started a traitment yet.
This person, miss Burton has post on thosevisualsnow forum.
Have you ever post in this forum?
I wanted to ask you if you also have headache with visualsnow?
Hi Camille and Betsy,
We all share the symptoms of PMA. I am Asian of origin but I am now living in Norway. My diagnosis came very late because as a teenager, I thought I was losing my sight but didn’t tell my parents because we couldn’t afford any treatment. I saw rainbows; when I looked at lights, they emitted rainbows. I was in my early 20′s when I saw a picture of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night and I related with it at once because that was how I saw the lights; the moon, the stars, lighted bulbs, they were rounded orbs of light and the other parts in sight were just dark. These days, I have flickering lights, visual snow even during the daytime, whenever I am in pain I see a light purplish coloured smoke forming the shape of a dragon, there was one time I saw checkerboards hurling toward my field of vision. I can go on with the “wonderful” sights, but the visuals and numbness in the hand and foot are really scary…
I am taking Paralgin Forte when I am in pain and desperate for sleep. My Neurologist prescribed Atacand and I have been taking it for the last three weeks now and it is making me more bedbound than ever! I am waiting for my next appointment so that I could talk to him about the side effects. The triptan I am taking is Zomig and it only helps while it lasts and we know we can’t just take it any time of the day. It’s only last year that I realized I have been suffering from migraine with aura ever since I was a teenager. It got worse when I turned thirty and suffered from depression because of it. Now that I am in my forties, I have reconciled with my sickness saying, “Take me, I’m yours!”. So I made many life adjustments—being jobless is one of them. I have no career stress and yet I have more than 18 days of headaches per month. I have done away with alcohol, cigarettes, nightlife, social life, even sex life, and I am still in pain even now as I type. I wish you well.
I read this article on TIME and it may be interesting for all of us sufferers…
http://wellness.blogs.time.com/2009/07/31/can-surgery-cure-migraines/
So wassup, all I think I have this Visual Snow, my symptoms are a lot like it. Except the static im seeing is horribly colorful and sometimes forms shapes and patters, especially in the dark. Sometimes random blobs fly into my vision and slowly leave my viewing field, I can turn my head and follow them. The first time I remember experiencing it was at 5 years old, but it could have been earlier. I just assumed that everybody saw colors and static all of the time and never bothered to ask anyone. Well I’m a freshman and college and I finally realized what it is. Plus, my brother has been getting migraines from a very young age. I don’t plan on doing anything as it it moderately entertaining. I wish you guys the best of luck
Hello,
I am a one eyed person who sees static/pulses in his vision. I also can see my heart pulses in my sight as well, but not bad. Retina specialist says this is common. Not sure if I have VS. Does it look white like snow in the dark or with my eye covered up? How to determine if my shimmering vision is not Visual Snow? I also see many tiny dots in my vision, that may be entopic phenomeron. Any suggestions? Thanks
Hi Barry-
I have visual snow intermittenly. For me, it looks like white snow in the dark, but I’ve also seen black snow on a white background. At times, I’ve seen static/pulses too, along with what looks like white blood cells swirling around. The worst is my palinopsia, which is when you see afterimages or negatives of objects. They can last for 15 seconds even. I have a hard time looking at grids, stripes, and text. Looking at Christmas lights is tough too. I’ve also seen balls of light that swirl around in my lower field of vision. I was on Topamax for a while, and it did help with the visual snow and palinopsia, and definitely helped with my migraine headaches, but I started having bad side effects like chest pain and shortness of breath. So I tapered off Topamax and now I’m on propanolol – a beta blocker.
Betsy,
I do very much appreciate your time in responding to me & I do wish a solution for yourself & everyone else with their problems. I am 64, & my opthalmalogist said my eye is fine and my Retina specialist says the same. I saw a Neuro-opthalmalogist, who said my problem isn’t neurological ( I question that comment) & not to worry, as my problem won’t get worse. He said no tests are necessary. Every now & then I do get Migraine Auras that last about 20 minutes, but I never get a headache. Can’t remember ever getting a headache in ten years. I have never, at least not yet, seen any white snow, but only static, even though it is mild. I was wondering if I should go find a Neurologist, but worry about the drugs he may subscribe that may make my condition worst. Unlike you, I’ve yet to see after images, unless I stare at something for a minute or more, but then, the images disappear after several seconds. So, still not sure I have VS, or something else. No matter what I do, there is presently no cure for vs or what I have. I will try to get more sleep & reduce my stress level. Any comments from anyone is most welcome, As I said before, I wish you all the best & a cure. My wife, who I sometimes drive crazy with my paranoia with having vs, insists that I don’t have it because snow is white. She also told me that, Glenn Beck, recently was told by his Eye doctor that his now has Macular Degeneration, which is a horrible thing to have, whereby one’s central vision gos out & all is left is the peripheral vision. Now, that is terrible. Thanks…Barry- Harrisburg, PA.
Hello all, I too suffer from this horrible condition. I get a misty rain like (snow) appearance on dark backgrounds but I’m relieved there are other people talking about this at a more recent date cuz other blogs ive seen have been dated for 2 years ago. my screenname is Emerican7 and i would love to talk to anybody and everybody about this to see if we can find identical causes and possible treatments. I personally have been noticing it for 2 weeks now so it’s fresh for me and I’m freaking out. Daily activities are becomeing rather difficult knowing that my vision isnt what it once was and as of yet, there’s little research being done with no cause. Awareness of VS is a must. I understand doctors don’t view it as “serious”, as it isn’t life threatening nor a cause of blindness, however; it is serious, and it does effect lives. Worst of all, I like many others, have visited my opthamologist twice, and he found nothing. I’m hesitant to go to the neurologist as everyone seems to come out normal after MRI’s. Also, my doctor passed it off as being “caused by stress”… everyone stresses and if you ask me, the VS is the cause of the stress, not the other way around. As for hallucinogens? Never tried them, ever! Which is even more frustrating bc I kno friends who abuse LSD and shrooms all the time and they don’t experience this, (I’ve asked). Anyway, once again, i have VS, I hope it won’t worsen but i’m only 23 so i’ve got a lot of time left for it to, so I’m defly scared. I should note I have floaters, worse at some times versus others, sparkly dots on a blue sky or bright wall, and the misty “snow” visuals on a dark surface such as trees or anything black. I just don’t see how doctors can’t consider this a condition as opposed to psychological issues when increasing numbers of people are reporting ALL of the same symptoms. Please IM me at Emerican7 to discuss VS with me, I’m willing to tell a lot of my history, for sake of finding similarities and perhaps pinpoint VS’s cause.
Hello everyone, since i stopped taking beta blocker, my VS stopped, too. But my tinnitus went berserk! It seems some of you are helped by beta blockers, some are not. It is really a case-to-case basis and doctors are just taking a shot in the dark.
Hi Betsy,
I also live in Colorado. Can you please refer me to the neuro opthmologist you saw at the University of Colorado Hospital? Thank you very much.
Best,
Mike