Opthalamic and occular migraine are different names for the same process. I think. Pretty sure. As Motown said, they're considered harmless, or as my doctor said, benign. But they can bug the living daylights out of you, especially before you know what they are.

Hvert, please don't be discouraged by that list of trigger foods. I eat most of the foods on it without difficulty. They don't bother me at all. With some trial and error, I figured out the ones that do. Dates are a big one for me, one of the worst, along with purple grape juice and pomegranate juice, which is popular now. I can easily live without those things.

If you started eating the Christmas season dates recently, I'd be suspicious of that. Dates didn't bother me until I was at least 40. Don't know if it was my biochemistry or a change in how dates are preserved. I'm pretty sure it's the preservative and not the actual dates. I'm the woman holding up progress in the grocery aisles reading the fine print on the backs of packages to make sure there's no nitrates, nitrites or sulfates.

Ah, Hankster, I admire your short, pithy messages and perfect metaphors. It's a lot harder to say something meaningful in a few words than it is to ramble on and finally get it out. Thank you for your kind words. I needed that!