Survey Says ... Ocular Migraine.
"Okay, so when is the wedding date?" I couldn't see his face but I knew where he was based on the miner's cap light on his forehead.
"May 18th. Just a couple weeks away."
"Mmm hmmm." He aimed the light at my eyes and spanned it back and forth. "So you saw some explosions in the left one?"
"Yeah. Last night. It lasted for about two minutes ... maybe five at most. Bottom corner of my left eye."
"Right. Look up? Okay, now down. To the left ... bottom left ... okay." The light was so bright that I couldn't see anything at all. I felt like a little kid on the playground, staring up at the solar eclipse without my cardboard box.
"Anything? You see anything in there?"
He kept peering in, shining that light. "I don't like to have partial diagnosis moments. I'd rather just make sure everything is fine and tell you that it's fine. Do you know what I mean?"
"Completely. But if you were to guess ..."
I could hear him smiling. "If I were to guess, I'd say wait just a few more minutes."
I waited. He pressed different tools against my eyes and checked my retina with alternating lenses.
"Kerri, there's absolutely nothing there. Those hemorrhages from last time aren't even there anymore. Nothing is wrong with your eyes, I'm happy to say. That's good news, right? I'm thinking, based on your description of the event, that you had an ocular migraine, which is like a migraine only without the headache. Sometimes people see stars or flashes, and it usually lasts for a few minutes. Are you stressed out?"
"I've been very busy lately at work. And the wedding stuff is all over the place, too. So yeah, I'm pretty stressed, I think."
"I think you'll be okay. There's nothing diabetes-related going on in your eyes, so I'm not concerned in that respect. I'd like to see you relax a little bit, and maybe take a weekend to yourself and not be so busy."
He clicked off the light and clicked on the lamp near his desk.
"If you have another episode like this again, please call me. I'm glad you were proactive on this. I don't worry much about you because I know you'll let me know if anything seems out of place."
I am so relieved.
Comments
Aren't you glad you made the appointment??!!
Yippee!
Posted by: Colleen | January 31, 2008 06:56 PM
Great News!!
Posted by: Karen D. | January 31, 2008 06:58 PM
Thank God, this is great news. I'm thrilled.
That wedding planning is a big deal. My advice - watch Steve Martin in Father of the Bride. After that any wedding planning seems a lot easier, it worked for us!
Posted by: Bernard Farrell | January 31, 2008 07:21 PM
So you and I only had an ocular migraine. That's good news. Thanks for going through the appointment for me, LOL.
Posted by: Shannon | January 31, 2008 07:25 PM
Yay and please follow the doctor's advice, relax a bit.
Posted by: Jillian | January 31, 2008 07:27 PM
Thank goodness.
Posted by: Kathy | January 31, 2008 07:34 PM
:D
Migraine without the headache.... Is that sort of like non-alcoholic beer?
Posted by: Jason | January 31, 2008 07:36 PM
I've had one of those before.. Glad it was nothing more serious. Phew!
Posted by: Anne | January 31, 2008 07:38 PM
GREAT NEWS!
I'm really happy to hear that everything is OK. Good for you for taking the bull by the horns and being proactive.
Posted by: Kelly Kunik | January 31, 2008 07:43 PM
Great news Kerri. So glad to hear you can breathe easier now.
Posted by: Erica | January 31, 2008 08:11 PM
Hey Kerri,
That's great news! I'm glad it isn't too serious. I've had ocular migraines since I was 12. To me it's sort of the same feeling you get after a flash from a camera. At least you're not getting the headache, right?
I agree - you should take a personal weekend :)
Posted by: jill, | January 31, 2008 08:21 PM
Phew!!
You just made my night. :-)
Posted by: Sandra Miller | January 31, 2008 08:27 PM
I knew it. :)
(They do suck, though.)
Posted by: Rachel Baumgartel | January 31, 2008 08:33 PM
Sweet!
Posted by: George | January 31, 2008 09:10 PM
GREAT news!!! Very happy for you and relieved.
Now, go plan a wedding and tell Chris he is the only one who should make you see stars!
Posted by: NJsoozie | January 31, 2008 09:11 PM
That's awesome! And I guess this reinforces your decision to take a break from the CGMS. Between that and everything else you've been going through, you could you a bit of a rest from any unnecessary struggle. Take care of yourself, lady. :-)
Posted by: Allison Blass | January 31, 2008 09:14 PM
Come to think of it, I had this happen once before--maybe five years ago. I thought I was having a stroke, or some weird low. I checked my blood sugar in the middle of it (it was 166--*why* do I remember this?), and was like, WTF? Never had it happen again.
Relax and enjoy your weekend.
Posted by: Lyrehca | January 31, 2008 09:31 PM
YEAH! and looks like you got a prescription to take a weekend vacation ... make sure you follow the dr's orders!
Posted by: Ramdee | January 31, 2008 10:08 PM
Yay!!! :D
Posted by: Nicolep | January 31, 2008 10:48 PM
I'm so relieved for you! Now relax a bit.
Posted by: Journeywoman | January 31, 2008 11:12 PM
I'm so glad to hear everything was ok!!! :-D
Posted by: Seonaid | February 1, 2008 12:18 AM
Hurray!! You must feel so relieved - and hey, it's one less thing to stress about already. I hope you and Chris are planning something fun for the weekend. :) So glad you got good news.
Posted by: Karen | February 1, 2008 07:41 AM
Wonderful News!
Posted by: Mandy | February 1, 2008 08:16 AM
That's great news Kerri.
Posted by: chris | February 1, 2008 09:13 AM
Wonderful news, Kerri! So great. Give yourself a break, sista! You deserve it. And so do your eyes!
Posted by: amylia | February 1, 2008 09:32 AM
That's wonderful news Kerri. Not that you're getting eyeball migraines or anything, but that it's not anything more serious!
Please, take it down a notch and have a relaxing weekend :) You have a lot on your plate, girl! Planning a wedding is exhausting in itself, not to mention the work and the CGMS and other things going on in your life right now. Time to follow the doctors orders and take a break :) (and the orders of all your fellow OC'ers :) )
Posted by: Jamie | February 1, 2008 10:59 AM
Whew. That's great news.
Posted by: Penny | February 1, 2008 11:19 AM
Whew. I'm very glad to hear that.
I held my breath while I was waiting for the results. Now I have a headache.
Posted by: Major Bedhead | February 1, 2008 11:55 AM
yay! now go have a nice relaxing weekend with your honey. :)
Posted by: Lea | February 1, 2008 01:06 PM
Phew! Good to know you're okay. I was hoping all would be well.
And take his advice. Relax.
Posted by: Ky | February 1, 2008 02:37 PM
Sooo... it's stress, eh? If it's not one thing it's another. I'm really glad it's not D related. But I'm also sad that you're stressed out enough for your eye to explode. :-(
Posted by: Melissa | February 1, 2008 03:26 PM
Ooo. I have had the light show without getting the headache. I always wondered what that was!
I'm very glad you got good news =)
Posted by: Zazzy | February 1, 2008 05:39 PM
Thank goodness!!! This reader had a big sigh of relief. You have lots of people who care about you Kerri. We're all connected through this diabetes community. My son was diagnosed Type 1 a few months before he was leaving for his first year at Ohio State. I read about your eye scare and I think of my son. I'm so happy you're okay but still please do try to de-stress. And May 18, eh? That's my wedding anniversary from 1985. I very good day, indeed! Have a wonderful weekend!!!
Posted by: OSUMom | February 1, 2008 08:46 PM
Glad it wasn't what you didn't want to hear!
Thanks for posting about all of this. I went back and read your old post from Sept '06 ("no title") which I hadn't read before, and it was really good/helpful for me to read that.
I also am going to pass that post on to a non-diabetic friend. I decided a few weeks ago that one thing that might make me feel better about my next eye check is if I have a friend there for support, so I'm going to ask and have them read that to help understand some of what is going on.
Posted by: baddecisionmaker | February 1, 2008 11:48 PM
Kerri - I have this recurring fantasy of me on my death bed at 99. I am smiling and saying, "See, you really were OK." and then I get mad at myself for spending all of this time worrying. :)
Posted by: Jessica Jones | February 2, 2008 12:21 AM