Anyone get blurry vision regularly?

sarahp

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This has become more of a problem lately. I read for a while and my vision goes blurry. It's not just blurry, I get flashes of bright light, zig zag lines flashing across my vision, then a headache often comes on afterwards.

A bit of research seems to suggest this is an ophthalmic migraine. I'm doing more reading now than I have in a while since I'm doing 3 subjects for university, and they all involve a lot of reading.

I got my eyes checked 2 weeks ago, the optometrist thought I was a little long sighted, so I got glasses, which I was wearing when I got this mornings loss of vision. The optometrist did a thorough check of my eyes and everything else looked fine.

I was only reading for about 15 minutes when it came on.

Anyone had this, or know what could cause such regular problems, when my eyes are otherwise fine?
 

clixpix

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Opthalmic migraine sounds about right. I get them occasionally, and it's very scary.

However, I'd still give your eye doctor a call just to run these symptoms by him/her. Also, has your blood pressure been checked recently? Hypertension can cause blurry vision as well.
 

strange_wings

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What's the difference between a ophthalmic migraine and a migraine with aura if you get the headache part after the visual symptoms?
If all the obvious stuff checks out fine it sounds like you may have to go to a neurologist.

Though most people don't know it, low blood pressure can cause visual problems and headaches as well (has to do with lack of blood to the brain) - so if you're blood pressure is low to normal it could still be a factor.
 

libby74

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The optometrist did a thorough check of my eyes and everything else looked fine
By optometrist I assume you mean someone who sells eyeglasses? I would see an opthamologist for a much more thorough exam.

What's the difference between a ophthalmic migraine and a migraine with aura if you get the headache part after the visual symptoms?
I was wondering that, too. When I have a migraine I always experience a visual aura beforehand. It's the mention of flashes of light you mentioned that would concern me, as that can be an indication of a retinal tear.
Please schedule an appointment with a opthamologist to be on the safe side.
 
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sarahp

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Originally Posted by clixpix

Opthalmic migraine sounds about right. I get them occasionally, and it's very scary.

However, I'd still give your eye doctor a call just to run these symptoms by him/her. Also, has your blood pressure been checked recently? Hypertension can cause blurry vision as well.
I'm going tomorrow to see my regular doctor. My blood pressure is pretty stable - I take BP meds because of my heart surgery, and check my blood pressure every now and again, and haven't noticed any changes.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

What's the difference between a ophthalmic migraine and a migraine with aura if you get the headache part after the visual symptoms?
If all the obvious stuff checks out fine it sounds like you may have to go to a neurologist.
I've gotten migraines with auras and this is definitely different. A regular migraine I am rolling around on the bed in agony, any noise, and any light causes intense pain, it takes ages to go away, I feel incredibly nauseous and it wipes me out 24-48 hours after the migraine. This is like a migraine aura, but it only lasts 10-15 minutes, and is followed by a headache (rather than a migraine attack). I can still function with the headache, I just can't see properly until the aura clears up. I still sometimes also get nausea, but not as bad as with a full on migraine.

Originally Posted by libby74

By optometrist I assume you mean someone who sells eyeglasses? I would see an opthamologist for a much more thorough exam.
Yes it was an optometrist, not an ophthalmologist - I thought my problems were just me maybe needing glasses. He did a thorough exam - looking in my eyes, eye tests, peripheral vision tests, and doing all sorts of weird and wonderful things.

I'll see the doc tomorrow and see what he says.

I still have some lingering nausea and a bit of a headache, and it's really affecting my study.
 

xocats

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It sounds exactly like an ophthalmic migraine, which can be scary but pain free or include head pain....
You need a work-up by an ophthalmologist or specialist of some kind.

I get them occasionally...
for me it's like looking though a glass prism ....
all the colors of the rainbow moving in random directions.
This describes mine fairly well.
http://www.relieve-migraine-headache...-migraine.html

Physical stress bring mine on....
cramped neck type stress or to much aerobic activity.
 
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sarahp

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What does an ophthalmologist do?
 

strange_wings

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^ It's like the difference between your regular family doctor and going to a specialist. Ophthalmologist deal more with diagnosing and treating eye diseases, and related problems. Though it's good to know that you check out ok on all the regular tests you've already had. Chances are that your optometrist was thorough enough to make sure there was nothing wrong with your retinas.
 

gailc

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I had to go to an opthamologist about 20 yrs ago when I had a severe eye infection.
They have much more training. In fact it was an optomotrist who referred me to the opthamologist. They are the doc that can do the eye surgeries.

It would hurt to get a 2nd opinion.
 

xocats

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Originally Posted by sarahp

What does an ophthalmologist do?
An ophthalmologist is an MD with years of training in the specialty of eyes and related issues.

Optometrists are not medical doctors (MDs), they cannot do surgery nor do they have hospital privileges. I am not sure but I think they are allowed to prescribe some meds.

An Optometrist is an excellent option for a glasses perscription....
but if eye disease might be an issue, an exam by an ophthalmologist is your best choice.
 
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sarahp

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Ok thanks guys, I just booked in with an Ophthalmologist for Monday - they said to expect to be there for 2 hours! I'll still keep my appointment for tomorrow anyway to see if there's anything else they can think of.

I didn't realise that an optometrist wasn't an MD.
 

gailc

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I think they are a doctor of optometry but not a medical doctor.
I know the one I see can write prescriptions but I'm sure it limited to eye stuff.
 

carolpetunia

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Let me tell a quick story:

My mom (who had never had any serious trouble with her eyes) has always gone to the ophthalmologist every two years like clockwork -- just because she's cautious about these things. She wants her eyes checked by a real doctor, not just an optometrist.

Well, about seven years ago, she went to her usual appointment expecting just a new glasses prescription, and the ophthalmologist told her he was certainly glad she had come in at that particular time, because she was within days or weeks of going blind!

It turned out that she had developed glaucoma -- and because of the way the blood vessels in her eyes are structured, it was not the simple standard kind, but something they call narrow-angle or closed-angle glaucoma. Regular glaucoma can cause blindness over a relatively long period of time, so you get some warning symptoms and you go to the doctor... but narrow-angle glaucoma can blind you so fast you can't even get an appointment before it's all over! In some cases, it can happen literally overnight.

Could an optometrist have caught that? I don't know, maybe... but the stakes are so high that I tend to side with Mom on this: ophthalmologists are worth their rates!

By the way -- narrow angles (the condition that puts you at risk for this really bad kind of glaucoma) can be hereditary, so my brother and I both got tested for them, and we don't have them, thank goodness. However, the test did reveal that I was developing regular glaucoma, so I caught it early and got on medication for that. I
my ophthalmologist!
 

strange_wings

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^ One precaution anyone at risk for narrow angle glaucoma should be aware of is that many medication can trigger an attack or worsen it. Always read the listed side effects for anything you take.

I worry a bit because a few years ago I had my eye pressure tested and was told it was twice what someone my age should have. Apparently it's normal now - I was having a lot of migraines back then through.
 

crazyforinfo

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Originally Posted by sarahp

This has become more of a problem lately. I read for a while and my vision goes blurry. It's not just blurry, I get flashes of bright light, zig zag lines flashing across my vision, then a headache often comes on afterwards.

A bit of research seems to suggest this is an ophthalmic migraine. I'm doing more reading now than I have in a while since I'm doing 3 subjects for university, and they all involve a lot of reading.

I got my eyes checked 2 weeks ago, the optometrist thought I was a little long sighted, so I got glasses, which I was wearing when I got this mornings loss of vision. The optometrist did a thorough check of my eyes and everything else looked fine.

I was only reading for about 15 minutes when it came on.

Anyone had this, or know what could cause such regular problems, when my eyes are otherwise fine?
Keep a food diary.
Is it hormonal? Do they happen before your period?

I still have no clue what causes mine but I am 90% sure it's hormonal. I have seen my ophthalmologist and he can find not anything wrong.

I am sorry you are getting them. I know what a pain they are. Do you get numbness?
 
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sarahp

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I think bright light is a trigger - I always wear sunglasses outside, because my left eye in particular is really sensitive to sunlight, but I'm not sure why they've come on so strong recently. They started about a year ago when I was pregnant - the docs were worried it was pre-eclampsia, but it was just the start of ocular migraines.

I don't get numbness.
 

crazyforinfo

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Originally Posted by sarahp

I think bright light is a trigger - I always wear sunglasses outside, because my left eye in particular is really sensitive to sunlight, but I'm not sure why they've come on so strong recently. They started about a year ago when I was pregnant - the docs were worried it was pre-eclampsia, but it was just the start of ocular migraines.

I don't get numbness.
How often are you getting them? Yes bright light triggers them for me but I noticed I get them exactly 1 week before my period.
 
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sarahp

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I'm getting them once or twice a week. I just saw the doc and be also wants a head CT and me to see a neurologist just in case.
 

catsknowme

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Originally Posted by sarahp

I'm getting them once or twice a week. I just saw the doc and be also wants a head CT and me to see a neurologist just in case.
Sending prayers and vibes that they clear up
I went to ER for something similar (I'm a veteran migraine sufferer
) because I had numbness & confusion that lasted all weekend, but the doctor thought it was a new version of migraine, so I took Amerge (@ $31/pill
) but it didn't help one way or the other.
The pain isn't as bad as an acute migraine (mine are hormonal and/or food & fragrance induced) but combined with dizziness & blurred vision, makes office work very difficult.
 
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