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3 times in the past 8-9 months I have had a floating distortion in my field of vision - difficult to discern in detail but something like a (slightly curved?) L shape made up of a train of smaller L shapes (or triangles), situated to the left side of my field of vision and lasting for less than an hour in each case. I have had several bouts of laser surgery to repair a slight retinal tear in the past 20 years but have been in the clear for my past 2 bi-annual checkups. The line is sometimes partially coloured and has a geometric quality to it like diffracted light. It has a similar appearance to the 'Front Lines' depicted in weather maps. Is this something anyone else has experienced?

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Call you ophthalmologist and ask her/his advice. If you have a history of retinal tears, I wouldn't fool around with this.
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I agree. It's likely floaters or "something of nothing" but seriously, why would you not want that confirmed by an ophthalmologist? - or, at the very least, your ophthalmic optician, who can probably see you today. Like, now.
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After having a detached retina myself, with a bright light marching across my field of vision, I would hotfoot it back to the eye doctor. However have you researched “classic migrain”? Do you have a headache with these episodes? I get this occasionally, and lose a portion of my vision for about 20 minutes, see stars, and lose everything except peripheral vision. Not fun but nothing too serious. And I have large floaters, but those are constant, not just occasional.  But you need to start with your eye doctor.
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Rocketjcat, I remember seeing a TV show where there was a virtual reality goggles that one can put on to see the issues of eye sight when someone else is having a migraine. Oh my gosh, there was that C form set of bubbles that I usually get. But I get the same thing without a migraine [unless I am having what is called a silent migraine with no headache].

First time I had this happened I freaked out, I had no idea what was happening. And it lasted only 20 minutes... whew. I did see my ophthalmologist and she confirm what was happening was normal for aging eyes. Oh great !! Something else exciting to watch out for :P I get this every now and then. Finally I just ignore it as I know it will take only 20 minutes to go away.
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Bairn, check out ophthalmic migraines. I began having them in the 1980s; my ophthalmologist told me they weren't unusual, b/c of (I believe) nearsightedness (I don't remember for sure what condition she referenced.)

Yours sound similar. They can appear as curved lines, less than 1/2 of a circle (or as a closed circle), with jagged interiors - they look like the claws of an animal trap. Colors vary and move, but I don't know if I'd say they "flash."

Mine lasted about 20 minutes; vision was slightly impaired, so I always pulled over if I was driving. If at home, I just closed my eyes and daydreamed.

Years went by and I had no problem, but began having them again with computer use.

Google "ophthalmic migraine image". The image hits show a variety of presentations. The second photo in the first row is what I've experienced.
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Just before a migraine headache...
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Adding that, given the history of tears and surgery, I would agree that an immediate appointment with your ophthalmologist is in order, just to find out what these images are and address them if necessary.
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GardenArtist, I put "ophthalmic migraine images" into google images, a whole page of photos came up, and mine look like picture number 4 going left to right. What I found weird at first was the image was in both eyes at the same location, so I figured it was a brain thingee going on.

I was surprised to find stress is one of the causes.... and CHOCOLATE !! Not giving up my chocolate, I can sit through 20 minutes of this thing :))

Oh, and sometimes bright lights.... one time I was in traffic and the sun was bouncing off something every shiny, and that caused the migraine image.  Now science has come up with a special tint on glasses to help deflect such lights.  It's not the same as the anti-glare that some of us have on our eye glasses. 
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See your eye doctor Your eyes are trying to tell you something. You don't want to play around with this. 
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Mine are blind at whatever I’m looking at and only have periferal vision. Yes bright lights do it to me. Glare off another car or bright light off snow? Instant Disaster. I have to wear sunglasses whenever I’m outside. I used to freak out and have to lay down. Now I can work/drive through them. I hope the OP is just having this.
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FF, so your circles are full, and double? That must have been frightening as it occludes vision in both eyes. I also would have thought brain function was involved, or perhaps something that involved both optical nerves simultaneously.

Thanks for sharing the other causes; I wasn't aware of this, especially bright lights. I've noted the option of getting special tints for glasses; I wasn't aware of that either and appreciate the suggestion. I need to get new glasses after cataract surgery anyway.

But chocolate - I'm really surprised it causes that, but perhaps it's part of the price we pay for loving such an indulgent and delicious treat? I wonder if the Aztecs suffered from chocolate induced ophthalmic migraines?

Or it could be some of the additives and (artificial flavors). There are so many varieties of chocolate these days - orange, cherry, Cabernet, coconut.... I wonder if any of the insecticides applied to food grown in mass by the big growers carries remnants of the pesticides that are eventually incorporated into the chocolate?
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Thanks for the tip GardenArtist et al. Ophthalmic Migraine was very close to the mark according to examples shown at 'Ophthalmic Migraine Pictures to Pin on Pinterest - PinsDaddy'
pinsdaddy.com/ophthalmic-migraine_ez4sV7lcBjya6vM9Vjfj|qTU8po8zWzh1Ilo*KPC5Z0/
but 'What is an Ocular Migraine'(migrainemantras.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/2.png?w=620 ) gave me pause for thought ( aka visual. retinal, ophthalmic or monocular(meaning one eye) migraines...cause vision loss or blindness in one eye(differs from an aura which affects both eyes)) & 'Migraine Aura' (www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/...with.../migraine-aura/vid-20084707) appears to fit the bill better
"The best known visual aura is called a fortification spectrum because its pattern resembles the walls of a medieval fort. It may start as a small hole of light or sometimes as bright geometrical lines and shapes in your visual field. This visual aura may expand into a sickle- or C-shaped object, with zigzag lines on the leading edge. As it moves, it may appear to grow. Auras aren't the same for everyone, so you might also experience bright spots or flashes. Auras are sometimes accompanied by a partial loss of vision referred to as a scotoma. Auras commonly last 10 to 30 minutes"

P.S. 'Scintillating Scotoma/Visual Migraine'(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scintillating_scotoma) is a related condition

Another useful contact found along the way is the 'Ocular Migraine Network' ocularmigraine.net

Cheers & thanks again to all respondents
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