pupils are different sizes

[traciec39]

does anyone else have this problem? ive been to moorfields eye hospital and they said that they even though they are different sizes they react as they should. However, i cant stop worrying as i can feel it when it happens. I also suffer dry eye syndrome which is horrible.
I have got myself in such a state since march, i feel like im becoming agrophobic, as i have panic attacks and breathing has become another problem along with churning stomach constantly.
I hate driving now as im scared of having a dizzy turn and not being able to get home in the car. I take prozac (have done foe years on and off)
Is seems as if every bodily sensation can scare me!
My whole life is affected by this, even when i took my daughter shopping for her birthday last tuesday, i felt like it was a race and couldnt enjoy it all.
:( i wondered if anyone else has these problems as i would love to hear from you xx

I CAN, I WILL , I AM

[RunsFromBugs]

Hi Tracie,

I haven't noticed my pupils being different sizes from each other but I'm sure that if hte Drs thought it was something bad, they would have done something about it. I don't think they would just let you leave the hospital like that. I find that I often have a slight physical symptom that my anxiety can easily magnify but once I calm down, I tend to notice that the physical symptom isn't as bad as I thought originally. If it keeps bothering you though, you could always get a second opinion.

For the agoraphobia and fear of driving for dizziness:
Have you ever passed out while driving? Or done anything dangerous while driving? If not, then this is probably just your anxiety. What I did was to drive a bit every day just as practice. And don't beat yourself up if you get qet a bad day or even week. Keep at the driving practice and the anxiety will pass. And the confidence you get from braving this fear will give you such a great high!

Hope some of this helps!

[kt]

Hi Tracie,
sometimes my pupils are different sizes. The first time i noticed it i really freaked out!! My left pupil is usually the larger than my right one, but not all the time.
I checked this out with my Dr and he said it is nothing to worry about and can be caused by stress, tiredness etc.
So try not to worry about it, easier said than done i know!! There is nothing about us that is symetrical.
I used to get really bad health anxiety, but this is slowly getting better. It has taken me ages to learn to start thinking in a positive way and just excepting that my body does strange things sometimes.

take care, kt xx

Be gentle and you will need no strength, be patient and you will achieve all things.

[ceecee]

hi tracie i know EXACTLY how you feel!!!i too 4 years ago was really obsessed about my pupils were different sizes(i wasn,t just being paraniod cause my friend,s son told me my eyes were diffrerent sizes!!!!)and i really panicked!!!so i went to the doctors and he referred me to an ete specialist but because i got myself into such a state i went private cause i could,nt stand the wait!!!after he did lots of tests on my eyes he told me that mant people have got un equal pupils and as long as its not a massive difference and that your pupils still respond to light then its o.k!i know how you feel about the shopping trip with your daughter too,my daughter.s birthday was today and i,ve been stressing all week about having to walk around the shopping centre on a saturday with her spending her money!!!god i wish this anxiety would just give us days off!!!just knowing that you are not alone does help and please feel free to pm me anytime take care rachelx x x x

[worrywuss]

hi tracie,

i have different sized pupils and funnily enough it doesnt bother me at all ( makes a flaming change! ) infact, i think it makes me stand out more :D

i asked my optician about it as my identical twin also has it but with her its her right pupil thats bigger and mine is my left and she told me it was nothing to worry about and that it was hereditory and that my pupil was functioning normally.

i suppose we all have odd bits about ourself which arent the same as other people but if we didnt we wouldnt be unique ( if that makes sense [?] ).

i love showing off my dickie eye, i consider it my party piece lol.

i hope you feel ok soon hun xxx

[Juliamidlands]

If you've been to Moorfields and they have said there is nothing wrong, then believe them (trust me!)

As for driving, I have major issues with driving at night, which started last October after I randomly had a panic attack whilst driving home one night. Since then, driving at night (or sometimes even just being a passenger in a car at night!) makes me feel like I am going to lose control or black out or my head shut down/zone out, crazy I know.

I am 24 and had been driving quite happily at night for six years before that panic attack last october but now it is as if I almost cannot remember what night-time driving was before this started.

This is made worse by the DP/DR that I experience regularly...driving during this is hell, no matter what time of the day.

I'm already dreading the winter, and have become obsessed with the fact that the nights will soon be starting to get darker. I cannot bear the thought of this winter being like the last.



'Never be afraid to try- remember, amateurs buit the Ark...professionals built the Titanic'

[chellebelle]

I am SO glad you posted about this! I woke up this morning with a feeling of dread and checked my pupil response and found to my alarm that my left pupil seemed alot bigger then my right. I drove straight around to my parents (should have been driving to work) and asked mum to check my eyes while i turned the lights on and off. I decided that it was okay since they were both reactive to light, but am so grateful to everyone who answered this post as now I am reassured.

"This too, shall pass"

[anxious]

One of my pupils is larger than the other, apparantly it can also be heredity. As long as they react normally it ok. Ive mentioned it to a couple of gp's and a few opticians in my time and none seemed bothered.
anx x

Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects

[WILLIAMthedude]

One pupil being larger than the other is fairly common, I notice it in myself - which was a real shock as I was worried about my headaches etc and thought the wost, I've had a CT scan and various tests . . . my eyes are fine.

I started looking for this in other people and you know? I notice most people get it, even in my little brothers eyes today . . .

Don't tell people you are looking at their eyes, just make eye contact with them and compare their pupils and you will see . . . it's just something that happens from time to time.

[Claesand]

Good to hear prophylactically that different sized pupils are nothing to worry about... I'm sure I'll notice that one day :) I got dilation drops the other day and even if I knew precisely what had happened I felt like I was terminally ill, or at least had MS, anyway.

[Flychickvic]

Hi,

I have two different sized pupils as well. I never noticed until my doctor pointed it out to me, but also said that it was definitely nothing to worry about. I had lasik eye surgery three years ago and they never would have let me do it if there was going to be a problem due to pupil size. My surgeon is very picky, and I also had very bad astigmatisim, very bad vision, floaters, and horrible allergies. I see just fine and have had no problems since. I do notice that when I am tired or anxious it impacts my vision. I also have a little vision trouble and eye dryness when I take my makeup off. I use the bausch and lomb eyewash cup afterward to rinse my eyes out, and I have found it to be helpful and very soothing. I carry artificial tears as well. Some eye dryness could be from the anxiety. Try to be sure you drink enough water.

You are not alone!

Hugs,

[Alabasterlyn]

I have this too and it pretty much started out of the blue in about 1988. When I asked my Dr she said I was 'making' it happen, which is pretty ridiculous.

Eventually as I was getting nowhere with my GP I asked to be referred to a private neurologist and was diagnosed with Holmes Aides Pupil. I was told it was something that mainly affected women and was caused by either a virus or stress but they weren't really sure :ohmy:

My pupil does accommodate to focus but that's about it. In the daytime the affected pupil is tiny when it should be big and at night when it should be big it is tiny.

[traciec39]

Hi there everyone


im so pleased that this thread is still going strong, thank you all xx

Im still suffering with my eyes, but i try not to stress too much about it now.

My doctor at moorfields eye hosp said he feels this condition is linked to the use of anti depressants,....Are any of you other sufferers takings meds??

would be interesting to know

chat soon

luv tracie xxx

[Flychickvic]

I am on Zoloft, but I think at the time it was mentioned to me I was not taking any antidepressants.

[Alabasterlyn]

When I was diagnosed with mine I was just taking benzos, but it was never mentioned as being related to it. Sometimes it's like they feel they have to find a reason, when at times these things just happen.

[zebra]

Hello, I ve also noticed unequal pupils, but only a few minutes in the morning a maybe also when i am tired a while in the evening. gthe react normally. i was at eye doctor and have there many tests, everything is ok, at neurologist, everything ok.but logically i ve read about brain tumors etc. now it´s 2 months i ve noticed it for the first time.i have no other problems. only the anxiety, cca 1 year :-) is here anyone who had unequal pupils and then it goes away? can i be caused by stress, tiredness, anxiety?i take no drugs.thanx! (sorry for the english, i am not native english speaker)