Migraine

Has anyone been to a neuro-optomologist?

Just wondering because my specialist made me an appointment and when I called the optomologist they said the appointment would be at least 2-3 hours?

Now I'm wondering what all is involved....

Hi Eileen,

I saw one several years ago. I had a weird loss of vision with migraine--at the time they referred to it as a "retinal migraine" (but I'm not sure if that's a real, recognized diagnosis?). I slowly lost big patches of vision on the periphery of my vision--the areas of blindness were getting bigger and bigger--very scary!

When I went, there were a ton of visual field tests (looking at different pictures, telling them what I could see, and noting areas affected by my aura). Also, they looked very closely at my eye using all sorts of mysterious eye doctor equipment...

For me, it was not a "regular" check-up type appointment. It was an emergency--I think they were afraid that something very serious might be going on. I'm not sure if my visit will be at all like yours! But mine did take close to 2 hours.

jenny

Thanks, Jenny for sharing your experience! I was really dumbfounded at what could take so long. I've had vision field tests, pictures of my retina - all that stuff - so I was just wondering what all else they would be doing!

Sounds like a combination eye exam / psych appointment were they do the test with the ink blots and you tell them what you see....I tink that is called the Rauch test or something?

Retinal Migraine is an actual diagnosis. I actually thought that was what I had before being diagnosed, since I had intense pain in my eye (only one) and I had an aura - this was before I knew exactly what a Migraine was and that there were different kinds.

Well I guess I'll keep you all posted on my visit and what they find. This should be interesting.

Eileen-
I go regularly to a neuoopthamologist. My visits with him normally just consist of an eye appointment and visual fields altho when I had a visual field loss they included visual evoked potentials (a test similar to a visual field but you have no conscious control over the results-the machine measures your responses instead of you clicking a button, the retinal photos and a question and answer period.

This neuro-op then sent me to a doctor at UofI hospital who is supposed to be one of the best neuro-ops in the state, Dr. Godwin. I think the testing was much the same if I recall, and I don't recall any neuro-psych or Rorschach testing but perhaps my memory is doing us a disservice- as I have had. There was a long interview with this neuro-op however.

Good luck on this testing if you haven't already had it!

Dawn

Eileen,

Dawn's right--it wasn't a Rorschach-type test. The doc just showed me lots of pictures that had figures all around the visual field and asked me to tell what I saw (while keeping my head still and eyes forward). It was another part of the visual-field info that he needed.

Like Dawn, there were some tests that gave the doc info without my need to respond to questions--the machine measured my eye's response somehow...

I think you'll find that the doc will do many more visual field tests than your regular eye doctor. I remember doing test after test and wondering when it would all end!

I'm glad to hear that Retinal Migraine is a real thing! I've only experienced it a few times in my life, but it certainly was not fun.

Let us know how the appointment goes!

jenny