Black circle in left eye - with OCT image

Posted , 3 users are following.

Hi everyone,

A year ago a black circle suddenly appeared in the upper left corner of my left eye. It's visible when I look straight ahead but disappears when I try to look directly at it. I see it occasionally, say a few times a month.

At night or in darker rooms this circle sometimes looks lighter, almost white and in the same position.

I've also been experiencing other symptoms:

  • certain colours appear duller in my left eye, especially green. It sometimes looks blue or yellow.
  • my left eye often feels very sore and stings like it's been poked
  • occasionally it feels very tender when I touch the the left side of my head, including my left eyebrow

My OCT showed an abnormality (circled below).

  • optician has no idea what it is or what might have caused it. However they are fairly sure this is what is causing my vision issues.
  • consultant at the eye hospital disagrees and thinks I should be referred to neurology

https://patient.azureedge.net/forums/images/upload-sm/1318456-637279464553880801.jpg

I'd appreciate any thoughts on what this might be!

thanks

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Edited

    I am wondering if they had you do an Amsler grid? If not I would, you should be able to find one online. When you look at it you should have your other eye closed, and holding it away from you the proper distance. There should not be any blurred patches, wavy lines, missing spots etc. If there is you should call your eye doctor right away (nothing life threatening)If you go to a specialist I would go to a Neuro-Ophthalmologist over a regular neurologist, they will be more specialized in this area. The findings on your OCT are very minimal, there is no fluid, which is good, but the slight abnormality is in a area that could affect your vision. I would be curious to know the results of you using the Amsler grid. That in its self should be helpful in eliminating possibilities. Hopefully they already had you do one! If you do have abnormalities, I would be happy to give you some recommendations or if you have any trouble along the way or have any questions I can help with just let me know! Best of Luck! Do the Amsler Grid!

    • Posted

      Thanks for the advice! I tried the Amsler Grid but there were no irregularities, no wavy lines or lines missing. I'll monitor this regularly though.

      The other symptoms persist i.e. sore stinging eye, black circle from time to time and the strange thing about certain colours looking dimmer.

      I forgot to mention that my vision sometimes seems slightly blurrier and less sharp than my right eye too. Not sure if it's always been this way or I'm just noticing now!

  • Edited

    I'm not a Dr. But your picture looks to me like form of retinal thinning. One thing I've recently discovered that may be able to produce that is a lesion, such as a cotton wool spot. Here's an article for you, please see Figure 3 w/ description: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198419/

    The lesion would present as convex at first, but as it resolves it could produce a concave area during the healing process. The process damages cells, leaving a blind spot although just-enough cells might function at a limited capacity that during certain lighting conditions the spot may not be apparent. I'd expect low light levels to make it most noticeable if your condition is similar to my own.

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