temporay blindness

[SonicTaylor]

Hi I am 16 years old and a couple of times a day I will experience temporary blindness that will usually last no more than 10 to 20 seconds.   This is also followed by dizziness or loss of balance.  i will also feel pain in the upper part of my eye near the eyebrows.  I will usually get low to the floor and wait for it to pass.  I have no history of seizures but diabetes and heart disease runs in my family.  I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what I should do or what this condition might be.


This discussion is related to Teenage Temporary Blindness.

[Swampfoxer]

Have any of you gone to your family doctor first, then to a neurologist as well as an opthamologist?

Many years ago I ahd some of the same symptoms.  It would start with feeling dizzy, then a sudden headache (like someone had hit me with an iron skillet on one side of my head), brown out (I could hear what was going on around me but couldn't see), and then come out of it within a minute or two.  

My piano teacher noticed that I would slow down but continue playing, my eyes would dialate and I would pitch off to the side.  My Mother had told me that I was too young to have headaches so frequently and dismissed them as attention seeking.  My piano teacher, also a Church friend of the family, spoke with my Mother and discovered that she was taking me to the OPTOMITRIST every 3-6 months. She gave Mom the name of an excellent OPTHAMOLOGIST... and told her the difference.

Long story short, I had macular edemas on the muscles behind both eyes.  Did a whole bunch of blood tests and no reason given why they were there. Within a year they were gone but scar tissue on the muscles so I don't see 20/20.

If you are not happy with your Dr, go find another Dr or go to a teaching hospital that specializes in your needs.  MDs are not capable of knowing everything, that's why they specialize and concentrate on learning about that area and study research in that arena.  

[kkrylee]

My 16 yr old daughter has been having the vision blackouts for 4 years now.  It happens every day 10-20 times a day and each time last less than a minute.  We have seen every specialist and had tons of testing done.  The only thing that was determined is that she has Orthostatic Hypotension (her blood pressure fluctuates dramatically with movements like sitting then standing).  A Tilt Table Test was done to determine this.  Lots of teens have POTS which is very similar with the same symptoms: fainting or near fainting, vision loss, and feeling very sickly when the blood pressure drops dramatically.

[nicole2323]

Hi. I'm a 15 year old girl. I woke up one morning before school and I was fine for a couple minutes. I went to the bathroom and then I couldn't see. There was also a ringing in my ears, my stomach hurt very badly, and I felt extremely hot. I also couldn't think straight and I didn't know what to do. I went back to bed. Then, I prayed and my stomach got a little better and I fell asleep, when I woke up everything was fine.

Also, I don't know if these two are related, but last summer I kept almost passing out, I passed out twice,  I don't have eating problems and I wasn't dehydrated or anything. My vision would start turning black and closing in and when I stopped moving and stood still for a few seconds it would go away. It still happens sometimes.

Anyone got any answers for either of those because I am clueless. We didn't go to the doctor for the first one, for the second one they said to call them if it happened again but didn't have any answers.

If anyone can help me out that would be great! I  just want to know what some possible reasons might be.

[SonicTaylor]

I recently went to my family doctor and i was told that i have a murmur in my carotid artery and that was the most likely cause of my symptoms. I have yet to see a neurologist but I have an appointment in a few months.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

I would like to ask if you ever had the loss of vision without getting dizzy at the same time. And do you have nausea / vomiting?

There are a few possible causes that I can think of right now. The first one is Migraine. You may not have had the headaches, but there are cases where the associated visual loss can come. This is a vascular problem.

Any space occupying lesion in the brain which presses on the optic nerve or raises the ICP (intracranial pressure) can also lead to dizziness ad transient blindness, but in such cases, the loss of vision is not total. It is usually a double vision or a blurred vision.

Syncope could be the third possibility. Check your blood parameters, especially the hemoglobin and blood pressure.

Have you consulted a Neurologist?

Regards