Could Use Some Advice (Eye Help)

[zappbrannigan]

Yes, this is a long post. Read or gtfo.

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I've been having some vision problems and I was just wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences or knows what's going on here:

Since January 30th I've been experiencing "flickering" in my vision. It's hard to describe, but the best way I can is to say it's like a subtle fluorescent light flicker. It's not that obtrusive, but it's definitely noticeable. This goes on 24/7.

*As an aside, let me say that the day before (the 29th), I was working on the computer and I got a little pain (not severe) in my left eye and when I looked in the mirror I noticed it was a little blood shot (just in one section near the iris, not the typical "snowflake" blood shot eye look). I'm not sure if this is related at all, but it certainly might be so I thought I should include it*

I booked an appointment with the optometrist for February 3rd, who tested my eyes and said that they were pretty good, but that I have an astigmatism in my left eye (related to what I mentioned above? I don't know, probably just a coincidence). He prescribed glasses, but said that my vision was pretty good so they were optional. At the time I thought what I had was eye-strain so I asked him about that and he just suggested I take breaks when using the computer, etc, etc.

Several hours after the optometrist appointment, I noticed my left eye was noticeably blood shot. About a half hour to an hour later, that had dissipated, but now both my eyes are blood shot (though I have to move my eyes or pull up my eye lids to really see any of it). There's been subtle improvements since, but they look more or less the same.

On the 7th of February I got some eye drops from a drug store and started taking them. I stopped taking them on about the 23rd, however, because there didn't seem to be much improvement, if any at all.

I saw my doctor on the 15th and he thought it might be an ocular migraine, but seeing as how I still have this ~ 6 weeks later, I doubt that.

Coincidentally, my doctor retired at the end of February so I've been going to a clinic. The doctor I saw on February 28th at the clinic wasn't sure what to make of it either. She examined my eyes with that light and said there are no tears (as in torn, not the watery kind of "tear," god damn English) so that's good. She suggested seeing the optometrist again/getting the glasses or booking a physical. Just today I had my physical and the doctor I saw wasn't much help, either, but did suggest the glasses.

If I can self-diagnose, it seems at this point that I probably do need glasses because the flickering, blood shot eyes, etc might be a result of my eyes being a little overworked and need some rest/help. I have noticed that every once and a while my eyes will sort of "space out" or unfocus, but it's often at times when one would be daydreaming so it's hard to know if it's truly anymore than "normal."

I've never been able to say all of this information to the doctors I've seen because I always try to see what they have to say and answer back, etc. Plus, as Keith has noted, I do sometimes feel a little rushed out the door.

Anyway, I'm thinking at this point I'm just going to find a sale somewhere and get some inexpensive glasses. I was prescribed glasses after all. If anyone has experienced this before (or something similar) let me know.

[justjohn]

i think you need to set an appointment with an opthamologist. A real eye surgeon. Optometrist is just a refractionist who isnt able to diagnose serious problems with the eye.

[Tech007]

Keep pestering the docs. And get rest. Eat well.

I have friends with vision flicker problems and it was migraine-related and also to do with albinism. Albinism - PubMed Health



Many forms of albinism are associated with the following symptoms:

Crossed eyes (strabismus)

Light sensitivity (photophobia)

Rapid eye movements (nystagmus)

Vision problems, or functional blindness

[thepetek]

Read title, assumed you jerk it too often, got the fuck out.

Advice: type long posts two handed.

[aunt_helen]

Could it be an ocular or retinal migraine? I had one once and it sounds similar.

Retinal migraine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ocular Migraines Explained - AllAboutVision.com

[zappbrannigan]

Originally Posted by aunt_helen

Could it be an ocular or retinal migraine? I had one once and it sounds similar.

That's what my GP said when I saw him, but every source says an ocular migraine or retinal migraine should only last a maximum of 30 minutes to an hour, and I've had this for a month and a half. Also, there's no headache associated with it. The only symptom that I seem to have in common is the flickering vision, and even then it's debatable whether I'm seeing the same thing as these migraine-sufferers.

Originally Posted by Tech007

I have friends with vision flicker problems and it was migraine-related and also to do with albinism. Albinism - PubMed Health

I don't have any of the symptoms of albinism (you've seen what I look like, after all), so I doubt it's related. I have no family history of albinism, either.

Originally Posted by justjohn

i think you need to set an appointment with an opthamologist. A real eye surgeon. Optometrist is just a refractionist who isnt able to diagnose serious problems with the eye.

I'll do that if the glasses don't help.

I do remember at the optometrist's that, when I tried on the example set of glasses they rig up for you, there was a difference. For example, with that test where they give you a card with different sized sentences, I could read the smallest sentence without glasses, but it did become clearer with the glasses. Of course I only had them on for a few seconds and didn't think to look around the room and see if the flickering was gone. However, I assume that because the bottom sentence became quite clear that it probably was gone.

[Tech007]

Originally Posted by zappbrannigan

I don't have any of the symptoms of albinism (you've seen what I look like, after all), so I doubt it's related. I have no family history of albinism, either.

I should have been more specific and mentioned that - I meant ocular albinism. Some forms have no visual symptoms but lead to eye muscle issues.
My friend with it looks extremely normal. But has vicious migraines and nasty vision problems - especially around fluorescent lights and monitors with low scan rates. She has used 60/120/240hz monitors and incandescents for 10+years - fixed a lot of her issues. Supermarket HIDS and lighting can knock her right out. LCD projectors set it off too. Plasma and film not at all.

Good luck with everything.

[kristipherw]

I had a similar thing going on, different from the flickers I get with a migraine. Turns out it was partially detached retina. Get an appoinentmt with ASAP. Good luck!

[DrGiggles]

Ophthalmology is an astonishingly complex and broad field. In the US, it's one of the most competitive to get into, attracts some of the smartest students, and commands one of the highest salaries. That's because there is so much stuff that can go wrong with the eye. Unfortunately, the amount of education the average doctor receives in ocular problems is quite poor, and the number of serious problems is quite large.

All that said; see an ophthalmologist! I can't speak for Canada, but in the US, optometrists are not medical doctors; they can prescribe glasses and diagnose some things, but they haven't received 4 years of medical school, followed by 4 years specific to the eyes. That doesn't mean they're useless, but if you haven't actually seen an MD eye specialist yet, you need to do so. Vision isn't something to play around with! (or seek advice from the internet about!)

PS- I'm particularly concerned because you were previously thought to have normal vision, and now you're being told you have an astigmatism (i.e. you need glasses). You may have needed glasses all along, or you may have an ocular disease process that is decreasing your visual acuity and could eventually lead to permanent vision loss. I don't want to scare you as the odds are low, but you need to have this ruled out. Also, symptoms alone are not all that's important here; the likely diagnosis is heavily influenced by your age, sex, race, medical history, family medical history, etc., all of which are unknown to us.

[campy]

Originally Posted by kristipherw

I had a similar thing going on, different from the flickers I get with a migraine. Turns out it was partially detached retina. Get an appoinentmt with ASAP. Good luck!

I was going to say this...