weird afterimage

[doobie07]

I have a strange thing happening but the doctor's are unable to find a cause and i was wanting to "put it out there".

I have in my left eye a streak just below and to the left of my point of focus a streak/blob that looks like I looked at a bright light. I see it when I blink or look at something with contrast - eg the edge of the TV.

It has been there for more than a month now and is really worrying me.

I had two dilated exams by two different eye MDs and they say my retina and optic nerve are healthy.

But I still see this thing. If I look at a light surface, it looks dark and if i look at a dark surface, it looks light.

Any ideas? Should I just ignore it and hope it goes away as mysteriously as it came?

[wakingupnow]

I have been diagnosed with MEWDS as a matter of fact since I was 12 and yes, I am female. I still have the it, but they last from a week to a month and now they are not as prominent than before.

I see the exact same thing, only that i see it in many spots over my LEFT eye. Exact same thing like looking at a bright light then closing my eyes and see that shiny object but in no particular form.

I suggest seeing a retina specialist and making sure they look very closely at the retina ( though you can't tell an eye doctor what to do I suppose).

Since i was diagnosed, and when the MEWDS is at its worst, i have severe night blindness in the one eye and usually my peripheral vision is also affected by this. Many times i have scraped knees, cracked toes and scraped on walls with my shoulder.

I hope this helps and I can say that my general eye doctor says he can't do anything about it i.e. no treatment for it.

:)

[doobie07]

No, you are most definitely not the only one. I'm in contact with several other people with this exact same thing. None has a diagnosis.

My feeling is, it's either something totally benign or it's something really obscure without much written about it in the medical literature.

One thing you might want to look at, though it's been ruled out in my case, is MEWDS (multiple effervescent white dot syndrome) or associated conditions.

You fit the profile for that - female, young etc.

I too wonder about the phosphene thing. Like you say, it seems the spot is somewhat predictable in its behaviour, being "triggered" by blinking or moving your eye a certain way.

if it were a bleed behind the retina, for example, you would expect it to be constant and unvariable - not changing colour.

I hope Dr Hagen answers your other post. I'm most interested in his opinion on this.

[Astroturf]

No, I do not have migraines, and my "bright spot" is never associated with headaches.

I'm really beginning to think it is either CSR or some kind of pressure phosphene. But if it is a phosphene, then my questions would be:

1. Why does it come and go? When it appears, why does it stay for several weeks? What are the mechanics behind transient pressure like that?

2. What is causing the pressure?

I also read online that certain types of thyroid conditions can cause eye symptoms, and specifically, a pressure phosphene on upgaze. I do notice that my bright spot appears most often when I go from looking down to up. And I just had a baby, too. I think women's thyroids can be affected after giving birth.

Who knows? It is such a weird symptom. I'm just glad to know I'm not the only one!

[doobie07]

Astroturf, have you ever suffered from migraine with aura? From reading the posts it seems that most people with this problem also have a history of auras (even though the two seem completely unrelated). I'd be curious to know.

[doobie07]

I would be interested to know what Doctor Hagen makes of it ...

I will also do a search here. Thank you.

[Astroturf]

I have the exact same thing as you describe. Several people on this board do. Do a search of "bright spot in vision," or something similar, and you will see alot of posts/answers describing the same symptoms.

I keep wondering if mine is Central Serous Retinopthy (sp?). I fit the demographics for that, except that I am female. However, almost everyone with this symptom says they haven't gotten a diagnosis. If it were CSR, I'd think the doctors could see that.