Sylvia Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Hi guys I was watching Anderson Cooper on CNN last night and they did this spot on the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (its the medical term.) Anyway it effects folks with constant migraines, and many artists and creative types seem to have experieinced it. When you look at something it changes sizes, can get larger or can get smaller. For some people it only happens a few times in their lives, for others, its constant. It sounds scary. The author of "Alice in Wonderland" (forgot his name) had it (duh), and of course there are many references to this phenomenon in the story, just like Gracy Slick sang in "One Pill Makes you Happy, another makes you small" or or whatever. Anyway, it happens naturally, VanGogh also experienced it. I thought it was interesting, as I had not heard of it before. Sylvia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepia Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Lewis Carroll. I'll have to do some research on that phenomenon. I've never heard of it before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Century Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 weird. i looked it up on pub med (type in aiws if you're curious) and it seems to be something that mostly children have and it's somehow associated with the epstien bar virus. i dunno. when i was a kid i'd get this thing where my arms would stretch out really far and my facial features would shrink when i looked in the mirror. i told a shrink about it once and she said that it was "impossible" whatever that means. i dunno. it was creepy though, the arms stretching. and things would get. really. slow. it only happened for about a year and it stopped when i was about seven? no idea if that was aiws. if it was, i am really happy that i don't have that as an adult. as a kid, well, the world is weird and weird things happen and they're weird... as an adult i think i'd flip my shit. though alice in wonderland is a great book so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylvia Posted February 7, 2006 Author Share Posted February 7, 2006 Penny, You described it quite well. And yes, they did mention the Epstein Barr virus in the interview. I guess you could Google CNN for last night's interview on Anderson Cooper. I hope this does give a name to what must have been scary. Like when I heard it, I imagined how it must have felt. They also talked about folks who have seizures also experiencing AIW. Boy, that must be hard, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit37 Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Okay, bizarre. I *have* had this. Just a few times, and it was in my twenties or so. It was exactly as you described. Mine was when I would be awake, and usually sitting or standing. Just like everything would suddenly become smaller, and "tunnel-like". It *is* hard to describe. Yes, I'm creative, yes, have a history of migraines (though not constant) and yes, had mono in high school. Three strikes... am I out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovyone Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 The medical term when it affects how you see your body when this occurs is micro/macrosomatognosia. In terms of seeing other items around you it is micro/macropsia. I experience this during my simple partial seizures. Or at least I did. Things seem to be in remission now thanks to my meds. Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylvia Posted February 7, 2006 Author Share Posted February 7, 2006 Good deal, Groovyone I am glad that meds help with this. Sylvia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovyone Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Good deal, Groovyone I am glad that meds help with this. Sylvia <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks Sylvia! Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celestia Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Anyway it effects folks with constant migraines, and many artists and creative types seem to have experieinced it.It's been difficult through my lifetime history of constant migraines to even find a medical professional who supports the idea that migraines CAN be constant. Of the numerous visual disturbances I have, I can't recall something like this. I do however have some sort of auto-immune-connective tissue related disease still. Had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, now the suspect is Lupus, but I see a rheumatologist Thursday to get the definitive dx ball rolling (if that's even possible, as many things are suspect at this point.) The constant part of constant migraines is becoming a real drag for me, and also fast depleting my savings account as I pay for prescription after prescription of triptans, as my insurance will only cover 9 tabs, 100 mgs. Imitrex (or equiv.) per month, and I literally take them everyday. At least once a day. It sucks. Big time. I'm 45, and seriously hoping that the next couple of years I see a slacking off of this plague, that has been with me since age 12 (coincidentally...NOT...first period.) S9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dweii Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Hey I've heard about that! Had no idea it was associated with migraines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solstar Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 weird. Trying to think if I have experienced that. I get migraines sometimes and all kinds of freaky visual effects. One time one of my pupils was dilated and the other was small. WTF is that about!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dumbfox Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Hey I've heard about that! Had no idea it was associated with migraines. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I've never noticed that during a migraine (of course someone would have to have the balls to turn the lights on to see it, lol), but my hubby has noticed this about me during seizures?!? I've never asked my doc. Now you've got me curious... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Solstar, I've heard that the one pupil dilated, one not dilated thing was a sign of brain trauma/injury. If I remember correctly. I never had that happen with a migraine before, but it has happened during? immediately after seizures. Someone else could probably give you better info on it. Croix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dumbfox Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Solstar, I've heard that the one pupil dilated, one not dilated thing was a sign of brain trauma/injury. If I remember correctly.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> That would completely make sense in my case!! My seizures started after a car accident where I did suffer a head injury and brain trauma. I still wonder if it has any significance now though? And why do you suppose the pupil goes back to it's original state after the seizure activity is over? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorjansen Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 Did they mention anything about rippling effects? I can be looking at a wall or ceiling or anything flat and motionless, really, and all of a sudden it will start to waver, flapping a bit, kind of like a flag in a slight breeze. Other times I get kind of a zappy raygun effect, where circular wavy bands of darkness come in from peripheral vision into my central vision, and the center vision within the band is kind of dark, as if I were wearing sunglasses. These kinds of visual effects (which are different from the ocular migraine effects I get) don't happen all the time, and not just when I have migraines, either. Kind of freaky, but I've had them since I was a kid, and I've just learned to accept them as "not real life stuff" and wait till they pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylvia Posted February 16, 2006 Author Share Posted February 16, 2006 T Just googled Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, and one site I quickly scanned, was Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (www.whonamedit.com). It did mention distortions beyond bodily features. Check it out. Sylvia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaRufina Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Yeah i get stuffs like this and other stuffs. and I just... I spent four hours in a gymnasium today with flourescent lights. La la la. Was having aura-migraine crazyness and went to move the car. There was quite a bit of space in that parking lot. It took me a long time to get the fucking thing anywhere between the lines, and even then, it was parked a bit too forward and into the feild which is right next to the parking lot. um um um. At least it wasn't in a parking garage this time. That. Is. Bad. Sometimes, I hate the whole 3 dimensional thing. It really screws me up when I get a migraine. Fix iiiiiit!!! ~navy~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Wow. I never thought about this much, but it's happened to me, as well. I've always thought about it as tunnel vision (for me, things get smaller - like you're looking at them in one of those side mirrors that shrink everything down). Sometimes voices sound far away when it happens, too. I can't remember it happening in recent years, but it happened quite frequently when I was younger (teens and early 20s). I didn't start getting migraines until 2-3 years ago. And I'm not artistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacanuck Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Wow...me too...things shrink and I just have to keep blinking - not that it helps.. I also have the EB virus and migrains. Stike me out as well. heh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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