Unable to focus eyes

[kim964]

I am a 39 year old female. I suffer from migraine (usually normal migraine but I do very occasionally - ie twice a year, experience aura symptoms where I see a crinkly line. In the last two weeks I have had two unusual episodes. I get a strange feeling in my head, and then I have vision problems. I can see clearly if I shut one eye at a time although my head swims if I move it. But if I try to see through both eyes then I can't get my eyes to focus together. It is not double vision and it is not blurred - I just can't get my eyes to work together. The vision problem lasts between 10 and 15 minutes then returns to normal. I remain feeling weak and wobbly for some hours afterwards.
I have an iron deficiency problem - I am not anaemic but have a ferritin stores count of 9. The Dr has noticed a rumbling in my neck - they are unsure at the moment whether this is a bruit or may be coming from my heart. I also suffer intermittently from a humming sound in one side of my head which may be tinnitus. I had this sound in my head for a day before my last vision episode.
I have seen an Ophthalmologist yesterday and my eyes are fine and he thinks the episodes are migraine. I am less convinced because I have had aura migraine and have read about other people's description of this and have never heard of anyone describing this type of vision symptom with aura migraine.
I would be very grateful for any advice.
Thank you.

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Hi, Thank you for your question. If your vision is normal then it is most likely due to migraine. Generally, one sided headache & orbital pain (eye pain or blurring of vision) symptoms could be suggestive of migraine. The mainstay of the migraine treatment is always to identify the triggering factors and to avoid them. Triggering factors could be different foods such as cheese, chocolate, alcohol and even few fruits. Other factors that may induce your migraine attack may be contraceptive pills, stress or depression, bright lights, loud noise and traveling. Few women experience headache more commonly during the time of their menstrual periods & at the time of hormonal imbalance. I would suggest careful record of events that have proceeded with the attack and avoid those factors. In addition, try to rest in a dark & quiet room, meditate, have a balanced diet and avoid taking unnecessary drugs. Even then if you suffer continuous headache, please arrange an appointment with a neurologist right away who will evaluate the further underlying disorders by clinically examine you & ordering MRI or CT scan here that may be the main reasons of your migraine attacks and can provide you an appropriate treatment. Hope this information proves helpful to you. Take Care & Regards!!!

[kim964]

Thanks very much. I am hoping to see a cardiologist soon. Thanks for taking the time to write back to me - very helpful.

[ggreg]

Kim,
I think you should visit a cardiologist group.  The reasons are several, and could be I am incorrect.  But low serum iron is sometimes linked to a cardiovascular problem.  In addition, that possible bruit in your neck can be linked to a similar situation going on in your eyes.  And if you've got blood rushing and surging around improperly, that may be what you're hearing as a humming sound.

Now, this may or may not apply to you, but I find it very interesting.  You may have heard that birth control pills can be dangerous to women over the age of 35 because of its link to cardiovascular disease.  AND some women get bad headaches on account of using birth control pills (or maybe migraines?).  If you're taking them, therefore, altho I'm not suggesting this would be a "cure" by any means, you may wish to rethink your method of contraception.  

Anyhow, get thee to a cardiologist, I don't like the sound of any of your symptoms, and I think the heart doc might be real interested in trying to help you.  If he can treat your heart situation, could be your eyes will do better.  If not, then going the neuro route, a brain scan might be helpful, to see what in the world is going on with your optic nerve, muscles, and anything related to your eyesight that might point to another completely different problem.  But it is true that migraines are, to me at least, a very mysterious and quite debilitating health issue, my best friend in college had them, she was number one in her class at a large university, so she was not kidding around when she got hit with those.  Hope some of all this helps you out!
GG