I know this is stupid to post here; I have medical coverage and should call my Dr., but so far am not.

The symptom is a solid area filled with zigzag patterns---all snug against each other. I think there may be a better name for what it looks like. It has occurred twice and is persistant, that is the thing! We all see weird stuff in the periphery at times, or at least I always have, but when you focus on it---its gone.

The scary thing was, I focused on it and it was still there. Looked at it, looked away, moved my eyes. It was there. I would say the 2nd time this happened (the last time) it persisted for 1 to 2 minutes.

The pattern was translucent, but still...

The first time, I sort of shrugged it off. This time, I was thinking it would not go away, but it did.

This ring a bell for anyone?

They're called floaters and can be a symptom of a more serious problem, but usually are nothing to worry about. I get them from time to time. You should get it checked out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floater

Sometimes when I first wake up in the morning, it looks like everything is projected on a honeycomb, that pattern in the background, at least. It generally goes away in a matter of seconds, but it's a fairly frequent occurrence.

In my case, I think it's a side effect of whatever causes my migraines, which are always preceded by "auras", which, despite the name, have nothing to do with anything "aura-like". Auras in migraines are (for me) blind spots that appear without warning (usually when I'm doing too much reading or writing, but can also be caused by flashes of bright light), the blind spots increase in size and migrate around the visual field for about 20 minutes, slowly, like watching a snail on an aquarium, and the instant the blindspot stops, the migraine hits.

I'd say that you have something more similar to what I have, which isn't floaters (which are in the eyes), but a neurological problem, more like epilepsy.

Incidentally, migraines (the kind associated with auras, not passive-aggressive responses to insensitive bosses) have a lot in common with epilepsy. Many are triggered by the same things, and many of the drugs used to control epilepsy also control migraines. I suspect that migraines (the aura type) are a mild form of epilepsy.