Scary experience yesterday | GTAMotorcycle.com

Scary experience yesterday

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spitRR

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So I've suffered from migraines since I was a kid and occasionally still get the odd one. However, before the migraine kicks in I usually get a blind spot in my vision (known as an aura) that moves and gets bigger over time and lasts between 30 minutes to an hour. This happened half-way home from work yesterday.

If you've never had one it pretty much looks like this, but blotches and / or zig-zagging lines.:
trippy-1-rainbow-animated.gif


I had to make a stop at Princess Auto anyway so I decided to go there and wait while the aura passed. The blind spot got so bad I couldn't even make out the price on anything I was looking at in there :(. Good thing I stopped. After about 20 - 30 minutes of walking aimlessly around the store my vision went back to normal and I hopped back on my bike to get home with a banging headache soon to follow.

Anyhow, it got me thinking. What if it was something worse like a seisure or even a stroke while riding? How many accidents have occurred because of such things even by cagers. In this day and age where peoples' stress levels are through the roof, it's not an impossibility.

Anyway, sorry for the Debbie Downer post on a Friday, just thought I'd share.
 
Yikes! Is that symptom prior to the migraine normal? Have you gotten that diagnosed?

Doesn't sound very safe if you're driving, let alone a motorcycle.
 
lator-illa said:
Yikes! Is that symptom prior to the migraine normal? Have you gotten that diagnosed?

Doesn't sound very safe if you're driving, let alone a motorcycle.
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My wife has the same thing...sucks for sure. As far as the seisure, I have a buddy who has had them while driving. Luckily enough he knows his signs and has enough time to pull to a safe spot, parks his car, then he calls his wife...scary stuff.
 
that **** looks like something you'd see on an acid trip.

that's why I love mj, never had an issue.
 
LoneRonin said:
that **** looks like something you'd see on an acid trip.

that's why I love mj, never had an issue.
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F. just looking at that image can cause a migraine.
 
lator-illa said:
Yikes! Is that symptom prior to the migraine normal? Have you gotten that diagnosed?

Doesn't sound very safe if you're driving, let alone a motorcycle.
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Getting it diagnosed could be a double edged sword. In that they may be bale to give the op some advice as how to deal with it, but they would also be required to report the condition to MTO. This could result in a medical suspension at the minimum or a full licence revokation.
 
Hate to provide bad news, but upon hearing this, any medical professional is obligated to report to MTO who will suspend your license. You would need another full medical report saying you are ok to drive to re-gain your license. It's tough, but the right thing to do IMHO. You can get the blind spot effect from oxygen deprivation (extreme exercise, choke-hold, etc). I'd strongly recommend seeking medical help as there may be other serious causes that would be best found out earlier than later (stroke, tumor, etc).

In regards to how many time this has happened, IIRC, last year there was a driver who had a medical issue and drove up onto the sidewalk killing two pedestrians - North York I believe.
 
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JFD said:
F. just looking at that image can cause a migraine.
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seriously...

the closest thing I can imagine is in sparring or a fight when getting clocked by a nice shot and having a second or two of the lil starry things floating around and that's it. Can't imagine going completely or even partially 'blind'...that would just suck.

I did see some dumbass collapse one time after going hard for 3, 3 min rounds. He kind of sucked and was a little out of shape. He was sitting on the stool at the end, went to get up and just dropped like a sack of potatoes. Out cold for a good 20 mins. Turns out he was taking creatine and diuretics. What a dummy.
 
This has happened to me multiple times after I fractured my skull/had a major concussions post surgery while recovering. I remember getting up from the hospital bed once, seeing something similar to that picture at the corner of my eye, then it rapidly expanding. Once my vision was gone I collapsed (muscles gave out for some reason).

Luckily, after I healed it never happened again. I would definitely not be near a motor vehicle if that was happening on a regular basis =/
 
hedo2002 said:
Getting it diagnosed could be a double edged sword. In that they may be bale to give the op some advice as how to deal with it, but they would also be required to report the condition to MTO. This could result in a medical suspension at the minimum or a full licence revokation.
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EXACTLY!!! My buddy I mentioned above had to deal with that...every 6 months he has to report in about his condition and any incidents. CAN PULL HIM OFF THE ROAD AT ANYTIME...
 
Don't tell a doctor. They would be required to take your licence away for something like this.

I've seen someone have a seizure behind the wheel. Luckily he was stopped at a red light when it started. I weaved around his car and honked at oncoming traffic to get out of the way and not drive into him. He rolled into a parking lot and had a minor collision with a car. Then we got out and called 911. I actually felt bad after because thinking back we probably could've hopped into his car and stopped it before he even had the minor collision. Either way, no one was injured (beyond whatever damage a seizure causes to someone) and the damage was very low. Now that I think about it I'm not even sure how his car got turned off/put into park/etc.
 
unL33T said:
Don't tell a doctor. They would be required to take your licence away for something like this.
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Fantastic suggestion to make to someone AFTER you saw and helped someone going through a seizure!

OP, I can imagine it's a very difficult decision to make to let a doctor know about something like this, considering that your license may be gone. And even if you can tell it's coming on NOW, you don't know if the symptoms might speed up, or just *snap* and your eyesight disappears.

The problem is at this stage you are no longer just responsible for your own safety, but those of other road users and pedestrians. Personally I don't know what I would do, however I know the right thing to do is to speak with your MD because a lot of people's safety can be at stake.
 
Come on, you can't actually recommend someone with a medical condition involving their sight --arguably the most important sense used while driving-- to NOT tell a doctor. That's crazy. We all ride, we all share the road, imagine if this happened to some rando driving along and they were to wipe you clean off your bike because they weren't able to see you properly.

Some poor recommendations especially coming from the most vulnerable group to danger on the road.
 
loL! Can of worms now open...

Auras are actually quite common in those who suffer migraines. This is just the first time in my 28 years riding that it's happened while on my bike, and looking back I'm pretty sure I know what triggered it.

The funny part of it (figuratively) is that my migraines used to be much, much worse. It would start with an aura, then about 20 minutes later diarrhea (yea!!) followed by vomiting and then the pounding headache which would put me out for 2 days. Fun times.

As far as seeing my doctor; I've been having them since I was 14, so yes they know about it. And the frequency which I have them has deminished significantly over the years. Last one I had was about 5 years ago.
 
Sorry, I should correct myself. I meant don't tell a doctor if you want to keep your license. If your moral code has you more concerned about your danger to society, you definitely should.
 
spitRR said:
The funny part of it (figuratively) is that my migraines used to be much, much worse. It would start with an aura, then about 20 minutes later diarrhea (yea!!) followed by vomiting and then the pounding headache which would put me out for 2 days. Fun times.
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If the poops don't get you off the bike fast enough to stop and be ready for the aura....don't know what else will!
 
Migraine aura is a giant pain, no way can you ride safely with that going on. I get some caffeine and sugar in me, they usually go away pretty quick.
 
Holy crap

Today I think I learned the name of something I experience 2-3 times a year
 
With the license stuff there is one thing to consider, is it a condition that is uncontrolled and random or is it something controllable and predictable? I think if you have warnings and you can predict the onset of an aura then i think that isn't grounds for a medical suspension. they tried to do a medical suspension for sleep apnea for a close friend of mine. He got rather angry about it and basically told the doctor he was nuts and that the condition was under control and that if there was ever a problem like a sleepless night or being excessively tired he wasn't gonna be stupid enough to get in a car and drive. Its all about your attitude about it and how you approach it if you have a good family doctor often they can be a good place to start.

I have heard a few horror stories about this medical suspension crap being used to bully people into treatments like in my friends case telling them they have to buy an expensive CPAP machines in order to be compliant so they could keep there license. So keep this tidbit of info handy if they try to pull something similar.
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