I donāt know that Iād consider this problem a simple light trigger, considering I donāt seem to be set off by any other types of lights except computer/tablet/phone monitors. This trigger has actually gotten worse for me ā am considering having to leave my job because of it now. In a way it wouldnāt be the worst thing in the world, because I donāt love what I do, but almost every type of job these days requires some use of technology. I am really afraid about what this means for my career options.
You are EXACTLY where I was last summer/fall. I actually did stop working for about 4 months, but I was an independent contractor at the time so it was more that I didnāt pick up any new projects for a while.
I have the same thingāfor months I thought it was just computers that set me off. But as I got better at identifying the start of my symptoms, I realized that it wasnāt just computersāit was any ARTIFICIAL light. I can stand out in blinding sunlight for hours and feel completely normal. Then after sitting in front of a compute monitor I start feeling sick within 30 minutes.
The issue is that you donāt normally get as close to light sources as you do with a computer monitor. Youāre essentially staring into a big fluorescent lamp directed right at you. So you will likely get sick faster in front of a monitor than under some standard lights. I didnāt realize I was getting sick in public until I went to this one sports bar that had bunch of spotlights that shot right into your view if you were sitting watching the games. I was going there for the baseball playoffs and every night I went there I felt like **** in 20 minutes and was practically drunk with dizziness by the time the game was over. That was when I made the connection that it wasnāt just computer monitors that were affecting me.
Before you stop working, Iād urge you to try a few things:
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Try working with a better monitor. I have found that cheap LCD monitors are bad for me because they use dithering to generate some colors. Dithering is a process where the monitor quickly flashes two colors on top of each other to get a new color. Look for monitors that have in-plane-switching (IPS) as these donāt dither. They are reasonably priced now. Also, you can alternatively try an LED monitor, but if you do, use it ONLY at 100% brightness and use the video card control panel to lower the brightness in software. A lot of LED monitors do not flicker at all at 100% brightness, but they are TERRIBLE at anything lower. You wonāt see it, but if you are flicker sensitive like I am they will get you sick really quickly. I had a big setback a month ago and I was freaking out until I figured out that a power outage had changed my LED monitor back to 50% brightness. So I was staring into the flickering all day and it was making me sick again.
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Try working on the computer with a pair of sunglasses. Either just regular ones or one of the special migraine glasses like the MigraLenses I use. I was extremely skeptical of them, but I was desperate. I noticed from day 1 that I was better if used them while on the computer. As I said, Iām now routinely putting in 12 to 16 hour days on my computer and I probably only feel 10% of the dizziness I used to. I still canāt have the monitors at super high brightness, but I can have them bright enough to see just fine. The colors are messed up and I look bizarre sitting inside at the computer with sunglasses on, but I just tell people they help me with eyestrain. It actually makes some sense too. Since only artificial light bothers me, it must be something in the frequency of the light that is doing it. So if the glasses are filtering the right frequency that could be why they are helping me.
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Find a migraine doc who will work with you on finding a treatment. Iāve tried two with mixed results. I donāt know how much of my improvement has been the Nortriptyline vs. just the avoidance that my sunglasses are giving me, but Iām still hopeful that we will find a medication that works for me.
Most of all DONāT GIVE UP. I was ready to pack it in last year and find a new career doing something outdoors (Park Ranger maybe?) where I could avoid all technology. But Iām back working at least 80-90% of what I was before. Iām not close to perfect yet, but it has become a minor annoyance, like a bad cold, rather than the devastating & crippling syndrome that I was experiencing last year.
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Jamie - A very interesting path youāve followed, and glad to hear youāve managed to get it under control to a decent extent. It does sound like your theory about artificial light has some real potential as a reason for all this.
2 questions:
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I am pretty computer savvy, but have no idea how Iād go about changing the settings on my video card (nothing in there looks obvious enough, like ābrightnessā or something) ā did you have a resource you went to to figure this out? Every LED Iāve tried seems to set me off IMMEDIATELY and I believe Iāve done a few at 100% brightness, but not with changing the settings in the vid card.
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Iām looking into buying the Migralens; Iād just hate to waste the money on another thing that does squat for me. Per my optometristās recommendation, I had a blue tint put in my glasses for a while, as well as special, so-called computer lenses with anti-glare. They were expensive and changed nothing. Knowing that, do you still think itās worth my giving the Migralens a shot? They are obviously a different color but I donāt know how much else could be different. The optometrist promised that the special computer lenses he was giving me had saved quite a few of his other patients from migraines on the computer, so those being a big fail, Iām obviously as skeptical as you were (but I donāt know if youād tried anything else previously).
Thanks so much for your thoughts ā very helpful!
Adrienne
Hi Adrienne -
I donāt blame you for being skeptical. There is no guarantee with anything. But Iām taking a chance on the FL-41 tint (itās pink, not green, like Migralens) that some others here have found helpful. I found out about it from this forum.
Like anything else, what works for one may not work for another. I needed a spare pair of glasses anyway, so I got some prescription glasses made and mailed them yesterday to the Moran Eye Center in Utah to have them apply this special tint. You can read about it here:
uuhsc.utah.edu/MoranEyeCenter/pa ā¦ story.html
The reason Iām thinking this might help ME is because FL-41 has been helpful for people with both migraine and another neurological problem that involves light sensitivity, blepharospasm (excessive blink rate after light exposure). My brother has developed this in recent months. Iām thinking there may be some genetic thing going on here.
If you donāt have a prescription, one of the researchers at Moran has started a business called Axon Optics and is now selling glasses that just have the FL-41 tint.
The main reason I bring this up, though, is because one of the things Moran Eye Center recommends against on their website is wearing sunglasses indoors. They say this can increase your light sensitivity. I suppose short term, in order to keep your job, you might need to do this, but these are eye doctors (MDās) who are doing research in this area and I thought I should mention it, FYI.
How you access the settings depends on the maker of your video card. If it is NVidia, you can right-click on the desktop and select NVidia Control Panel. Once you are in there you can adjuet the Desktop color settings to alter brightness/contract/gamma etc.
Iām pretty sure ATI has a similar app, and I think most video cards are either nVidia or ATI these days.
Iām not surprised that LEDās set you off since they all flicker terribly at anything but 100% brightness. Anything that flickers sets me off very quickly, regardless of whether i have sunglasses on or not. We did tests with my dadās light scope and the monitors that make me sick are all flickering somewhere under 200Hz. My TV doesnāt bug me and it is flickering up at 400Hz. The best obviously are monitors that donāt flicker at all. I havenāt tested this Dell U2410 I have but I seem to do quite well on it. The next time my dad comes over Iām going to have him scope it to confirm my belief that it isnāt flickering.
I have a pair of computer glasses that are anti-glare. They did almost nothing for me. They probably helped a tiny big, but not enough to really make a difference.
As for the MigraLens, Iām not sure what to tell you. I didnāt do a scientific testāI just went from not using anything other than my computer glasses to using the MigraLens glasses. I can tell you definitively that that made a HUGE difference for me, as I can now use the computer constantly for hours and hours with only a minor amount of problems on most days. With them off (which I havenāt tried recently) I usually started having symptions in about 30 mintes. Now, it is possible that it is just the reduction in brightness that is helping me, in which case a $10 pair of sunglasses from anywhere would do the trick. I decided the expense was worth it strictly because they had a pair that fit over my reading glasses and I didnāt know where to find a regular pair that did that anyway. $100 is alot, but I was losing thousands a week by not working, so for me it was a good investment. I would like to try just regular sunglasses and see if they help but Iāve been so busy trying to catch up with everything that I havenāt had time to experiment. So I will say thisāthere is no question the glasses really work well for me. But I have no idea if they work better than regular sunglasses. If you have a regular pair of sunglasses, I would try them out first and see if they help at all.
I donāt want anyone to thrrow $100 away.
The last thing that helps me is natural light. The more light I have coming in, the better I usually feel. I donāt know if this will translate to others, but your symptoms sounds pretty similar to mine.
While fluorescent lights flicker, Iām not sure if itās that or the bluish light that comes from them that bothers me - Iām bothered by flourescent lights not computer use. When Iāve read about FL-41, Iāve zeroed in on the fluorescent light problem; the pink tint may not be as helpful for people who have trouble with computer screens???
This is a tough call - thereās pubished research on FL-41 for light sensitivity and migraine, but I donāt know if it applies to computer screen use.
Jamie - I think is complicated by the fact that Iām on a mac. I do have a Nvidia graphics card, but the process of trying to change setting requires advanced knowledge that I definitely donāt have. Seems like you have to create a special color profile. I guess I can try and contact someone at Apple about this.
I have tried regular sunglasses, but with an LED, and it made no difference. Perhaps now that Iām having troubles on my non-LED, I should try it here before I invest in the Migralens. I was told by a Mac specialistm however, that the refresh rate cannot be changed on newer macs because they are too high to flicker? Could this be true? Iām so confused and frustrated by this!
I think we need to keep in mind that some of us react badly to computer screens for different reasons and it also appears that no two people are alike with this either. Sensitivities vary. Some here most definitely react to the light component. The brighter it is, the worse they feel and these same people probably feel bad in bright sunlight for example. For others, itās a function of the sharpness of the screen and how the image is presented to the brain.
I know that I am triggered solely by the visual aspect. On a screen that sets me off it doesnāt matter what I do to the brightness or contrast, or whether I even stick a matte finish over the screen or put on sunglasses. It still sets me off. And as I said before itās not necessarily the screen itself as I once thought. Simply changing a video card on a screen at work made it unusable. Suddenly the sharpness had changed and letters appeared almost 3D as they lept off the page. It sent me into one of the most severe states of disorientation Iāve ever experienced on a screen and took me a couple of days to recover from.
The iPad 2 also set me off but at a low level. Two weeks on it and I adjusted. This did not occur on the third gen iPad which is very sharp yet not bothersome to look at really ā not like the MacBook Air was. Iām sure it would have been ok on the iPad 3 if I had persisted for weeks but then maybe not. Maybe there is a point where no matter how much exposure you allow, the brain just doesnāt get there and so you have to move on.
S
That is interesting about the sunglasses indoors being bad for you. I strictly wear them for using the computer. I take them off when I do anything else including, ironically, going outside. I may be careful, but I would be unemployed if I couldnāt wear these glasses so I really have no choice for the time being.
Iām afraid I canāt help you with the Mac as I donāt know enough about it. I own a MacBook for Safari compatibilty testing, but it sets me off by far worse than any other screen. When we measured it with my dadās light scope it was flicerking at a slower rate than any of my other monitors, down in the low 100Hz range I believe. Are there control panels in the Mac? I would look for an Nvidia control panel where you might be able to set brightness. If you canāt find that, youāre probably better off getting an IPS LCD montior that doesnāt flicker (Dell monitors are pretty good for this if you buy their better ones). Honestly, I think my Dell LCD is much better for me than the LED at 100%.
As for the ārefresh rateā that is a bygone of the CRT monitor era. You canāt change the refresh rate on LCD/LED montiors (with a few very rare occasions) and that is really irrelevant. No LCD/LED monitor is flickering due to screen refresh. They flicker for two other reasons, neither of which can be adjusted by the computer:
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LED duty cycle: They havenāt figured out how to properly use LED light at multiple brightnesses. So they duty cycle the light to change the apparent brigtness. The cycle IS so fast that you canāt see it, however it absolutely kills me. I have a blind trial on this, because I didnāt realize my LED monitor had gone back to 50% brightness and I couldnāt figure out why it was making me sick. So there was no placeboāit was making me sick for sure. BTW, we took my dadās light scope to my LED monitor and it absolutely flickered in the 130-170 Hz range when I adjusted the brightness down, but at 100% it had no flicker at all. So the LED flickering isnāt just a theory, this is really how it works.
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TN panel LCD monitors flicker to show you more colors than they are designed to show. They are super cheap LCD panels and to show some colors (for example maybe, purple, they rapidly flash red and blue colors on top of each other. Your brain sees this as purple. But I believe this type of monitor bothers me, though when I was using it was back before I realized I was just light sensitive in general and I havenāt gone back to it to try again.
So that guy is rightāyou canāt adjust the refresh rate. But that isnāt the problem. The problem is that the monitors are flickering for reasons other than refresh rate. No one can see it, but I am 100% convinced that it can affect migraines. At least the LED issue. Iām not 100% convinced on the TN color dithering.
As I am still trying to figure this problem out, I came across an article from a doctor today around sensitivity to monitors: conradbiologic.com/articles/ ā¦ ckerI.html He believes this IS caused by flicker & that there are several different types of flicker happening. He offers some suggestions based on the type of monitor you have (some I have heard here, ie rose colored glasses, sitting further back, using a screen cover).
Scott, I think youāll find the section about LEDās particularly dead on to what we both experience:
ā Begin quote from ____
You are probably wondering if the new LCDs that are backlit by LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) have less subliminal flicker and/or less EMF than the fluorescent tube backlit type. The answer is no. The flicker rate is determined by the vertical refresh rate of the pixels, and is not caused by the backlight. Concerning EMF, the LED backlight is usually operated in a pulsed mode by a very electrically noisy/EMF-producing power supply similar to the one that runs fluorescent backlights. Also, the EMFs in LCDs come not only from the backlight power supply, but also from the main power supply, the electronics circuit board, and from the front of the screen itself due to the high frequency of the addressing and refreshing of the individual liquid crystal pixels. An EMF filter placed in front of an LCD screen can only reduce the emitted fields slightly because the EMFs leak through and around the filter plate. A true very low EMF monitor is very difficult and expensive to achieve. Greater distance from the screen reduces EMF exposure. (Note that the plasma type of screen has been reported to have extremely high EMF emissions.)
ā End quote
I still wonder, is this something that I should continue to look at other MAV medication options for? This is my one surefire trigger and a serious one to have to deal with given the job I do and todayās tech-driven world, but I feel crazy to keep pursuing meds in the hopes that Iāll suddenly start looking at my iPhone (among everything else) without a problem :?
Reading this thread I now understand why my symptoms from using my new laptop (with LED backlighting) are worse than my flatscreen monitor plus desktop, which gave me issues but was tolerable for longer. Iāve been having to lie down after 20 minutes use, but for some reason, hadnāt made the correlation. Thatāll be those slowed cognitive MAV processes then. 
Iāve not found a method of reducing the effect whilst using computers and have often been found in the office with my head on my desk, holding on for the ride. Iām not working at the moment but am hell-bent on trying to start again as soon as possible. As Iām also a desk-jockey, Iām going to give the Migralens a try. Iāll feed back with my review.
Please note that I doubt the EMF stuff in the article that Adir referenced is what is causing migraine sufferers problems with LED monitors. IMO The reason LED monitors are a problem for people with migraines is the strobing of the LED light in order to adjust the brightness of it. The amount of flickering due to EMFās is probably about 1/1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000th of what it going on due to the strobing. It is just insignificant. Itās like being underwater and worrying about getting wet from the rain. 
Hi all,
I am having trouble with my computer screen at work tit triggers me off
Iām thinking of getting the below
(NB from admin: these images link to products this member has found helpful and at the same time helps fund the site: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. More recommended products here. Thanks for your support!)
Anyone tried anything like this?
The anti glare computer screen sheet is def worth it
I tried the computer screen and night time driving glasses but that didnāt do the trick for me. I prefer using the FL-41 migraine specific darker glasses for both computer screens and night/day driving
Just an update, in case it is worthwhile to anyone:
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I bought the Axion Optics anti-migraine glasses, and I notice no positive benefit while using them.
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My LED laptop (HP Pavillion) makes my head throb within 10 minutes of use, whether brightness is at 100% or at any other setting.
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The LCD monitor on my desktop at work (a 24" Acer H432H) doesnāt seem to bother me at all. Accordingly, Iām purchasing one for home and using my laptop merely as a CPU. Iām certainly tired of fighting the urge to use my laptop, knowing that it just makes me feel sick!!
Nickolas.
Unfortunately it is certainly possible that your LED flickers/strobes even at 100% brightness. It all depends on how they build the mechanism that controls the brightness. Someone on here had a trick they pulled with their camera to check it, but I only know how to check it with my dadās really expensive optical oscilloscope.
Youāve already done the best thingāyou found a monitor that doesnāt bother you and youāre sticking with it and buying extras. That is definitely the best plan.
I get the same thing, some days far worse than others. Itās a serious bummer, as I donāt have a cell phone anymore & have to use Google Voice to text my sis. Most āfriendsā have bailed & donāt call or anything so at times this is THE link to the outside world.
I find that if I am using my laptop and the room is somewhat dark, the symptoms are far worse. I use a Gateway 15.6" 16:9 HD LEC LCD as per the sticker. I really donāt know what that means!! :lol: Oh well.
As I have posted up-thread, LED-backlit LCD monitors tend to be murder on people with migraine issues. I highly recommend anyone with migraine issues avoid them like the plague unless you get a chance to test-drive the monitor and know that it doesnāt bother you.
The method used to adjust brightness on LED-backlit monitors causes a strobing effect at 110-200Hz that you cannot see, but this strobing can trigger migraines. I found in me the effect caused problems in as little as 5-10 minutes. And yes, it was worse for me in dark rooms as well. The strobing is probably worse on you if there is no other light in the room to balance it out.
Hi guys,
To illustrate that our problems on computer screens does not necessarily break down to the brightness and contrast settings or even the video card, I have a very strange situation which Iām sure my migraine brain will get over (I hope).
Iām sitting at work on a Dell Windows box with a dell wide-screen LCD. Iāve used this configuration for over a year now with Windows XP on it. Today they swapped my computer for another exact same Dell with an identical spec but with Windows 7 installed. Itās the exact same video card in this box and I have the exact same screen BUT Iām dizzy again. Windows 7 renders the text on the screen differently than Windows XP. It looks better now an is cleaner to look at. However, with the cleaner view, my brain is freaking out and itās hitting me ā immediately.
I should also add that I saw a physiotherapist this morning for a neck mangling and some work on a non-stop tennis elbow thing. He rubbed in a ton of Voltaren into my upper forearm. I do not do well with ANY chemical rubbed into my skin. And so I feel doped out on top of the screen trigger. The physio session may have just put me that much closer to the edge to set this off too of course.
Whatever the problem, itās a pain in the ass and it looks like Iāll have a rough few days while I adapt. I have to. This new set up looks amazing.
Scott :shock:
Is it possible for a mav brain to adapt. Iāve often wondered that.
I hope yours does and that you feel better soon
M