weird eye thing

[illinwithoutacause]

hello again, everyone,

i hope everyone has had a relaxing weekend.  we have had some cold weather--well, cold for us, anyway--but i actually prefer the cold these days so i am enjoying it.

i have been having eye issues for most of the duration of whatever it is that's going on with me--burning eyes, redness, abnormal pupil dilation, stabbing pains, floaters, peripheral flashes, etc.  i have also noticed that i have some variation in my color vision--more noticeably in my left eye--which comes and goes.  the weird thing about it is that if i am laying in bed on my left side, the color vision in my right eye fades slightly.  if i lay on my right side, the color vision in my decreases.

has anyone heard of or experienced such a thing?  i posted to the ophthalmology forum and the doc there just said he had no idea what i was talking about and to go see an ophthalmologist.  i don't have an appointment scheduled until the spring with my neuro-ophtho, and i just can't add another appointment onto my schedule at this point.  i just wanted to see if anyone here might have had a similar experience.

thanks!
xoxo
binx

[illinwithoutacause]

hi faithHGL,

thanks, again, for all the good thoughts.

your eye stuff sounds so much like mine.  crazy business, isn't it??

you may be right about your disc/neck issues are connected to your illness.  my rheumy told me that spinal cord trauma/injury can sometimes, albeit rarely, trigger autoimmune responses.  i will be sure to report what relief my surgery affords me.

best wishes,
binx

[faithhopegreatestlove]

Hey, binx,
I feel strange saying that I'm excited that you'll be getting your surgery so soon, relatively speaking.
I, too, have strange problems with my eyes. I've had terrible eye infections, a persistent flash of light across the upper left quadrant of my left eye (over 2 years now), floaters, problems in my peripheral vision, and stabbing pains in both eyes, but mostly my left. My eyes get really tired and I've had some near misses driving at night. I've had some testing and absolutely no answers to the problem. My theory is that the disk protrusions and other issues in my neck and some type of inflammatory/autoimmune process are the root cause of my eye problems and perhaps the other neuro issues I'm having. It'll be interesting to see if your eye issues improve after your surgery!

Prayers and best wishes to you!!!!!!
--faithHGL

[illinwithoutacause]

hi jibs,

yes, i have my surgery scheduled for next monday afternoon.  i thought i posted the details--i'm sorry!

i have had the weird color vision on and off for over a year, along with all the other freaky visual stuff.  my neuro-ophtho said my exams have all been normal, and said some people who are severely near sighted (like me) can have variations in their color vision.  since my OCT was within normal range, and VEPs were also normal, neither he nor the second opinion neuro i saw earlier this year felt i had optic neuritis.  i have also had the visual fields testing done checking my red vision and that was also normal.

i guess my question is why would my color vision change depending upon which side i am laying on?  does blood flow have an impact on optic neuritis?

sometimes i wish i could go to the mayo clinic and have all my doctors in one place communicating with each other to get all these crazy questions answered.  but, that place isn't always a medical panacea from what i have heard from others.

xoxxx
binx

[jibjen]

Hey Binx,

I think Maria is right..I have had my eye issues similar but never any distortion of color...
I too am surprised the doc seemed mystified..especially with past tests results and notations of optic nerve..does someone need to be hit over the head with a frying pan???

Geezzz... Surgery???? next week??? did I miss something??? oh goodness Binx..I'm sorry..Do you think being off the meds has contributed???When do you go i for surgery?

Jenny

[illinwithoutacause]

hi maria,

i'm sorry you've been feeling poorly.  i thought that might be happening since we hadn't heard from you.  please take good care of yourself.

you know, i have had two VEPs done in the past year, and two OCTs, with the most recent one in October.  The OCT revealed that there was some minimal thinning of the optic nerve in my left optic nerve, but it was completely within normal range.

the color vision stuff comes and goes.  right now, it's fine.

my neuro-ophthalmologist did note last year that there was some inflammation of the arteries feeding my optic nerves for which i have been taking plaquenil and taking 81mg baby aspirin.  i have had to stop taking both of those medications in preparation for my surgery next week and i have noticed my symptoms worsening.  i don't know if it's psychological or what.

xoxo
hugs,
binx

[MrsAristotle]

I wonder if you have optical neuritis, one of the classic symptoms is variation in color vision, pain and burning is quite common too.  Have a read about it, you can only really test for this with a visual evoked potential test, but does sound like some sort of inflammation.

I am surprised the ophthalmologist didnt understand what you were saying on the forum he is a numpty.

Hope everything else is ok. Big hug. Been off colour but will write soon, struggling with all kinds of things lol. xxxx Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving.

[illinwithoutacause]

i meant to say, "if i lay on my right side, the color vision in my LEFT EYE decreases.

sorry.