Colors Darker In Left Eye...Please Help!

[Jim123456]

I recently posted a question on here concerning what having a pale optic nerve meant. But recently, about two days ago, I noticed something weird. Whenever I hold a hand across my right eye, my left eye seems a lot...darker than my right eye. When I do the opposite, my right eye looks a lot brighter than my left. Also, colors actually seem to change with my left eye. When I look at the blue sky, for example, it looks almost pink. The same goes for almost anything white: white walls, a white house, etc. I'm going for an MRI for my pale optic nerve in two weeks...but I'm sure this new symptom is something that should wait that long. Does anybody know what it could mean? Thanks.
-Jim

[russell903]

Was 'pale optic nerve' a term from your opthalmologist?  Never heard of it, and I've been thru a lot.  Darker images sometimes relate to cataracts or to some change in the macula from what I've been told by experts.  do you have any other conditions, eg, glaucoma, or dry ARMD?  Get the best expert you can find in opthalmology or neuro opthalmology, to assure you have the best diagnosis.  Make sure to connect the eye doctors' info with your personal internist/md.  Nothing simple about eye problems from my recent two years of personal experience.  

[Jim123456]

Yeah...I've never heard that tern before either, until Tuesday. I looked it up online...and according to what my sources said, a pale optic nerve (better known as optic nerve pallor, I believe) happens when there's something pressing on the nerve, or due to some other problem, like diabetes. I'm going for an MRI in two weeks to check for two possible things it could be...a tumor, and MS. (Think about that...two weeks, thinking it could be a tumor or MS. What fun I'm gonna have. lol).

[russell903]

About two years ago, I went thru an MRI after having some head pains.  Nothing was found, but the crux of the problem was anxiety regading my head pains.  I took some medications and the pains left me.  But I can commiserate; the time before going to the MRI and getting the results are very stressful.  Best wishes to you, and have a glass of red wine on me-red wine seems to help all physical and mental woes!  Keep me posted on your outcome.

Russell903

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

An eye with optic nerve pallor due to optic atrophy would be expected to reduced color vision (not abscent necessarily) and often reduced contrast sensitivity.

Keep your appointment with the Eye MD

JCH IIMD

[Jim123456]

I did go to the eye MD, and then to a neuro-opthamologist; who did an MRI on me, told me my optic nerve was "small," but that there was no tumors or spots that would be MS. But when I told him what was happening with my left eye (the darker vision) he said "yeah, that's probably due to the small optic nerve. It's not anything serious...come back in about six months for a check-up." It's been a little under two months now, and the problem with the darker vision is still here. If this isn't optic atrophy (which the neuro didn't seem to think it was, because he wasn't concerned about it), what could it be? Is this just the way some people's eyes are? And if not, could it be from the small optic nerve...and what exactly does that mean? Sorry to pile so many questions on you...I'm just still, after 2 months, trying to find some answers...

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

Think of the optic nerves as pipes carrying water. IF the pipes are the same size and under the same pressue the amoung of water that travels through the pipe will be exactly equal.

Now suppose that one pipe is smaller than the other one. Under the same pressure there will be less water going through the smaller pipe.

Now suppose you think optic nerves instead of pipes and light instead of water. The smaller optic nerve can certainly account for the less intense brightness.

You've had a very thourough work up, you've seen the right type of Eye MD for this problem. There's nothing that you need to do differently. I would back off the worrying.

Also paired organs are not clones of one another. If you test hearing most people hear better in one eary, are stronger in one arm than the other and even in perfectly healthy eyes small differences in color and light intensity can occur.

I have a OB-GYN MD as a patient for 20 + years and he always comments how much brighter things are out of one eye than the other. It's never changed in two decades.

Relax.

JCH III MD