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Had visual distrubances for 9 weeks.

Posted , 3 users are following.

deb76713
deb76713

Hi, I just wondered if anyone is able to help me or advise?  9 weeks ago one evening my vision suddenly changed.  It's very hard to describe what is happening but at first I thought it may be a migraine as I had flashing lights in my vision. Took migraine relief but it didn't go. It just never went away and I cannot see properly and it's very distressing.   I've been to the opticians who said my eyes are fine.  I've been referred to an opthamologist who also said my eyes are fine.  My GP has run blood tests to check if I'm deficient in anything and checked for diabetes.  All OK again.  I was then referred to Neurologist who I've just come back from seeing and he is sending me for a scan but is 99.99% sure it will come back fine.  That is good news but he has no idea what it is and suggested it was a visual phenomenon that will probably go away in its own time.  Now I'm quite upset by that because my life has totally changed and I can't drive very far, I can't be out for very long because it's such a strain to see things that I'm exhausted.  It's even very difficult to speak to someone and look at them because I can't see their whole face and it's so hard to concentrate on what they are saying.  I'm driving mysef crazy with worry but just hope that maybe someone else has had similar symptoms and can give me some advice?  

I don't have any other health problems apart from a narrowing of two discs in my neck but neurologist says that wouldn't affect my vision.  A few months ago I kept wakng in the night with numb hands and this lasted a few weeks but he said I must of been sleeping on my hands and dismissed it.  What is going on ??

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • mrsmop
    mrsmop deb76713

    Posted

    Hi Deb, you mention the discs in your neck and numbness, that sounds like trapped nerves, doesn't it?

    Regarding your eyes, I can only tell you about me and my experiences.  I know what you mean by flashing lights etc..  I know that I suffer from Uveitis and when I have a flare up, what you describe is exactly what I see.

    All I can suggest, is to ask if you can see the Ophthalmologist again and ask to see the Consultant.  Did you see him last time?  And ask whether it could possibly be Uveitis?

    Good Luck

    • deb76713
      deb76713 mrsmop

      Posted

      Thank you for your message, it certainly sounds like it could be Uveitis, I've just googled it and it definitely could be that.  Can I ask you though, did you feel like it was in both eyes it affected or just one of your eyes?  The opthamologist told me that because I couldn't tell him which eye and it felt like both that it was not anythng eye related and probably neurological.  But the neurologist said the same, he said that even a neurological problem would only affect one eye, it would be extremely unusual for it to affect both. 

       

    • mrsmop
      mrsmop deb76713

      Posted

      It only affects one eye but with a major flare, it seems as though it is both eyes, though as soon as They treat my left eye, everything settles down 
  • mrsmop
    mrsmop deb76713

    Posted

    Of course, having just written a lot about Bleparitis and dry eyes,  they also cause flashing lights.  I have just written this for Elinor

    My Consultant told me to put a drop os mild handwash in a basin of very hot water and soak a flannel in it.  He told me to place the hot flannel over my eys until it cools and repeat several times.  Having washed my face, he told me not to put any creams near my eyes because it blocks the ducts.

    He gave me some ocular lubricants, Liquifilm for day time and Lacrilube for night time.  The Lacrilube is rather like putting vaseline in your eyes.

    I seldom have problems with Blepharitis.

    I use steroid eye drops in my left eye which has a chronic Uveitis

    I have been seeing Ophthalmologists since I was 18

    • deb76713
      deb76713 mrsmop

      Posted

      Thanks for the advice, I will definitely mention this to my GP and see if she can refer me back to an opthamologist again.  When I went to see him about 4 weeks ago though he gave me the drops to enlarge my pupils and looked into my eyes with the microscope/light but said he saw nothing wrong, do you think he should of picked this up during that examination?

      Did it take a while for you to get a diagnosis, I've had 3 examinations with pupil dilation, 2 different opticians and the opthamologist and none of them have picked it up.  Maybe there is a different test?

      I'm sorry you have so much trouble with your eyes, hope you are able to get rid of it once and for all?

  • marie98697
    marie98697 deb76713

    Posted

    You should get a second opinion and even a third opinion from an optomologist. There has to be an explanation. I am having problems after cataract surgery and after two drs. I went for a 3 rd opinion and he said that I have clogged meimborian glands of the eyelids and that causes dry eyes, with a feeling of something in your eye. It could drive you crazy. Now I have t scrub my eyes with Johnson baby shampoo very vigorously and he also put a punctual plug in my tear duct. Using restates and pred,I am hoping this will work.  Good luck to you
    • mrsmop
      mrsmop marie98697

      Posted

      Hi Marie, I would like to add an addendum to your post, the Ophthalmologists always say 'baby shampoo', the reason I said mild handwash, is because I am allergic to formaldehyde releasers and you tend to find them in baby shampoo.

      You should also be careful 'scrubbing' your eyes because the skin is very delicate around them and easily damaged.

    • deb76713
      deb76713 marie98697

      Posted

      Thanks Marie, I will definitely now insist on a second opinion.  I've got an MRI scan on the 9th September so I'll take it from there.  I am 100% convinced that its my actual eyes and not neurological, it's just very upsetting and frustrating not knowing what it is but I guess I will get there in the end, I just have to be patient ... and pushy !   Thanks again.
  • marie98697
    marie98697 deb76713

    Posted

    Hi Deb, I wish you good luck with your MRI on the 9th.  And get that second opinion.Let me know how you make out.
  • mrsmop
    mrsmop deb76713

    Posted

    Hi Deb, I hope your MRI goes well too.

    When you saw the Ophthalmologist, was it the Consultant or one of his team?  A good doctor will listen to what you say.  Once, when my clinic was very short staffed, I saw a Nurse Practitioner for my appt., she wasn't listening, she was trying to put words into my mouth.  She already had my diagnosis in her mind and was trying to steer me towards it.  Some junior doctors are like that too.

    • deb76713
      deb76713 mrsmop

      Posted

      Thank you too mrsmop,

      Yes I did see the consultant himself, He did listen to me to start with but I think he'd made his decision about it almost instantly.  He told me after he'd examined my eyes with a slit lamp that because I'd told him that my whole vision was being affected and that I couldn't tell him which eye it was that he knew straight away that it wasn't anything to do with my eyes as it was highly unlikely for anyone to have problems with both eyes together.  He suggested it was either nerve damage in the brain or an 'episode' that would go away eventually.  He wasn't able to help me any further and I was in and out in 10 minutes! sad

      Do you normally have more tests than just a slit lamp ?

    • mrsmop
      mrsmop deb76713

      Posted

      The nurses test my vision when I arrive and then the Ophthalmologist checks my eyes with a slit lamp.  Occasionally they send me for a fields test - checking peripheral vision.

      Of course, he could be right.  Have you got blepharitis?  That can cause the symptoms that you describe.  Have you tried ocular lubricants, did the Ophthalmologist suggest either of these things?  You can deal with them yourself and see whether there is any difference.

      If you were in and out in 10 minutes, then he didn't dilate your puplis and examine the back of your eye.  It takes at least 10 minutes for the dilating drops to work and they usually instil them  and ask you to sit in the waiting room while they take effect.

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