Never ending vision problems

[maianixon]

It's late and I cant sleep so obviously I'm over thinking and panicking and just need some support.

I've mentioned it in a couple of my posts before but I've been having insane amount of visual disturbances for the past month and a half. First there's constant visual snow. The past two weeks I've also had decreased vision and halos and ghosting and what not. Also flashing lights and floaters and dark spots and foggy spots and flashing lights. My right eye also got a dark shadow over central vision a couple of times that was only noticable in the dark. Once I opened my eyes and I saw a white net over my entire visual field that disappeared after a second. I also seemed to have developed a big sensitivity to bright lights, if I look at it I get afterimages and blind spots. My vision is horrible in dim lights. I've also just realized that in dim lights/dark I see shadows that i can see on both eyes the same & same with blind spots after looking at bright lights - which makes me think it can't be the eyes but the brain.

The thing is, I've had a full eye exam about a year ago (for different reasons) and it was fine. They've checked my eyes at A&E the last time I went there - the doctor turned off the lights and examined my eyes with a light i think its to check the retina&optical nerve (not 100% tho) and he said they're fine. They've also did a quick check of my peripheral vision at A&E about 4 months ago. I've even had an MRI which showed my optical nerves are both fine, and also my brain in general so i know i don't have a brain tumor.

I am scheduled for another exam with an optamolohist next week and my neurologist told me to just "wait and see" for a couple of months but I'm barely coping. The things is just that IT DOESN'T ADD UP, literally countless of doctor examinations and tests I've had in the past 6 months have all turned out perfectly fine. Not to mention that this has occurred in the pattern of my anxiety symptoms most of which eventually went away. I used to be scared of MS, now I'm not even sure what I'm scared off anymore that it could be something even worse I don't know what diseases are out there, the symptoms just don't make any sense and I'm petrified. My family & friends all still seem to be convinced this is all just psychosomatic but could all of these actually just be anxiety or whatever and my brain has just straight out decided to mess with my vision this badly??? I'm so lost at this point i dont know what to do...

[claireypoo]

I've had all of your symptoms. All of them. And a few more... (have a look at my old posts and see if it's familiar) it was a real fixation with me (still finding it hard to let go).

I even went down the visual stress route and got special glasses.

I think what we have is a form of extreme eye strain. (Bear with me - the strain isn't actually in our eyes as such).

Vision is weird when you think about it, how our eyes work together, merging an image, how we see upside down (sort of) but when we start looking for things (for me what started it was floaters) we start seeing all kinds of phenomena, in fact we are telling our brain to pay attention to things it has spent a lifetime ignoring.

Like you, I've had ALLLLLLL the tests and my eyes are healthy, yet my vision is a mess! I can still see but so many disturbances. The trick is to convince your brain that these things shouldn't be noticed which is hard because if you're like me then every single microscopic flash will set you off.

I honestly think too much close work with phone/pc screens hasn't helped either.

Have you ever looked at youtubes of visual stress?

I really feel for you, I was totally where you are last year x




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[maianixon]

All of them? I know a lot of these are common anxiety symptoms but I've never seem anyone else talk about some of them (like dark shadow over my vision) in relation to anxiety. I'm just such a mess visual problems are so scary! I try to not focus too much on it but sometimes it's actually impossible like my vision has been decreased the past two weeks and it bothers me that i can't see well. or my vision in dim lighting is so bad that it makes me useless, i've even been sleeping with a night lamp on cause i became so scared of dark....

i keep being worried they've missed something, even my neurologist didn't seem at ease but also really confused as literally every test in the standard neurological exam was normal and ofc the MRI as well. like i've literally had SO MANY doctor examinations and tests done that even I at this point with all my anxiety think it would be ridiculous if something was actually wrong (and my MS fear decreased a little because I was told visual symptoms are usually just on one side) like theres no way that every single one of over 10 doctors would manage to miss something and yet my vision doesnt get any better :(

[nervousnelly52]

Are you treating your anxiety?

[maianixon]

I've been going to therapy which I like but it's slow. I was taking Mirtazapine for a month and a half but while it helped my anxiety & mood it had no affect on my vision so i stopped taking it and have an appointment next week with my psychiatrist.
so yeah i have been trying to work on it but it's like nothing has an effect on my vision and some other physical symptoms (i also have constantly twiching fingers & weird temperature sensations all over but these im less worried about than vision)

[claireypoo]

All of them. And more. Really.

(The dark shadow over vision is even mentioned in Claire Weekes books from the 60s)

I've read a lot about this, and had input from professors, vision specialists and neuro-opthamologists and it's VERY much linked to anxiety, so help with that will help your eyes but I can tell you what I've done specifically to help my vision.

Happy to chat about it, if you like?






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[somethingsomething]

i have this too ans also starbursts around certain lights at night, ive been to two eye tests this year which both turned out fine...it seems there is something new everyday and when i stare at an LED light it flashes at me... sometimes i get halos, glare too if it is a light in a black background and I was absolutely fine and healthy before I had health anxiety.
I believe we've been focusing too much on vision that we notice the smallest thing and our subconscious mind is telling the brain to scan EVERYTHING that it gives us horrible eyestrain. Sometimes it is so bad that all of a sudden i can see my shoulder from the corner of my eye, as if my pupils were dilating a lot. it's so bad that the first think my mind focuses on is lights.
It's funny because when I am busy I don't think about this and my vision seemed normal as usual, but when i'm alone i can't stop thinking about it and i notice so much.