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Vision

Posted , 11 users are following.

amkoffee
amkoffee

I am so frustrated with my close-up vision. I wonder if other people on prednisone are having problems with their close-up vision to. My vision has gotten so bad that I can only see up close for about 5 to maybe 10 minutes before my eyes start to blur. I have been treating for dry eyes and my eye doctor and ophthalmologist say they are good now and I'm continually using Restasis and drops. So I don't think it's dry eye causing the problem I really think it's the prednisone. I just came from the eye doctor yesterday and he checked my vision once again and my vision is fine when I'm in there because I haven't been reading for a while. So it's not my prescription for my glasses. I'm really at a loss and I am so frustrated because I can't read. . My eye doctor doesn't seem to have any answers for me either. I was hoping I might get some from this group.

1 like, 34 replies

34 Replies

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  • linda17563
    linda17563 amkoffee

    Posted

    I have very dry eyes....and Blepharitis.....nothing eases it, have had vision tested, it`s ok....but I find I cannot look at this (large) screen I`m on now for long...or TV, or read, .....love my crosswords!....so yes it is very frustrating and the eye  specialist said also, that it must be the pred or PMR....I just limit each of what I do.....Sorry no other suggestions....
  • philoso4
    philoso4 amkoffee

    Posted

    I do not know whether it is corticosteroid related, but since PMR I definitely have a vision difficulty which sounds much like yours. If I read for as much as fifteen minutes my far vision is terribly blurred (actually monocular double vision in each eye).
  • EileenH
    EileenH amkoffee

    Posted

    My eyes have changed since being on pred - but nothing the prescription doesn't cure and I have to expect something at my age. I do have dry eye but it doesn't seem to affect me much. I do find refocussing can be conscious though.

    It does help to look up from whatever you are doing every few minutes and look into the distance. Have you tried an e-reader? You can adjust te print size and lots of light helps.

    • EileenH
      EileenH amkoffee

      Posted

      Electronic reading device - Kindle from Amazon but others are available I believe. 
    • nick67069
      nick67069 EileenH

      Posted

      I work on computer 10+hours a day. First, reading glasses are not right prescription. you have to ask for something between reading glasses and distance prescription to accomodate 2-3 feet screen distance. Second, rest periodically, do not sit longer then 20-30 min.  Besides refocusing to a distant object, what I find helpful is to move eyes in diagonal pattern ( from lower left to upper right). It stretches eye muscles in a way that is not usually used.  Some of it might be PMR/Pred and some of it is age... We are not getting any younger...
    • EileenH
      EileenH nick67069

      Posted

      If that is aimed at me Nick - I know and have computer glasses. But I also don't have any visual problems - other than accommodation isn't getting any better but I can't expect any more at nearly 65! Most people have been struggling long before their 60s!!!!!

    • nick67069
      nick67069 EileenH

      Posted

      No, not at you, I ment to add my take to your explanation biggrin
  • amkoffee
    amkoffee

    Posted

    Vision problems are listed as a side effect of prednisone so I assume that's where the problem is from in the prednisone not the PMR. Because I don't have GCA.

  • Silver49
    Silver49 amkoffee

    Posted

    I had problems with blurred vision when reading but not with distance. I was due an eye test and made the mistake of getting a new prescription. This was almost 2 years ago near the beginning of my diagnosis. As my steroids have reduced the sight has improved and I seldom have the problem now. I find my previous prescription better than my present one. I would respectfully suggest that anyone having an eye test and thinking a new prescription will be the solution takes time before making this decision. It may be a waste of money as I have found. It did not solve the problem of blurred vision. Time and a reduction in the steroids has proved to be the answer for me. I started reducing this week to 3.5.
    • EileenH
      EileenH Silver49

      Posted

      And I moved my specs up and down my nose as appropriate! Saved me a fortune as I have single vision lenses in a cheap frame. The eye department at the local hospital says my vision for each situation is fine.
  • jean50664
    jean50664 amkoffee

    Posted

    HI Amkoffe.......I had this problem....saw the eye specialist....he concluded the small cataract that wasn't really impending my site had now grown much bigger. He said the Prednisone had been the contributing factor. He has now operated on my eye, and after 2 weeks my sight is better

    Jea

    • jean50664
      jean50664

      Posted

      Impending.....should have been impeding   smile
    • amkoffee
      amkoffee jean50664

      Posted

      You know that my opthamologist said that I had a cataract in both eyes but that they were really tiny and nothing to worry about yet. I was kind of upset because my eye doctor never told me anything about them. And when I brought them up to my eye doctor he made no comment about whether he knew they were there previously or not. I think he missed them. So that had me concerned that he would miss seeing cataracts in my eyes even if they are tiny and not to worry about at this point.
    • EileenH
      EileenH amkoffee

      Posted

      If they are not doing anything to  your vision thay are not worth worrying about.

      Not quite clear what your differentiation is between an opthalmologist and an eye doctor - in the UK they are the same thing...

    • jean50664
      jean50664 amkoffee

      Posted

      Ophthalmologist/eye doctors see a lot of small cataracts and don't often mention them, simply because they have to impair your vision considerably before they are removed.

    • Anhaga
      Anhaga EileenH

      Posted

      We've got several levels of eye care in Canada.  The ophthalmologist is the one who can look in your eye and see if you may have GCA changes, etc, and is also the one who can operate on your eyes.  The optometrist can test your vision, prescribe glasses, and check for obvious problems, and can prescribe medications.  An optician fits you with glasses prescribed by one of the other specialties but is not licensed to treat diseases of the eye.

    • EileenH
      EileenH Anhaga

      Posted

      That is no different from the UK - but an ophthalmologist is just a fancy name for an eye doctor. The other two may have PhDs but they are not usually medically qualified.

      "An ophthalmologist — Eye M.D. — is a medical or osteopathic doctor who specializes in eye and vision care. Ophthalmologists differ from optometrists and opticians in their levels of training and in what they can diagnose and treat. As a medical doctor who has completed college and at least eight years of additional medical training, an ophthalmologist is licensed to practice medicine and surgery. "

      "Optometrists are healthcare professionals who provide primary vision care ranging from sight testing and correction to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of vision changes. An optometrist is not a medical doctor. An optometrist receives a doctor of optometry (OD) degree after completing four years of optometry school, preceded by three years or more years of college."

      "Opticians are technicians trained to design, verify and fit eyeglass lenses and frames, contact lenses, and other devices to correct eyesight. They use prescriptions supplied by ophthalmologists or optometrists, but do not test vision or write prescriptions for visual correction. Opticians are not permitted to diagnose or treat eye diseases."

      Hence my question.

    • Anhaga
      Anhaga EileenH

      Posted

      I think here the term "eye doctor" is used much more carelessly, which is why I tend to use the actual name so it's clear.  

    • amkoffee
      amkoffee jean50664

      Posted

      Well I don't like that. Small or not I want to know that I have one. It doesn't mean I'm going to freak out. But it tells me that I should be vigilant.

    • EileenH
      EileenH amkoffee

      Posted

      I think the point is that you WILL notice it affecting your vision when it is approaching the stage it needs to be dealt with - and if they said there was one you might expect not to see as well long before there is anything that can be done about it. I'm trying to think of a word to replace imagination - because that isn't what I mean at all...

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