Anyone else have a visual field defect???

[santana8]

I was just wondering if anyone else has a visual field defect! I haven't noticed anyone else listing it as a symtom. And I was also wondering if visual field defects are common in MS?

~Santana~

[pennst8r]

Not sure if this is what you mean, but my whole visual field will "jump" 2 to 3 times, always to the left. The med I take for myoclonus also happens to help this a fair amount

Also have some visual field involvement with one or both of my eye issues (macular degeneration and optic neuritis)

Penn

[santana8]

Hi, thanks for resoponding. Did you have a visual field test done? If so what kind of visual field defect(blind area,scotoma) did it show?

~Santana~

[pennst8r]

I did have a visual field done back in Feb. I know there was an area where I caught nothing, so I guess that would be a blind area. I am requesting the records from that test this week, as I finally have my new neuro appt in July. I do not have a Dx yet.

Will follow up when I go pick the report up. All my brain retained from that (was actually a couple appts) was the shock of them finding ON and mac. degen on the same day. My eyes had always been great, and I'm way too young for MD.

Penn

[santana8]

Be sure to let me know what the report says. I have had about five visual field test done over the past two years and I am scheduled for another one in July. I have them all in a folder together. If I lay them all out on a table from first to latest I can actually see the changes in the defect over time. The blind area has gotten smaller and faded a lot since April 2006.  I finally relized that it is a lot easier to ask for  a copy of each doctor appointment at the end of the appointment. I used to have to go back and get reports all of the time, but now I just automatically ask for a copy and it is so much easier to keep all of my record together this way. I will be watching for your update. If you want you can PM me the results!

~Santana~

[MrsPriz]

Something I have often wondered...  I have Pigmentary Dispersement Syndrome, which is causing Pigmentary Glaucoma.  
In addition to MS I also have Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

I have always wondered if there were any kind of connection between the eye issues and one or both of the other.

When I ask my docs they typically say. ..  well it is possible, but who knows.
So frustrating.
~D

[6-paq]

I have been diagnosed with Pigmentary Dispersion Syndrome by my ophthalmologist.  I do not have Glaucoma, and my opthal checks my eye pressure and runs a vision field test every 6 months.

I have no history of ON and have had normal visual field tests.   I am still un-diagnosed with MS.

I had never heard of PDS before and when googling it, find that 80% of the people with it are near-sighted, young males.  I'm a far-sighted, middle-aged female!!  So, how did I beat those odds?

When reading, I didn't find any connection between MS and PDS, but who knows like you said.

BTW, my father had Psoriasis, but no one else in the family has/had it.

Just curious to see someone else with PDS.

Take care, Pat :)

[santana8]

Does anyone know if visual field defects are common or found at all in MS?

~Santana~

[pennst8r]

I think that's a question for Quix. I know one of my sisters could hardly see at all when her first attack hit - still has visual issues when she has a relapse. The other had no visual issues at all, still to this day. I know ON is fairly common, but that's the extent of my knowledge.

You may want to PM Quix to make sure she sees your question. I'm interested to know as well.

Penn

[santana8]

Hi again, seems like we are bumping into eachother alot tonight,LOL!  Couldn't think of a nicer person to talk to though! This is what I am noticing with a lot of people on the forum. Most of them have visual dysturbance eg, blured vision only in flares and it seems to come and go. This is very different from my experience. My vision went haywire all at once and has slowly improved over the last two years. I have had no recurances of any of the visual symptoms, only improvement. Though my vision is still not normal, once it improved some the change remained stable. I think I  will repost this and ask this question directly! Good talking to you tonight! Message me anytime you need to talk!

Your Friend,
~Santana~

[dannig]

I had an OCT (optical coherence tomography) at a neuro-ophthamologist office.  Did you have some type of test done?  If so what kind of test was it?
Danni  

[santana8]

I have had five visual field test. I also have had a VEP which was abnormal.
Have you had a visual field test done? What does the OTC check for?

~Santana~

[ohwild]

what type of VEP did you have done, I just looked it up and there are loads of catorgaries,
what was the abnormal bit? the checker board is horrid, wavey line stuff
Hugs
CJ :)

[santana8]

I had the checker board about a year and a half ago. I just looked up the OCT that danni mentioned. It list a lot of test to messure vision damage, most of which I have never heard of before. There are three that I intend to ask my neuro and optho about.

The  Optical Coherence  Tomography (OCT)
Measures the reversibility of optic nerve damage.


The Multifocal Visual Evoked Potentials(MVEP)
Is attached to the scalp and shows damage to the visual pathways.

Computer recording of eye movements
Shows if the eyes are tracking together in all areas of gaze.

It is amazing how much we can learn from one another. My doctors have never mentioned these test to me before, but I will surley be mentioning them to my doctors now!

~Santana~

[ohwild]

I will read more on eye and light generated, OCT is based on low-coherence interferometry,  they will look at the retinas in both eyes using light , basically looking at the back of your eyes to see where the light hits, and if there is any differance between the eyes
not very helpful i know but will read up more on it and post you
hugs
CJ

[slightlybroken]

I had a visual field test. It was my first one. They are using it as a baseline for further testing. I had some noted blind spots. I was having trouble with double vision and a month earlier my peripheral vision was affected as well. I felt like I couldn't see as far with my side vision as I did. My left eye was blurred as well. The doctor thought that the double vision was caused from muscle weakness that line up the eyes. He also noticed that the left eye did not react to light as fast as the right eye. He said it was "sluggish".

He believed that I could have been suffering from ON further back on the nerve where he couldn't see because on exam everything looked good. Don't quote me on this, but I think I read somewhere that visual field defects are common in MS because of the optical nerve damage suffered from ON. When the myelin on the optical nerve is attacked, that part of vision can be effected causing a "loss" or a visual field defect. But like I said, Don't quote me on this.

[Rena705]

The friend of mine that is seeking information on the IVIG therapy has recently come to the realization that she has NO PERIPHERAL VISION!  She was asking me if this could be related to MS and I told her that I would imagine there is a connection there somewhere since she is healthy otherwise.  I suggested that she speak to her MS Specialist about this so that he can send her for testing.  She has had ON a few times but her sight always returned to normal.  I am curious as to what Quix will have to say about this and I hope you will get some relief soon honey!

Lots of Hugs,

Rena

[ohwild]

Do you mean she has tunnel vision? Peripheral vision is where you look straight ahead  and can see either way things coming in to vision. does she drive or wear glasses?
blessings
CJ
:)

[LATW]

I've had several vision field tests over the past year due to Optic Neuritis.  

They have all shown blind spots in my eye with ON.

I have a diagnosis of MS but I am not sure about your question of whether or not an abnormal vision field test is common in MS but I do know it is common with ON.

I guess it would stand to reason to say it is common in MS for those who have ON.  

But I am not sure about those who have never had ON. Not every one with MS has ON and not every one with ON has MS.

Confusing!

LA

[Rena705]

She doesn't drive and yes she does wear glasses.  She said that she was behind the counter at the drugstore and a customer was standing off to one side and that she just didn't see him at all.  Her hubby is finding it to be quite a game...seeing what he can get away with by doing things in her peripheral vision!...men!

[jensequitur]

I have problems with my vision, but it's the usual sob story - my neurologist has done nothing to verify the vision loss, or to test the extent of it.  I have trouble discerning several small objects on a shelf, for instance.  I also have a black spot in my right eye, lower left.  

[shoshin]

I had an OCT (optical coherence tomography) test a week or so ago (for the clinical trial I'm trying to get into). All I had to do was look at a little green dot--super-easy.

According to the ophthalmologist, MS doesn't seem to have affected my eyes or optic nerve at all--not even on the OCT.

Here is an interesting article about research trying to correlate OCT results with brain atrophy: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071015193523.htm. Here is the more technical abstract, but, unfortunately, the whole article is not freely available: http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/69/16/1603

sho