Dan Dare

This may sound like a strange question, but has anyone experienced this odd sensation while you were coming off of alcohol?

- Photopsia (n)
"Photopsia is the presence of perceived flashes of light. It is most commonly associated with posterior vitreous detachment, migraine with aura, migraine aura without headache, retinal break or detachment, occipital lobe infarction and sensory deprivation (ophthalmopathic hallucinations). Vitreous shrinkage or liquifaction, which are the most common causes of photopsia, cause a pull in vitreoretinal attachments, irritating the retina and causing it to discharge electrical impulses. These impulses are interpreted by brain as 'flashes'.

I am 7 days sober today and the first three days I was experiencing this pretty intensely. The explosions of light seemed to match the thick beating of my heart.
If I squeezed my eyes shut real tight and pressed on them with my fingers, it was similar to being at a laser show. It also made it even harder to fall asleep in a dark room.
I am glad it's over!
Hope everyone is well.

Dee74

I experienced shooting star effects in detox....It may or may not be connected to the fact I also have silent migraines - less headache more aura.

D

Taking5

Did you go to the Dr. before you detoxed? That is a serious symptom and from my understanding, could be the precursor to a seizure. Please if you have any more symptoms like this go the the Dr. ASAP.

TwelveSteps

I experienced that and I don't get migraines. I'd never heard it described that way -- scary! I would also experience peripheral hallucinations -- basically thinking I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye, but when I turned, nothing was there.

GG

SomethingBetter

Several years ago I had an inflamed optic nerve, i woke p blind in one eye (temp, went to doc though), ever since then I had these flashes of light when I got really tierd, I quit smoking pot then because that made it go nuts.

I'm glad you posted this, I havnt noticed it in a while and had forgotten about it, Ive not drank in 9 months, if it went with the drinkng then thats another plus.

RV GTO

I experienced that and for me, it was the precursor to a seizure.

gaffo

For the first week or two I saw things out of the corner of my eye. I almost set some rat traps!

mwstylee

I've seen shooting lights in my peripheral vision for years. I think because of my heavy weed smoking (quit that a few years ago) and heavier drinking. I still see them now.


The lazer show thing...doesn't this happen to EVERYONE if they shut their eyes and pressed on their eyeballs? I used to get a kick out of this as a kid.

feralheart

I get photopsia and peripheral hallucinations before I have a petit mal seizure (I get these from a relatively minor brain injury I had at birth) and it's typically the only way I know I've had a seizure. I actually didn't know I was having them for years until I had a sudden onset of cluster headaches a few years ago and I had an EEG (pray that you never get cluster headaches, they make a migraine look like a walk in the park, thankfully mine went away as suddenly as they appeared).

I was really worried it would get really bad when I was in detox, especially worried the cluster headaches would come back, but thankfully nothing really bad happened. I was monitored though.

Since quitting I less frequently have the absence seizures, I think a big part of that is sleeping better. When I drank I would literally go days without sleeping and that triggered the seizures more than anything. The last time I really noticed having them was when I was awake for 30 hours when I was working on black friday. Sobriety has made me a lot more aware of any neural problems I might be having and it's made it easier to manage them. Now I know I have to say no to graveyard shift and triple shifts for my own health.