{"id":508,"date":"2018-02-02T21:38:50","date_gmt":"2018-02-03T04:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/?p=508"},"modified":"2018-02-02T21:38:50","modified_gmt":"2018-02-03T04:38:50","slug":"attack-of-the-psychedelic-hallucinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/attack-of-the-psychedelic-hallucinations\/","title":{"rendered":"Attack of the Psychedelic Hallucinations"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?<\/p>\n

Lately, I\u2019ve been having troubles with my eyes. Turning 40 took a toll on my immune system, metabolism, and also my eyesight. Although I needed only a small prescription, +1.00 in each eye, getting glasses really made me feel my age. I hoped that was the last of it. I\u2019d have to change up my exercise and eating regiment, but so far, this getting old thing wasn\u2019t so bad.<\/p>\n

The next month came around. I sat in bed watching the news one Saturday morning when I started seeing things. The centre of my field of vision went white, outlined by an undulating black line. I thought perhaps I had glanced at something really bright and I had a light burn in my vision.<\/p>\n

The longer I watched TV, the worse it got, so I turned off the TV and went back to bed. The vision issue kept up when I closed my eyes. In the dark, the blob of white slowly turned to an undulating or pulsing rainbow light, like TV snow but rainbow coloured. I thought something bad was definitely happening so I got up, opened up my laptop, and brought up Photoshop. I took an account of where my field of vision had been lost.<\/p>\n

At this point, my son woke up and wanted breakfast. I became immediately distracted in making breakfast. By the time I thought to do something about my eyesight, the event had passed.<\/p>\n

I chalked it up to stress and a poor night\u2019s sleep, and went about my day.<\/p>\n

Fast forward three months to yesterday.<\/p>\n

A team member came to ask me about work-related issues. As I looked at her, I noticed a white splotch blotted out much of her face.<\/p>\n

\"Level<\/a>

Here, The Boo stands in for my team member in re-enacting the attack.<\/p><\/div>\n

I thought I had perhaps glanced at the sun shining bright outside my office window and put it aside. When the conversation finished, I turned to my computer and open an email. I was stunned at what I found.<\/p>\n

I suddenly couldn\u2019t read.<\/p>\n

The white blob took up the centre of my vision. Closing one eye or the other brought no relief. The white blob had a black border that crackled like electricity.<\/p>\n

Again, I thought I had just glanced at the sun. I turned to look out my office window to find an overcast and cloudy day. The fluorescent lighting is shaded, so it couldn\u2019t have caused this light burn I\u2019m seeing.<\/p>\n

A few minutes later, I turn back to my computer. Lo and behold, I can read again! However, the white blob had turned psychedelic and moved a little bit to the left. It\u2019s now a fat streak through my vision. I close my eyes, it\u2019s still there. I close one eye or another, it\u2019s still there.<\/p>\n

\"Level<\/a>

This might have been a pretty cool phenomenon, had I not been freaking out at the time.<\/p><\/div>\n

Panicked, I grab my cell and close the door. I call up my optometrist to see about an emergency visit, but all the doctors are out for the day. Instead of making an appointment, I hang up. I turn around and knock everything off of the left side of my desk. Picture one of those comedy moves in the movies where they just use their arm to clear off a table or something.<\/p>\n

Now, my left-hand peripheral vision is absolutely gone. It\u2019s similar to closing your left eye. I just can\u2019t see left anymore. Instead, there\u2019s an acid-trip-like rainbow blob churning and flashing where my left peripheral vision used to be.<\/p>\n

\"Level<\/a>

Like one of those pictures where, if you stare long enough, an object appears.<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019m now feeling nauseous, whether it\u2019s from the panic or the attack of whatever I\u2019m having. I silently freak out in my office while I call up my optometrist again. There, I speak to the receptionist and make an appointment. As I\u2019m studdering a little on the phone, she asks me what I\u2019m seeing.<\/p>\n

The more and more I talk, the more and more the attack starts to fade. Within 30-45 seconds while I\u2019m on the phone, it\u2019s gone and I\u2019m able to see perfectly clear again. As the receptionist and I speak, she tells me. \u201cDon\u2019t worry. I think what\u2019s happened is you\u2019ve just suffered an ocular migraine.\u201d I do a quick Google search and bam! That\u2019s exactly what I just saw.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

She calms me down and we make a \u2018just in case\u2019 appointment for Sunday.<\/p>\n

As I get off the phone and frantically text my husband about what just happened, it dawns on me that I\u2019ve had this experience before: my earlier account of sitting in bed and seeing a rainbow spot.<\/p>\n

For the rest of the day, I pay close attention to my head. Other than a brief span of 10-20 seconds of sharp, stabbing pain behind one eye, nothing else happens.<\/p>\n

According to Dr. Google, the scientific term is scintillating scotomas (try saying that five times fast). Other than reading up on a few different varieties of the ocular migraine, I stay away from Dr. Google as much as I can and go about the evening. That includes bothering my cat with my phone-camera-paparazzi skilz.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Perhaps if I blend in with the couch and wood floors, she can’t see me.<\/p><\/div>\n

We\u2019ll see how the appointment on Sunday goes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Lately, I\u2019ve been having troubles with my eyes. Turning 40 took a toll on my immune system, metabolism, and also my eyesight. Although I needed only a small prescription, +1.00 in each eye, getting glasses really made me feel my age. I hoped that was the last of it. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[44],"tags":[51,52,53],"class_list":["post-508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-ocular-migraine","tag-visual-migraine","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/PsychHall.jpg?fit=499%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6odz9-8c","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":518,"url":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/blizzards-and-ocular-migraines\/","url_meta":{"origin":508,"position":0},"title":"Blizzards and Ocular Migraines","author":"Rissa Renae","date":"February 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A couple days ago I had my trippy psychedelic experience while discussing application support with a team mate at work. Although I\u2019ve experienced nothing since, I still kept my appointment with my optometrist to make sure there\u2019s nothing wrong with my eyes. Dr. Google pointed me towards the direction of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mental Health"","block_context":{"text":"Mental Health","link":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/category\/mental-health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/BlizzardsMigraines.jpg?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":454,"url":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/five-kicks-in-the-pants-for-writers\/","url_meta":{"origin":508,"position":1},"title":"Five Kicks in the Pants for Writers","author":"Rissa Renae","date":"March 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Alright, all you \"I'll be a writer some day\" writers out there. It's time for some tough love. Stop using the internet or a Netflix binge as an excuse for not writing and get writing! You know who you are. This is your kick in the pants. 1. It's All\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writers are Weird"","block_context":{"text":"Writers are Weird","link":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/category\/writers-are-weird\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/BlogHead_KickInPants.jpg?fit=435%2C435&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":592,"url":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/i-tried-but-june-sucked\/","url_meta":{"origin":508,"position":2},"title":"I tried but June sucked","author":"Rissa Renae","date":"July 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Soooo . . . I had this great plan for June. I was going to write up a storm, I was going to post here, there, and everywhere. I was going to make blazing progress in all my WIP\u2019s. And then \u2018it\u2019 happened. Pneumonia. (It takes talent to contract pneumonia\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/CompanyWhileSick-300x257.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":631,"url":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/when-life-gives-you-dead-leaves\/","url_meta":{"origin":508,"position":3},"title":"When Life Gives you Dead Leaves . . .","author":"Rissa Renae","date":"October 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Geesh. It's been ages since my last blog post! Since my last check-in, our brutally-hot summer has changed into an unusually cold and rainy autumn. Granted autumn is my favourite season, but I can\u2019t help but feel we\u2019ve been cheated out of summer. Well, maybe it was just me who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Updates"","block_context":{"text":"Updates","link":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/category\/updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/AutumnHighwood1-1-300x152.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1743,"url":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/getting-back-into-the-writing-swing-of-things\/","url_meta":{"origin":508,"position":4},"title":"Getting back into the (writing) swing of things","author":"Rissa Renae","date":"July 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"June was stressful. The end. There's only so much upheaval, change, and spur-of-the-moment this Gold, chaotic-good, INTJ-Architect can handle before she blows her top. And said top t'was blown. It took me about two weeks to settle in mentally to the new house. It wasn't the constant beep-beep-beep of construction\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British Columbia"","block_context":{"text":"British Columbia","link":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/category\/british-columbia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DreamJournal.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DreamJournal.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DreamJournal.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DreamJournal.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":491,"url":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/a-long-weekend-of-anxiety\/","url_meta":{"origin":508,"position":5},"title":"A Long Weekend of Anxiety","author":"Rissa Renae","date":"April 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"For those of you new to this, I suffer generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. Makes life a real roller coaster some days. This weekend was hard. Despite the fact I had managed a very rare four-day-weekend, I had a tough time getting through it. My anxiety decided to pack\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "About Me"","block_context":{"text":"About Me","link":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/category\/about-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BlogHeader_LongWeekendAnxiety.jpg?fit=500%2C501&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":517,"href":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508\/revisions\/517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}