Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Eye Care (Expert Forum)
Increased blurry vision but no diagnosis?
Our Ask A Doctor Ophthalmology Forum is where you can post your question and receive a personal answer from physicians affiliated with the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Increased blurry vision but no diagnosis?
by Shauna__0, Jun 02, 1999 12:00AM
Posted by Shauna on June 02, 1999 at 15:28:02
I am a 23 yr old female. I have seen an internist, opthalmologist, and neuro with no diagnoses. About 4 yrs ago, I noticed that my left eye was blurrier than the right, it is dimmer, and signs that are lit up at night, are all blurred together. My opthalmologist says that my vision is better than 20/20. At first they thought it was occular migraines, but it is not intermittent (although I do have times that I see a "cotton" like patch off to the side - this has happened in both eyes). The vision gets worse over night, about every 6 months. There will be something else that I can not read/see that I know I could before (now I can't even see street signs out of left eye until I'm right up on them). Each time this happens, I visit the opthalmologist and he says my eyes are perfectly healthy.
I have also seen a neurologist a few times. I have twitching all over my body. He said they were benign fasciculations, but gives no explanation for the eyes. They act like they are not related.
I have had an MRI and a visual evoked response test. Both were normal/negative. They were looking for MS (only to prove to me that I don't have it, they said). I have also had a visual field test at the opthalmologist which was normal.
I have had no weakness, although I do sometimes feel trembly and fatigued (only recently - stress maybe?). Some things that I do not think are related but thought I will mention just in case...I have a numb spot on my back that gets itchy and irritated and has spread over the last few years. Internist says it is some kind of damage to some nerve. Over the last year, have had an increase in hair growth (where it never was before) on stomach, breasts, and face. It is dark, course hair and it is getting worse. This is very bothersome to me. The gynecologist basically said "that's life." She said it was not hormones, because I am on the pill and that would have taken care of it.
I just can't help but worry that all of these symptoms could be related. Are there any suggestions of what could be causing this? Some of my eye symptoms seem like what I've read about ON, but could it last this long? Wouldn't the doctors find something like that by now? Are the twitching and blurriness related? Would it benefit me to go to a neuro-opthalmologist? What do they do that a regular opthalmologist doesn't do? My main concern is my vision. I could live with everything else, but my vision is getting worse. Please, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Shauna
Posted by Shauna on June 02, 1999 at 15:30:41
I forgot to mention that I also got floaters in both eyes at the same time I noticed my vision getting blurry. LOTS
Posted by HFHS MD - NI on June 02, 1999 at 18:25:06
Shauna,
You seem to have problems affecting several different areas of the body. It is reasonable to search for a diagnosis which may tie these things together although it is not always possible to find one cause.
The fact that you notice something wrong with your vision despite the ophthalmologist obtaining normal readings is a little surprising. Usually blurry vision is detectable on this test. Normal visual fields and MRI are reassuring.
Since you have some neurologic symptoms which the internist, neurologist and ophthalmologist have not been able to explain, I agree with your idea to see a neuro-ophthalmologist. He specializes in the types of symptoms you describe and if anyone can help, he should be able to. It would also be reassuring if he feels things are normal.
I doubt that the floaters are a contributing problem, as they are common, but the neuro-ophthalmologist can also examine them.
I hope you find an answer for your problems.
Sincerely,
HFHS MD - NI
Posted by chuck hall on June 08, 1999 at 16:36:11
I have just started searching on the Net for some answers to my blurry right eye. Thought I might start here, and maybe you someone could give some ideas.
My symptoms are quite simple. I feel fine. I am not aware of anything going on that I should be concerned about, but I have a blurry right eye many times when I awake and it goes on for days or weeks.Sometimes it is much worse than others. It is as if I have some kind of "film" over my eyeball. I have tried eye wash, to no avail. Then suddenly the blurriness disapears, only to return again days, or weeks later. My opthomologist didn't notice anything when I saw him about a year ago. However, the blurriness was not very prevelent at that time. Any advise you could give would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Posted by HFHS MD - NI on June 14, 1999 at 22:23:53
Blury vision is a very nonspecific finding and can be caused by many things ranging from the eyelids and cornea to the retina and optic nerve. Anything in between can also cause blurry vision.
It is reassuring that your ophthalmologist did not find anything abnormal. You may want to be reexamined since this is occuring more frequently. It would be especially helpful to be examined during one of the episodes.
This information is provided for educational purposes only.
