Eyes :: Damage To Optic Nerve - Light Headed With Floaters
Jun 12, 2015
I was having frequent headaches and occasionally feeling lightheaded with floaters. I went to the opticians and they referred me to the ophthalmologist who put eye drops in and said that at the back of my left eye the optic nerve was sheeted. (I don't understand what this term means and cannot see anything on the internet to explain either) He just said that I didn't have any other symptoms for Optic Neuritis and wasn't sure but didn't think it was anything sinister. I am now waiting for a scan of the eye to see what that shows.
However, the last couple of weeks I have been getting pins and needles all over my body, mainly in arms and legs. I've also had general aching pains.
I have read online about symptoms and they point to all kinds of things, Fibromyalgia, Anxiety and possibly MS. As you can imagine this has really scared me as I have read that problems with the optic nerve can also be related.
Has anyone else had these symptoms or are they too few for me to be making assumptions?
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I'm 32. It was only detected after suffering 2 weeks of intense headaches which eventually affected my optic nerves in my eyes. I wear glasses and after 2 weeks of intense headaches my eyesight actually became much better which baffled me. I was sent away from GP with the diagnosis of a tension headache (which I don't hold any blame for) but luckily I pursued further and booked an immediate appt with an Optician who found that my visual field was affected in my left eye. I was advised to go to the Emergency Eye Casualty who continued with further tests on my eyes. They discovered the damage to my optic nerves but at this point were unable to find the source and I was seen immediately by a Neurologist who at first thought it was benign cranial hypertension. He arranged a CT scan and said that he did not expect to find anything but was very surprised to see the clot on the CT. I was admitted immediately and underwent a lumber puncture. I spent 5 days in hospital and was discharged on Warfarin medication for 3 months. I have since undergone a repeat CT scan. I believe I was very lucky as any longer I could have had a stroke. I was advised to stop the oral contraceptive pill immediately as they said this may have been the cause but also that I have recently underwent a breast reduction 3 months before.
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I have Septo-optic dysplasia, and I'm lucky if I ever get to see someone who's even heard of it because it's apparently one of those rare and awkward conditions with varying symptoms. But basically, in my case, the nerves in my eyes didn't develope well or at all.
I have 6/60-6/48 vision in my right eye and 0 in my left eye; as in I don't even see black or anything at all. I don't think light could ever get in there.
My most recent check up at the Optician showed some discoloration on the optic nerve in my left eye (the blind eye). It appeared black, apparently, which my Optician said meant it had been there a long time, as opposed to grey? But no one seems to know if this is normal for an optic nerve that never formed properly.
Apparently the discoloration is not mentioned in any of my letters on record, though. Is that weird? That's the only thing making me worried. Some people say it should be obvious so not included, but others say that means it's new?
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I'm late 5s,have had floaters since my 20s,back then they were small black or clear dots,fast forward,late fifties,now i've had pvds in both eyes,vitreous gel shrinks and pulls away from the back of the eye,now i have these clear to gauzy larger floaters,plus one large clumpy black one and I can't ignore them anymore. PVD is age related. I am just lucky enough to have these awful larger ones that can blur and obstruct vision. How does a person deal with it. Oh yes I also am starting to have dry eyes. Both also can cause hazy vision. Unless you've experienced it,no one else can relate
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So I just ended my period a week ago and had a little bit of bleeding when I wiped for the past few days then today my bleeding was really heavy and I've had cramps and horrible headaches for the past few days. I've also felt a little light headed and my cramps have been pretty bad but different than period cramps. What is wrong with me?
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Last week I was under the weather so started taking Paracetamol. The problem is that I was a) A bit loose with the guidelines (i.e. 4-6 hours, more like every 2-3) and b) I was taking Lemsip and Sudafed when obviously you are not supposed to take different types of paracetamol.
On Friday I went out for a few drinks (lager & vodka). Since Saturday I have been feeling incredibly anxious (not a normal character trait) and on Sunday had what I can only describe as my first ever panic attack. Since then I have been feeling anxious, sometimes light-headed and heart racing.
Sunday was the lowpoint and it was starting to improve and by Thursday I felt back to normal…so I went to the gym. 30 mins into what was not an overly strenuous routine, I was back to feeling light headed, anxious etc – just sometimes coming over me in waves.
Could this be linked to the over-use of paracetamol combined with the booze or have I maybe something more serious to worry about?
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I have damage to my heart from chemotherapy I had as a child and it is progressing and I have now been put on Lisinopril to try to help keep it from worsening any further or as quickly. I do not have high BP (my BP tends to run normal to a little low if anything). I started on Lisinopril Wed. night and Saturday morning I went grocery shopping & while pushing the cart and walking I got extremely light headed, a little dizzy, & my vision went a little blurry, I thought I was going to pass out. I ended up having to stop and sit down for a few minutes. I was able to complete my shopping but had to stop several times throughout due to the sudden light headed feeling coming back. I have never had this happen before and I don't know if my body just needs to adjust to the Lisinopril or if it is lowering my BP too much and causing these issues. Do I just need to let my body adjust or do I need to call doc & get back off of it.
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Hello my name is Brandon, I started off with a common cold about a month ago and been too many doctors all saying this way part of a virus. The cold symtoms went away but what stayed was my constant headaches, dizziness, fatigue, light headed and just unable to do any physical activity without getting dizzy or light headed. Doctors have put me on meds that have not worked and im still like this, I havnt been able to go to work or go to the gym in over a month, does anybody have any cases like this?
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Hi, for the past 2 weeks I have been getting these symptoms, dizziness, nausea, lightheaded, weak, headaches, neck pains, and tired. It is getting severe and im worried. I have had urines tests and blood test, they are all negative. Its constant and all day, it never goes away although some hours are worse then others. I have been on a medication called pristiq which is an antidepressant for almost 2 years, I tried increasing the dose in case that was causing it but it didn't work, can anyone help me please? Thank you
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I took my 11 year old daughter for an eye exam yesterday and the optician told me that the angle the nerve entered the eye was slightly tilted. She gave me a letter to give to my GP who would further refer her to the eye clinic. It wasn't an urgent referral but I am worried about this. Her eyesight was perfect and she doesn't suffer and headaches eye.
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I went and do a check up on my eyes and the optic nerves in my eyes is swollen ...I did a CT scan and the results was clean...so I want to know what causes the swelling.
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I am having trouble dealing with this daily,anyone else?
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Just back from an eye appt and was told that my (L) optic nerve is thinning and my field vision test was normal.
I have not had any loss of vision or blurriness other than the blurriness that comes with my migraines. Is it possible to have optic neuritis w/o it affecting your vision?
I have to wait until 7/19 to see my neuro, so I am still waiting to be diagnosed, however, the news I was given this morning makes me lean more towards MS.
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My mother can't see anything clearly for 3 to 4 years. Doctor says that her eyes nerve are been blocked.
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I am debating if I should go to the Emergency Room, as it's a Sunday. My story - 26 year old male, healthy. Since age 10, I have had an intermittent feeling of my breath being stuck in my upper abdomen (solar plexus area) and a little in my chest but not much. Sometimes when going for a deep breath, I feel pain in the chest, but very rare. It almost feels like there is a wall in between my stomach and my lungs that prevents air coming out. I know it's weird because you breath out of your lungs not your stomach. The only way it comes out is when I finally catch my breath, which means I need to wait for it to be able to escape and then I finally get the deep breath I need. Also yawning often allows the breath to occur. When this is happening, I can still breath but it's like only 10% of my lungs fill up with air, like someone is standing on the other 90% of my lungs, preventing them from filling up.
My BASELINE/ usual status is having the breath being stuck symptom maybe 10 times a day, usually while eating. This has become normal for me and I don't even think about it until people who I am eating with say, "what is wrong with you?"
When it is GOOD, it happens even less, maybe once a day and I will barely realize it happened.
When it is BAD, it happens often, maybe 20 times an hour.
The last week it has been EXTREME to the point where I will be struggling for a full breath once a minute. It is so bad that I have been feeling light headed (main reason for the alarm here). I have class on weekends and I was walking to the train for class, and my body was telling me to stay home (i am the type of person who doesn't make a big deal out of anything and never skips stuff).
Background- I sleep very well, usually 7-8 hours a night, am very healthy, 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, run 6 miles 3 times a week (it happens the same when I run but it doesn't prevent me from running), played sports my whole life, doctors always tell me my blood work and everything is off the charts good. The reasons I just listed, combined with my Mom (nurse) always telling me I am fine have made me stop seeking cures for this. I had every test under the sun done when I was 15 (EKG, Barium Swallow, Blood work, etc) and everything came back clear. I have a concave chest (my chest caves in) and the doctor told me that my chest bone is interfering with my breathing (eyes rolling). But now that I am feeling light headed, I think it's time to go to the emergency room. I am going to go to a heart center in my town (Brooklyn, NY). Also, I LOVE doing research about stuff and have been reading about this a lot and tons of people have similar symptoms which has comforted me. But now it's time for me to get tested again I think. Maybe this just talked me into going to the ER.
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Was cross eyed as a child. One surgery on left and 2 on right 57 year old male. Surgery at 6 10 and 20. Had about 5 bouts of optic nerve neuritis about 15 years ago. Both eyes but more serious in rt eye. No MS. MRI every year for 5 every other since. Now my right eye wanders up and out all the time contacts and glasses do not help much. My vision came back fine other than age stuff. I Want to know why my eye wanders up and out and is there anything I can do for it ? Is it from old surgeries? Is it from optic nerve?
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I m diagnosed neurocysticercosis on left optic nerve n m having blurring of vision.
Drs have put me on steroids past one year ,but no Improvement is seen.
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anyone else have floaters and flashes in formerly normal vision since taking cipro?
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I have an undiagnosed condition which started three years ago, in December 2009. My family doctor doesn't take me seriously, so I am switching to another doctor soon. I'm male, 26 years old, non-smoker & non-drinker. Blood pressure on average 130/80, pulse rate around 70. I am 6 foot 1 tall, and weigh around 214 pounds (97 kg).
My symptoms:-
- Head pressure (especially around the temples)
- Feeling my heartbeat pounding in my head (i don't hear it, but i definitely feel it)
- Massive eye floaters in both eyes (always present)
- Light sensitivity (always present)
- Slight blurry vision from time to time (depending on the severity of the "head pressure")
- Eye pain (also depending on the severity of the "head pressure")
What makes it worse:-
- When I eat something very salty
- When I am very nervous, or very angry
What makes it better:-
- When I press on my temples
- When I tie a piece of cloth around my head
- Diazepam 5mg
Worth mentioning:-
- No fatigue (i have a lot of strength & energy)
- No appetite loss
- No sleep problems
A detailed history of my condition:My problem began in December 2009 as just a strange feeling in my head. I started to literally feel my pulse pounding inside my head. This was accompanied by a feeling of pressure in the head, especially around the temples and around the eyes. It felt like extremely high blood pressure, but only in the head. I ignored all of this, thinking it's something that will go away quickly, but I was wrong.
After a couple of months, in the spring of 2010, the head pressure decreased somewhat, but then I began to have eye problems. There was a dull tension-type pain, first in my right eye, then in my left eye. This type of eye pain is very difficult to describe: A strong tension/pressure type of pain, which feels exactly like the pressure in the entire head. This lasted for several days, and then comes the worst part: massive eye floaters in both eyes, accompanied with light sensitivity. The eye pain went away, but the floaters & light sensitivity remained, as well as the head pressure. The floaters & light sensitivity are always present, 24/7, so it's definitely not a migraine.
The problem "stabilized" in the summer of 2010, and remained very stable or "tolerable" I should say. Head pressure reduced by more than 50%, no eye pain, and only 5 or 6 floaters. Then in October 2012, for unexplained reasons, the whole thing came back with a punch. The pulse pounding in the head, the head pressure, and the eye pain all increased about threefold. Then a few days later, new eye floaters came along (more than 10 new floaters!). Now the whole thing is somewhat stable, but definitely not as good as it was before.
Why was it "ok" for more than two years, and then came back like this? The only thing I can think of is bodybuilding. In October 2012 I began to lift weights, mostly benchpress, and about a week after that, the problems began to intensify. This is the only thing I can think of that might have played a role.
Here are the exams I have had done in the past few months:-
- Extensive blood work, including TSH test (thyroid function): all clear, except for somewhat high cholesterol (255)
- Abdominal ultrasound: completely normal
- Ophthalmoscopy with dilated pupils: no retinal tears, no holes, no damaged blood vessels
- VEP (Visual Evoked Potential) test: completely normal
- Carotid doppler ultrasound: completely normal (I really insisted on the carotid doppler ultrasound, because of the feeling of high blood pressure in the head.)
I didn't have health insurance for a long time, which is why I started to see doctors only a few months ago. Now, I have learned to control this condition by avoiding salty foods, avoiding stress, and avoiding weightlifting. By "controlling" the condition I mean preventing it from getting worse. But nonetheless I want to know, and absolutely have to know, what is causing this problem, and how to treat it.My family doctor does not want to do an MRI or a CT scan. He thinks this is all stress related without any physiological causes whatsoever, which I think is completely absurd, and this is the reason why I'm switching to another doctor very soon. In any case, my questions are as follows:
1.) Is it possible that these symptoms could be caused by a deformity of the neck and/or the spine? I have had a really terrible posture since I was a little kid, but my family doctor (as well as my neurologist) dismisses this idea, saying there's no chance it could cause these problems.
2.) Is it worth doing a contrast-enhanced thyroid ultrasound?
3.) Should I do an electrocardiogram & treadmill stress test?
4.) What medical exams would you recommend me? MRI? CT? If so, exactly what kind of MRI? Cervical? Head only? Whole body? I really don't know much about this subject.
5.) Is it possible for the eyes to really be healthy, but for a person still to experience floaters & light sensitivity, for example because of something neurological?
If there is anything at all you could say about this topic, I would really appreciate it. To this day I am not able to find on the internet one disease that has all of these symptoms. The whole thing really feels as if the blood pressure in my head is extremely high, but obviously that's not it. I would very much like to know if you were in my shoes, what exams you would like to have done.
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I've been doing a lot of reading about black spots in vision and the term 'floaters' doesn't seem to apply in my case. I first noticed it a week or so ago when I was reading on Kindle. There is a black spot that is constant, in my left eye, its small and I can see it pretty much all the time if reading at the right angle I can use it almost like a pointer moving it along the line of text I'm reading. I've also had blurred vision but I put that down to tiredness from reading from electronic device. I've also noticed a 'cobweb' like line in my other eye that again is constant. I'm booked in for an eye test but its not for a while I'm starting to get bit worried.
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I just wondered if any of you guys see things in the corner off your eyes like flashes and things going across the room and floaters..
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