So i just got out of the ER ......

Not sure if this belongs here , but i thought i would share something interesting that has been happening with me .

About 6 months ago while attending a baby shower i was sitting on a futon when i noticed i my eyes start darkening around the sides and together with that my eyes became sensitive to light my reaction was " am i going blind right now !". So i jumped up and ran into the bathroom , my heart was pounding then my vision started to return about about 30 sec to a min . I didn't go fully black , i was not light headed, it was a very strange feeling . i marked it off as a reaction to the lightning in the room . Fast forward about 2 months and i was sitting at a restaurant with my wife and kids outside in the sun , it was very bright ,in fact i had my sunglasses on . I took them off and the same thing happened to me , so again i chalked it up to having something to do with my eyes adjusting to the light . few more months past an all was well , then it hit me again while i was cleaning my room ... these "attacks" seem to last only about 30 sec to a min ..if that ...

now were are in the month of Oct and i had two of these attacks one at night and one during the day . they were about two weeks apart and i noticed they did not lat long , they seemed shorter.

fast forward to Nov, tonight ... I dozed off while watching TV for about five min i think .. i woke up quickly and noticed my vision going weird again ! , this time many colors were involved .. i freaked out and almost called 911.. after about 30 sec to a min it slowly went away.


my first thought was that i was having a stroke because of the colors , then i thought now way i am only 31 , i dont feel confused ,ect.

so i took a trip to the ER thinking everything in the wold was wrong with me , "brain tumor " kept running through my head .

i told the Doc what was going on , and they diagnosed me with Acid re flux ?

what the ?

no CT scan , no blood work ? , the doc said my eyes were adjusting to the light ....
i gave him all my history of issues and the only issue i have ever really had was heart burn, and i had an oblation done on my heart when i was 16 , no big deal ..


so i guess what i am trying to say here is that i really feel that doc's are more skilled at the guessing game in many cases .
i hate gonig to the Dr's with a passion but i honestly feel i need to be proactive with this to get some answers .

so what do you guys think ? has anyone ever experienced this kind of thing with the eyes ? and been a victim of the "guessing diagnosis"?

i mean i really pressed the Dr. i said should i get a CT ? maybe some blood work ? she said "NO your fine , I dont see any signs that alarm me "

anyway , i am not sure if this is a rant or me seeking advice ... hope to hear your feed back ATS ty for your time !

Walsh

how scary this must be for you...I would follow up with an appointment with your family physicain so you have piece of mind...hang tough Im an older lady and have had health and mental issues my whole life it seems stay strong and follow through...truly shells4u

E.R.'s are for medical emergencies, doesn't sound like this was one of those. Something to follow up with your doctor or opthamologist, though. E.R. doctors aren't able to diagnose Everything.

originally posted by: AreUKiddingMe
E.R.'s are for medical emergencies, doesn't sound like this was one of those. Something to follow up with your doctor or opthamologist, though. E.R. doctors aren't able to diagnose Everything.

see seeing colors and partially going blind is not an emergency ?

i dono when your on my end of the stick it sure feels like an emergency.

just saying

just sayin, the episode had gone away like it normally does within about 30 seconds to a minute . I don't know what you were experiencing, it possibly could have been very scary for you.

When I first wake up it takes 10 minutes and a stout cup of coffee before I can see anything!

You used the word "panic". Panic attack is one of the things that can cause tunnel vision.

You mentioned heart-surgery. Temporary heart malfunction is another possible cause due to inadequate blood circulation , but if that was the cause you wouldn't "run" when it happened : you'd be close to fainting at the time if that was the cause.

You mentioned multi-coloured vision. Retinal migraine can cause kaleidoscopic aura and tunnel vision , ( headache usual but not necessarily present ).

originally posted by: engvbany
You used the word "panic". Panic attack is one of the things that can cause tunnel vision.

You mentioned heart-surgery. Temporary heart malfunction is another possible cause due to inadequate blood circulation , but if that was the cause you wouldn't "run"when it happened : you'd be close to fainting at the time if that was the cause.

yes but again , i was not having and lightheaded feeling , i mean can panic attacks just happen ? i have had them plenty of times and most of the time i work my way into one ...

maybe i am just freaking my self out ...

originally posted by: AreUKiddingMe
just sayin, the episode had gone away like it normally does within about 30 seconds to a minute . I don't know what you were experiencing, it possibly could have been very scary for you.

When I first wake up it takes 10 minutes and a stout cup of coffee before I can see anything!

i hear you ! , its just this is really hard to explain ...

i felt like i did the right thing by going to the ER , i just wish i had a piece of mind about what is going on with me i suppose .

a reply to: Walsh

I have acid reflux, but what you described sounds eerily similar to something else I have experienced on 2 occaisions.

Both of those occasions I had to be rushed to the hospital. The first time, I thought I was having a stroke (I was 21 or 22 at the time, very young).

It started out with very similar symptoms. I was seeing strange colors/lights, not feeling very well generally, but in my case it gradually got worse. Eventually I became extremely weak, felt one side of my body going numb, and lost all ability to function for the most part. I couldn't speak, walk, or do much of anything. The doctors thought I was having a stroke. After a CT and MRI, the doctors didn't know what to make of it.

Eventually my family doctor came in the next day (who is now retired) and told me it was a hemiplegic migraine (source).

It was extremely painful, and debilitating, and quite frankly, scary. My doctor told me I could have one at any time, or never again, and there was no way to know.

Turns out he was right, and I had one last summer. This one was slightly less terrifying, as I knew what I was experiencing this time around, but no less painful (I would actually say it was more painful), and I had recurring attacks within a few days after the initial incident, something I didn't experience all those years before.

I hope these symptoms aren't a sign of migraines for you, or especially Hemiplegic Migraines, because they are absolutely horrifying to experience. But I would recommend seeing a neurologist, just in case. In the case of migraines (even severe hemiplegic migraines), there are medications that can be prescribed that will essentially halt an attack from getting worse. Either way, I would suggest seeing a neurologist whether or not you think you might have the outset of similar symptoms. It certainly crept up on me out of nowhere.

a reply to: DeadSeraph

Hey DeadSeraph ! thank you very much for the info !

that makes me feel a bit better !

although i was not have any pain.... i had a slight head ache earlier on in the day ,but that was due to not eating breakfast or lunch i would assume ...

have you ever heard of silent headaches ? apparently they cause the same symptoms... really strange !

anyway thanks for your Knowledge !


Walsh

a reply to: Walsh

The same has been happening to me for the past year. I would sometimes feel lightheaded, faintish or mild vertigo. At the worst it would stop me in my tracks and I would lose complete vision where everything turned black and then my vision would come back with very colorful circles, spots or patterns. Turns out my blood pressure is low and my heart rate rises very fast. This was confirmed by monitoring my blood pressure and heart rate with the lie, sit-up, stand up test. Hope this might help you and best of luck with your diagnosis, btw please go to the doctor!

originally posted by: ckhk3
a reply to: Walsh

The same has been happening to me for the past year. I would sometimes feel lightheaded, faintish or mild vertigo. At the worst it would stop me in my tracks and I would lose complete vision where everything turned black and then my vision would come back with very colorful circles, spots or patterns. Turns out my blood pressure is low and my heart rate rises very fast. This was confirmed by monitoring my blood pressure and heart rate with the lie, sit-up, stand up test. Hope this might help you and best of luck with your diagnosis, btw please go to the doctor!

wow ! , my blood pressure did come to mind , what caused your blood pressure to drop ? just curious ?

ETA : i see you added your diagnosis , any word on why you were having a drop in blood pressure ?

i would think a neurologist would be the way to go but this sounds to me like something that will not be able to be diagnosed unless you are at the doc or in a scan while it is happening....

sometimes strange # just happens man...

a couple times a month i will be just sitting on the couch and i will go totally deaf in one ear...last about 10 seconds...just poof...gone...no hearing...nothing....then just as fast it comes back...

i dont freak too much but i do wonder if one of those times will be the time it does not come back...not going to put myself through a battery of test for it....

a reply to: Walsh
Genetically I'm predisposed to lower blood pressure (95-99) but I started a new birth control pill about a year ago (since then my blood pressure had been about 92/63). Went off the bc my blood pressure went back up to 99. So I believe it was the bc, I was having other severe symptoms so I will also be doing an MRI in January to rule out any brain abnormalities. In summary I believe it was the birth control but still unsure. I'm no Dr but listen to your body and what it's telling you, don't be afraid to get help, you don't have to suffer. Don't settle on the acid reflux diagnose until you get proper testing done, at least blood work.

Ok Walsh i'm going to come straight out and say it, tomorrow morning or right now where ever you are go and get your eyes tested.
There are four big optic nerve disorders which can be discovered from a simple eye test all of which touch on your symptoms.
Get it done and cross them off the list.

originally posted by: ckhk3
a reply to: Walsh
Genetically I'm predisposed to lower blood pressure (95-99) but I started a new birth control pill about a year ago (since then my blood pressure had been about 92/63). Went off the bc my blood pressure went back up to 99. So I believe it was the bc, I was having other severe symptoms so I will also be doing an MRI in January to rule out any brain abnormalities. In summary I believe it was the birth control but still unsure. I'm no Dr but listen to your body and what it's telling you, don't be afraid to get help, you don't have to suffer. Don't settle on the acid reflux diagnose until you get proper testing done, at least blood work.

man your brave , i am such a coward when it comes to stuff like this ... i always wait until the last moment to seek help .

my brain is like wired to always think of the worst possibility , i keep running scenarios in my head of the DR , saying "cancer" or something to that effect ... i know that's not fair to the people who have had to take that dance . but still i cant stop my self from letting my mind wonder like that .

you know , i never worried about my health until i turned 30 , its crazy .. all through my 20s i was really never concerned ..
guess its time to listen to my body :/

Get a second opinion? Demand CT/MRI baseline test? Research the phenomena. Good luck. a reply to: Walsh

originally posted by: Walsh

my brain is like wired to always think of the worst possibility , i keep running scenarios in my head of the DR , saying "cancer" or something to that effect ...


you know , i never worried about my health until i turned 30 , its crazy .. all through my 20s i was really never concerned ..
guess its time to listen to my body :/

i worry about everything too i just dont usually do anything about it unless it hurts....even then it has to be bad...i just deal with it..

im 37 and i was the same way in my 20's too. figured nothing was going to happen to me...
now im 37...had a few surgeries...im on meds.....
it happens......i cant even eat the same way cause of ulcers....it sucks...

when i was 20 i would smash on whatever sounds good...now if i do that i pay for it for 3 days....
it blows man

a reply to: Walsh

Wait a minute, you just got back from the ER?

And the Emergency Room doctor told you that these visual disturbances are related to acid reflux? It seems from what you described, to be far more indicative of some sort of muscular weakness in the ocular region. There are muscles which move your eye around, and when they fail to function correctly, it can lead to incidents of partial blindness, not permanent states of blindness, but fleeting, lasting from a handful of minutes to an hour or two.

My sister had such a problem when she was a child, and reported to me that her vision reduced to something the width of a blade of grass, as opposed to the normal full field of vision.

This was caused by muscles around one of her eyes failing to pull the eyeball in the correct direction, and the muscles around the other eye trying in vain to correct for it. She had to have an operation to correct the flaw in the muscles of one eye, and then had to have corrective lenses on her glasses, in order to re-train the eye that had been picking up the slack, so that her eyes functioned properly together.

Now, this may well be something entirely different, but I have never heard of such symptoms as you describe, being linked to a case of acid reflux. Besides, acid reflux is a symptom, not a cause.

originally posted by: PLAYERONE01
Ok Walsh i'm going to come straight out and say it, tomorrow morning or right now where ever you are go and get your eyes tested.
There are four big optic nerve disorders which can be discovered from a simple eye test all of which touch on your symptoms.
Get it done and cross them off the list.

oh man that's scary :/ cure able i hope