Eyesight issues

[Velvet]

A little over three weeks ago I started having pain in my left eye when moving it (looking to the sides or up/down) and after around a week my vision started to get worse in that eye.

The pain lasted for two weeks and has now gone, but the vision is still bad. Everything is duller, colours less vibrant, it sort of looks like the world has gone misty and I can't see properly. Just sitting here at my computer, if I close my good eye I can't read what I'm typing without sticking my face very close to the screen.

 

I had optic neuritis a couple of years ago and was worried it could be that again so told my nurse who bumped up my appointment with the eye department and I went in yesterday. They did the basic eye test reading the chart, which I couldn't read as well as usual but it wasn't too bad (I always find the chart is misleading about my eyes because it's lit up and so high contrast I see it a lot better then I do things in the normal world). I also had the field of vision test and a scan of my eyes.

 

At the end she told me my vision was better then 100% and she didn't need to see me again until May next year. I told her I can't see properly from that eye but she just kept telling me there's nothing wrong with the eye and not to worry.

 

When I asked about why it's bad she said maybe a headache, a memory of my past optic neuritis or maybe early optic neuritis that isn't showing signs yet.

I assume by headache she meant migraine, but from what I've read it doesn't sound like that's the case. I don't know what she meant by memory. And if it could be optic neuritis in the early stages wouldn't they want to see me again to confirm it?

 

I'll be seeing my neuro soon for other test results so I guess I'll wait and ask him about it as he's always been very helpful.

 

Have any of you had similar eye issues and what did it turn out to be?

[Scully]

I guess by 'memory' she's thinking that because you've experienced it before, it may play on your mind that it's back again ?

 

It's wise to get your eyes checked out though. And she sounds as though she's done a thorough test for you.

 

A few weeks ago I was experiencing something similar, my right eye was really bad ( which is my good eye!) but, after a few weeks the blurry vision vanished, so it can come and go and not really be anything much at all.

 

 

Migraine in fact can cause the vision disturbances but without the headache. I think migraine is a complex condition. Migraine with or without 'aura' and aura without headache so she may well be right i guess.

 

Do mention it to the Neuro when you seem them for your results though.

 

Scully

 

 

[Velvet]

Thanks Scully, I suppose that might be what she meant by memory. The way my vision looks now does seem the same as when my past optic neuritis was on the mend. It was quite different before though in that I had no pain and just woke up one morning completely blind in that eye. But having it in the past does make it stick in my head, before then I'd never even heard of optic neuritis. :P

It just confused me a bit how she gave memory as a possible reason for why my eye is bad now.

 

I'm glad your vision got better again, hopefully mine will soon. It is good knowing there's nothing really wrong with my eye, but at the same time worrying because I don't know why my vision is bad, if that makes sense.

[Velvet]

Well, my vision is still clouded and as of yesterday I have double vision as well which is making life pretty awkward.

 

I saw the doctor earlier today who's made me another appointment at the eye clinic for the 27th. He said there's nothing they can do to treat it until they know what's causing it so I have to wait and see what the eye clinic says. I was just wondering if any of you had tips on dealing with double vision and if there's anything I can do while I wait?

It's making life pretty hard as I don't know where anything is, my depth perception if off and walking is hard as it's so disorientating.

When I close one eye it does go away so would some sort of eye patch be an option?

[Stumbler]

Prisms can be used to temporarily correct double vision, where your eyes don't/can't converge.

 

Double vision was a symptom side-effect that I had to deal with. I saw an Optometrist? , who measured the extent of the problem. They then cut out some stick on prisms, which they fitted (well, just stuck them) on one lens of my glasses.

 

Every 4 or 8 weeks, I returned and we weakened the strength of the prisms, slowly retraining the eye, until the convergence of my vision was corrected.

 

.

[Velvet]

Thanks Stumbler.

I went in yesterday and they did a bunch of tests. He said the angle of my double vision was very wide so prisms might not work.

 

He tried the strongest prism they had and it does help. Distant things are still double but closer things are okay, albeit a bit odd looking. In bright light the prism seem to give objects a rainbow edge to them, kind of pretty really.

But it makes it a bit easier for me to get around as I can actually see where my feet are going now. :)

I'll be going back in around a month to see if it's got any better and if it has he'll try a slightly weaker prism.

 

Going back to my neuro on the 7th to get the results of all my other tests and hopefully some answers to what's causing my issues.

[Stumbler]

I'm pleased you've been able to get some relief.