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Blind spots and vision disturbances

I am 28 yr old female, and nearsighted.
Since December 2007 I've been progressively developing small blind areas in both of my eyes. The spots are small and isolated, scattered around random areas of each eye. They are not my natural blind spots.
When I look at certain things, such as lines, the lines look as if they have some gaps in them and these gaps
appear in the locations of the blind spots.

They tend to appear suddenly. I developed 2 new ones in my right eye in just the last 24 hours. I had gone
several weeks prior to that without noticing anything new. I've been testing my vision each day. They do
not seem to move or go away once they appear.

In addition, I have also been experiencing vision disturbances that are almost like migraine auras. I see
dark spots that eventually fade over the course of 10-15 min. Sometimes this will occur many times
in a day. This began around the same time as the blind spots.

Since this problem has developed, I have been to 2 different Opthamologists, a Retina Specialist, and a Neuro-Opthamologist (who sent me for an MRI but I don't know the results until I go back in May). The eye doctors did not detect anything abnormal. I feel incredibly distressed over the situation and I'm becoming more depressed about it.

Could this be some type of blood vessel disorder? Could my retinas be deteriorating in some way? It seems that what I'm noticing with my eyes is not noticable enough to doctors. Is this possible? What are some possible conditions that could cause these symptoms?

I have noticed a few other people on this site who have had similar problems.

I would truly appreciate some advice

Thank you
14 Responses
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Avatar universal
I have this exact same problem. Doobie07 and I have posted back and forth about it before. My spot begins like a bright white/yellow afterimage, as if I've stared into a flash or the sun. Usually, the spot fades or breaks up into smaller pieces within an hour or two. Two months ago, however, one of the spots stayed bright for 2.5 days and then faded to a greyish blob/blind spot, and has remained ever since.

My eye doctor is convinced it is ocular migraines. I'm having CT Scan next month to be sure. I read somewhere online that extreme ocular migraines can leave permanent damage to the eye.
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177275 tn?1511755244
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Avatar universal
I have had the same problems described above by Kabees.  In early 2014, I noticed a spot in my right eye.  Not a circle, but more like a little diagonal line.  I first noticed it as a dark spot when I was looking at my monitor.  It was bigger, and seemed to shrink and fade over the course of weeks.  Leaving a permanent (I still have it) "blind spot" in my vision.  Since then I've catalogued several dozen more blind spots.  Most seem to dissipate completely, while a few have shrunk in size and intensity and remained.  Like doobie07, I can detect the original one on an Amsler Grid.  I even created one by myself on graph paper to show my optometrist where the spot was before I even knew what an Amsler Grid was.  So far, none has been as big as the first one.  Like above posters, I can mostly ignore them, but I do notice them when viewing a high contrast pattern.  Easy to detect by watching my mouse pointer on a white background and dragging it to the edge of the screen.  The spot briefly appears as it intersects the edge of my monitor.  I get them in both eyes (bilateral).  My brother suggested it could be a blood flow problem, and since then I chew 2 aspirin (chewing gets it in the blood faster) every time I get a new one.  If it is a "silent migraine" hopefully the aspirin helps, and if it is blood flow related it might help that too as it does in heart patients.  I've seen retina specialists, I've had 6 different kinds of tests done.They injected florescent dye into my bloodstream and took pictures of my retina.  I had something called an electroretinogram (ERG).  I've even had an MRI to rule out tumors.  All came back normal except that the ERG said I had "low-normal" light response, and the MRI showed an abnormally large vain in my brain, but the doctors didn't seem concerned about it, nor did they think it was the cause.  Totally at a loss here.  Had a new one appear in my left eye about an hour ago.  Chewed 2 aspirin, and it seems to be gone.  I live in constant fear of these, and *really* panic when I find a new one.  Anyone have any answers on these?
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
I have same thing and was wondering the same thing about blood flow. I have factor v which means my blood is more prone to clot. Is the aspirin working?
233488 tn?1310693103
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
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Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
any updates on your eye problems? I have the same thing and have been to doctors about it. basically they say there is nothing they can do. I am only 19 so I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to go blind or not latter in life.
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233488 tn?1310693103
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
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Avatar universal
My wife has been experiencing some issue kind of like this.

She sees bright white 'stars' in the left peripheral vision of her left eye. Some random numbness of the arm and foot as well as dizziness.

Symptoms started Jan 7th. Everyday, all day she sees these stars.

Then a week later she started seeing bright 'fireworks' when she closes her eye or at night.

Neuro-opthamologist did a low vision test and MRI results showed one small disturbance. Two neurologists do not think it is MS.

The Opthamalogist said if the spots turn dark and appear all over then her retina may have torn. But from what people are saying here that might not be the case? The only other possible cause they said was the vitreous pulling on the retina. This happens all the time anyway but maybe hers is pulling more.

I guess I am just trying to figure out if our Dr's are doing all they can. Astroturf or Dr Hagan, based upon what my wifes symptoms are do you think a CT scan is a possible option? We have not heard anything from our Dr's about this.

Also my wife got an MRI and got the results a week later. So Kabees, I would aggree with the Doc that you should be able to get the results.
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Avatar universal
Hi people, thank you for letting me know I'm not the only one with this wierd eye problem. Sounds like we have the same thing. Yes I can see the spots that are closest to my center of vision on the grid. The rest are too tiny or farther away, but I'll still notice them when looking at lines and contrasting areas. If I sit about 1 ft away from the Amsler grid the closest ones are about 1-1/2 - 2" away from the center. The rest are much further away.

The 1st Dr I saw said he thought it was floaters and said he could actually see one, although the other Drs didn't mention seeing any big or odd floaters. I have wondered if they could be some kind of floaters that are stuck to the eye, but I doubt that's it...

My Neuro-othamologist said I have a persistant migraine aura, and it started shortly after I first noticed the blind spots. I do have a history of severe migraines but they've become very infrequent for me in the last 10 yrs. I had no idea they could cause eye damage.

Personally for me, I think there is an anxiety connection because only a month before this started I was going through probably the worst series of anxiety attacks of my life, which thankfully has subsided. Of course the stress has crept a little since developing this vision issue.

My biggest fear from this is becoming impaired because of it, if it were to progressively get so bad that I'd lose most of my vision or central vision. So far I haven't heard of anyone getting it to such an extent.
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233488 tn?1310693103
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
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Avatar universal
Can you see then in an Amsler grid? I can see mine.

Mine start out grey or bright white like a light, then fade over several weeks to a permanent blind spot.

When I look at straight lines, for example, bits will be missing.

I have maybe 20 in each eye.

Did any of your doctors suggest what this might be?
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Avatar universal
When they first apear, they look like a colored spot, sort of yellow-ish if it's in my left eye, and blue/green if it's in my right. The color fades after a few days or sometimes after a couple of weeks, leaving a small blind spot.

The temporary ones that act like a migraine aura are a little different and quickly fade.
Helpful - 0
233488 tn?1310693103
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
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Avatar universal
I have this too. What do the spots look like when they first appear?
Helpful - 0
233488 tn?1310693103
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
If you have seen a retina and neuro-ophthalmologist and they didn't find anything then its not an easy to diagnose problem. My suggestion remain under the casre of these two Eye MDs and watch for additional symptoms.  Seems like you should at least be able to get the MRI report over the phone from the staff without staying on pins and needles till May.

JCH III MD
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