Hey girl, I so know what you are going through right now. People have told me that I start staring and they can't get my attention for almost a minute, and i usually chew the inside of my mouth or bite the hell out of my lip. I get really confused. I also see floaters, which sound like what you are discribing. It can be monocular( in one eye) most of the time. There are these dark dots that my eyes can't stop following. It has been hard for me to swallow, stay alert, I have daily headaches too. I just started having these sharp , shooting, electric like pains in my frontal lobe. They are the worst pain I have ever felt in my head. I was diagnosed with MRSA years ago, and I have NEVER felt the same. I suffer from sinus infections all the time. I am often have vertigo. I am going to my doctor tomorrow to see if he can refer me to a specialist. I have had an eeg, but that didn't show anything. I also had an MRI and a CAT scan of the head without contrast due to my pregnancy at the time. That was all done three years ago, and I am worse off now. My upper body gets stiff and rigid and I clench my teeth and fists. I usually swear at that point. I was wondering if the doctor had any ideas what exactly is going on with me. please help!
I do not have headaches with these staring episodes though but if I have the staring episode for over 5 or 6 hours I will feel a little eye strain. Does this help rule out the migraine part of it?
Hi Lilybelle103,
Your eye symptom can be due to something as simple as floaters. However, it can be a positive visual symptoms, related to a visual aura that we see in patients with migraine headache or seizure. A visual aura is created due to activation of some nerves in your brain that are responsible for vision (occipital region). Patient with migraine can have visual aura (=classic migraine). The typical visual aura started with a flickering uncolored zig-zag line in the center of the visual field and gradually progressed toward the periphery of one hemifield, often leaving a scotoma. Patient with seizure also can have visual symptoms. It seems that those visual symptoms occur only with your staring episodes. Although your description of your staring episodes are not classic for seizure, it is probably best to have formal evaluation by a neurologist. You can have a EEG study (brain wave study) to see if we can find EEG abnormalities associated with your staring spells. It is also best to see a ophthalmologist to formally evaluate your eyes to rule out any eye diseases can be explain your symptoms.
Good luck.
THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL MEDICAL EDUCATION PURPOSE ONLY. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR PHYSICIAN FOR DIAGNOSTIC AND TREATMENT OPTIONS OF YOUR SPECIFIC MEDICAL CONDITIONS.