rapid, extreme vision change during pregnancy

[tiredbuthappy]

OK. this is driving me crazy. I know vision changes are normal during pregnancy- i had it last time, and every site I read says so. But last time, both eyes were affected equally, and it wasn't severe. This time, my right eye is very rapidly losing vision. The sites say nothing about that. I have gone from better than 20/20 vision, to having trouble reading the laptop less than 2 ft from my face when using only the right eye. It's annoying as heck because the other eye is fine. It's like wearing sunglasses where one side is fogged up. Has anyone ever experienced vision loss in only 1 eye?? I am concerned that the other eye is going to get strained compensating for the right. why is it that i must get every random symptom that a person has the slightest chance of getting?
i have a dr's appointment tommorrow and it's the first thing i'm going to ask, but i thought i'd see if anyone else went through this and what they did. Most sites say it's not worth getting a prescription for glasses because it will constantly change until it resolves itself after birth.

[tjohnelle]

I am going thrue that sane thing right now. This site is the only thing I have found close to what I am dealing with . My vision was fine before I became pregnant
It's my 5th pregnancy and it started out normal. My eyes were itchy as usual. I have allergies but my left eye was very dry and itchy.my dr told me to go ahead and use allergy eye drops. I didn't use them.often. well a couple months ago I noticed my left eye was blurry
And it has since gotten worse. My tests are all normal. The GE test and my blood pressure are all normal. I have severe tingling in my arms and hands everyday
My body is an itchy mess and my left eye has become a complete blurr. I went to opthemologist and he said I have cataracts in left eye and needs surgery. I was fine before pregnancy. No glasses or anything. So my dr is sending me to her eye specialist for second opinion. She said I'm too young for cataracts and to make sure nothing else is going on. I am praying it's the pregnancy!! What ever happened with your sight after you gave birth Tiredbuthappy?????? Thank you

[tiredbuthappy]

So, apparently my doctor does not think this is normal. He sent me immediately to an opthamologist. He was concerned that it is either a detached retna or possibly due to a blood clot. He had them draw 11 (that's right- eleven) vials of blood right there to start the blood tests to check for a clotting disorder. He is concerned because if it were due to a clotting disorder, it could possibly be linked to my preeclampsia from last time.

The opthamologist he wanted me to see wasn't in today, so I saw her partner. My symptoms apparently aren't too severe but do indicate pressure on the optic nerve. She said it can be due to a number of things, from virus to pregnancy to ??? Luckily, the retna looks good. So, she's having me go back to see her partner on Wednesday whose specialty is neuroopthamology. She wanted to consult my OB about doing scans and blood work to see if they are safe during pregnancy.
Apparently my vision isn't actually that bad in that eye. While it seems like it is to me, it's actually about 25/20. I do have some problems with peripheral vision in that eye, and I am seeing colors differently.

So, I have no answers- just more to worry about. It seems I just can't have a "normal" pregnancy. I have been joking that by the time i'm done having kids, I'll have every organ in my body thoroughly examined. 1 1/2 pregnancies, and I've seen a cardiologist, renal specialist, pulmonologist, and now opthamologist. And the MRI will cover my brain. DH was listing the organs left to cover.

[amy0013]

I am NOT trying to make light of your situation because I know it must be frustrating and worrisome for you.  I hope you doctor is able to shed some light on your situation to put your mind at ease.  Here is what happened to me last pregnancy...I accidentally switched my contacts (I have two different prescriptions) and didn't realize it until it was time to put in a new pair!  I spent a MONTH thinking my vision was funky from pregnancy only to find out I stupidly switched my contacts!!!  doah!  :)  

[spade22]

Ok good - your BP numbers sound great and you dont have GB so neither of those things are likely to be any underlying cause.

The primary reason for vision changes during pregnancy is extra pressure (fluid build up) in and around the eye.  Just a small amount of fluid can make a big difference to your vision and since your eyes are going to have subtle differences to begin with, having an asymmetric-like effect is definitely possible.

I havent been able to dig up any good literature on this topic but I did find a scientific article in which changes in eye sight were about 12% more prominent in the left eye than the right eye during pregnancy.  I can only view the abstract though and its a little complicated for me but that does illustrate that eye changes are not necessarily equal (for want of a better term).

If you have noticed this over a 2 week time frame (as opposed to over a few days) and have put in a call to your doctor, who is very proactive, then things sound somewhat encouraging that this is in the realm of "normal" (especially if you dont have other symptoms).  How incredibly scary for you though - I hope you get some definitely answers tomorrow about this.

[tiredbuthappy]

I am monitoring my BP carefully since I had preeclampsia last time. It's still nice and low- usually 110/60, when "high" it's 115/68. I passed my glucose screening less than 2 weeks ago.

I guess I started to notice some changes in my night vision about 2 weeks ago. By this past Thursday it was bad enough to put a call in to my doctor. It's continued to get progressively worse since. The nurse said she thought it was normal, but that she'd ask the doctor and get back to me. They are normally extremely thorough, so I assumed that it is indeed normal.

I had class Thursday night and someone wrote on the board with red marker. With both eyes, I could read the word clearly. With my right eye, I couldn't even tell there was a word there :(

[spade22]

Vision changes during pregnancy are normal but  "rapid, extreme" vision changes can be symptoms of other underlying conditions.   How has your BP been this time around? When you say you have had "rapid" vision loss, what time frame are you talking about?

If your vision has been deteriorating very rapidly I would give your doctor a call TODAY and let them know what is going on.