Vision Problems

[andrew_238]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and have finally got round to joining :)

For nearly 10 years now I have noticed problems with my vision (I am 23).

It started when I had my first Migraine with aura when I was thirteen roughly in September '03 (sad i remember the date, I know). From then onwards I began to notice changes in my vision such as objects not looking clear (i.e. looks like they are shimmering) and a general haze in my vision.

I complained about this to my parents who took me to the optician and she said my eyesight was good, better than 20/20. I was about 14 at this point.

So I just had to 'get on with' and put up with this (what's the alternative right?)

However gradually over the years my vision is slowly getting worse and worse. I'm not talking about ability to read from distance, I mean the quality of my vision in general.

The other symptoms which have developed are :

Seeing Halos around all lights. Street lights are the worst and an increased sensitivity to car headlights.

Inability to go to the cinema as my eyes cannot handle the white on a cinema screen.

I cannot watch old televisions which are not LCD,LED or plasma as they just appear fuzzy, especially in my peripheral vision. They are just a fuzz to me.

In some places certain types of light constantly flicker and when I ask if other people who are there see this too, they reply no. Sometimes lights will just generally flicker in the corner of my eye.

Visual disturbances as if someone has just turned off the light and turned it back on again in a millisecond. Also, going from bright to dimmer and back again really quickly. (Happens on a constant basis)

Difficulty reading at work, for example if i lay pieces of paper in front of me on my desk my eyes can't handle it. This was the same when I was at school and University. Making it very hard to concentrate.

I also have eye floaters but they are not too bad, they are not as bad as the ones I have seen on YouTube. They only affect me on overcast days but I generally always wear shades if the is any sort of sun in the sky.:shades:

When looking at the sky, its as if there are thousands of fireflies burning up and going out really quickly.

When shopping its really hard to look at items on the shelves as they all seems to have a shimmer and again my eyes can't handle it.

Oh and before anyone says this is a migraine, that has been ruled out by everyone because they say there's no way its a 10 year long migraine. Plus I've seen enough migraine aura to know when and when not it is this.

Were there are all my symptoms, Phew! it feels weird to finally write them down! I'm in a hurry so if I remember any more I'll tell you later on.

I have been telling my parents about this for years and they keep taking me to the opticians who say my eyes are are great.

It got to the stage where I got them to take me to the best eye doctor in Aberdeen (U.K) and another one who is one of the best in the U.K. They could not find any problems with my vision.

The worst part of all of this is, my parents don't believe me. As soon as the opthamologist says my eyes are healthy, they say I'm making it up.

Seriously why would I waste 10 years of my youth/life complaining about this and feeling miserable if I was just making it up? I want to live my life to the full! I have aspirations of becoming a filmmaker and my production company is really gathering some momentum and I've got this problem 24/7!

So this is where I am, slowly being driven crazy by something I can't escape.

If anyone has similar problems please let me know. Seriously there must be someone out there who knows what's going on, with 6 billion people on the planet I can't be the only one!

Thanks for reading guys. You never know, I might make it into a movie one of these days! haha!

Andrew

[PanchoGoz]

Welcome!
Firstly I must ask, what brings you to an anxiety forum? If your symptoms are making you anxious, it could be that they are non-existant and you have an obsessive focus on them due to anxiety or a phobia. Or on another side of the coin, the anxiety is giving you these symptoms. A lot of what you have mentioned I have experienced myself and are known symptoms of anxiety. You could investigate by doing relaxation exercises and seeing if you stop noticing the symptoms.

[andrew_238]

Hi!

Thank you for replying so quickly!

I came to this forum because I had noticed other people who had similar symptoms but I wanted to give people the full details of my story.

I believe it is these symptoms which are causing anxiety. I have been to see a hypnotherapist and life coach for a while now and she has brought my anxiety levels down really low. However, even when I am at this level of contentment I still have these symptoms.

Which of my symptoms have you yourself experienced due to anxiety? I'd be interested to know!

[PanchoGoz]

I see snow when I look at the sky, the experience of a light flicking off, especially when on the tv guide screen for some reason, halos around lights. I have a few floaters too. Some of the symptoms you described are related to derealisation which is a symptom of anxiety.
The symptoms I have do not bother me. They are just part of my vision. It could be that your vision is normal but as you obsess over it (in the nicest sense of the word), your ind is constantly focused on your vision and you experience hyper-sensitivity. In fact after writing that, that seems most likely to me.
I once noticed I had 2 floaters over my eyes and I could not take my mind off them for a good month. However, my mind just got bored of them and now I barely see them at all even though they are still there. It's what you are focused on in life.

[Ronno]

Hi Andrew , where do I start , I had my first optic migraine around 16 years ago
It really shook me up. And have two on average a year , but like you I have regular vision problems nothing like the aura I get with a optic migraine ( I don't get the head ache ) . Bright spots , like a after image you get with a camera flash or sun reflection , blue spots in vision , dislike of plain bright surfaces, bright light, readings a problem (I get sparkles I between the words ) some times a flash or two out of the corner of my eye , a bright shape that appears each time I blink, blurry vision . Working in low light triggers some of these symptoms off , I like you have had regular eye check ups and my eyes are fine , just need glasses to read . Is it anxiety ? It has a lot to do with it . And the more we dwell on it ( and I do ) the more it stays .
The thing is reading other members posts about the subject , when its mentioned to the doctor or and optician they don't seem concerned !
So should we relax ( easer said than done. )
Any way Andrew that's what I experience I hope it helps .

[andrew_238]

I see. This is interesting.

So is it possible that everyones vision is like this however, for some reason I noticed certain things that other are not aware of?

It is more of an irritation than anything else but I totally understand what you have said.

I just thought that if everyone saw the flickering light like I do, (for example in some places I cannot escape the flicker from the lights, i think they may have had LED lightbulbs or something) it would really irritate them and they couldn't fail to notice this. However, when i ask them they just say "no, it's fine to me!"

[Ronno]

It's said when you focus on something you become over aware , and yes your brain would normally ignore what we are dwelling on .

[Marietta08]

Hi Andrew, I also have problems with my vision. I went to the optician in December 2011 because I was really panicked about my eyes. My prescription hadn't changed but the optician said there's been some pigment changes, so she got my doctor to refer me to the hospital. I went there in May 2012 and he said that my eyes were fine, it's just that I have pigmented retinae because I have darker skin. Also there'd been some benign changes.

In October I went back to the opticians because I had been getting "flashes" above my eyes and also if I was looking at a notebook I would sometimes be distracted by the spiral binding out of the corner of my eye. Like it was "jumping out at me". The optician (different one!) said my eyes were alright but it could be a visual migraine. Although it doesn't sound like it from what I've read on here. Since then the flashes have got better but I keep worrying I see things out of the corner of my eyes. (It's been better the last few days). Also my vision is sometimes more blurry than other times (both with and without glasses). I remember some patterns used to make my eyes go funny and some things are worse than others. Over a year ago when I looked at a tissue box, the pattern on that would be a bit out of focus but it's clear currently. I'm a bit long sighted and have a mild prescription and have glasses for close-up (my eyes had actually improved the last time I got new ones, but I suppose I might be a bit short sighted too now but obviously not enough to have different glasses. Some things look slightly fuzzy or blurry but other things are fine. Or I can look at a magazine and one part looks slightly out of focus but another part doesn't.

A few years ago my eyes seemed to be sensitive to streetlights, I'd see them out of the corner of my eye and they would bother them. I've had this exactly: "Visual disturbances as if someone has just turned off the light and turned it back on again in a millisecond". That was a few years ago. It seemed to happen the most in someone's house, like the light was affecting my eyes. I got that light flickering too, although not constantly. It happened in that same person's house a lot and in a building where in i went to classes, in the bar area.

It must be hard that your parents don't believe you. My mum tries to be understanding but she can't see what I do. Just wanted to let you know it's not just you! :)