<p>Are her eyes inflamed at all? My dr still has me on drops ( my eyes are irritated but do not look it at all).
It is really hard to get into a specialist.
My dr found out I havent been sleeping & has discontinued my meds till I can get into a sleep study which wont be for two months. And thats just to be evaluated, although I am on a waitlist for cancelations.
We have Blue Cross Blue Shield.
I am going back to the eye dr tomorrow though, xing fingers, he can examine me.</p>
<p>She hasn’t mentioned them being inflamed and when I saw her last weekend they LOOKED fine. I know they dialated her eye more today then she’d ever had them dilated before-I really don’t know much beyond what she has shared with H. Good luck with your own eye and sleep issues.</p>
<p>She hasn’t mentioned them being inflamed and when I saw her last weekend they LOOKED fine. I know they dialated her eye more today then she’d ever had them dilated before-I really don’t know much beyond what she has shared with H. Good luck with your own eye and sleep issues.</p>
<p>She has my sympathy, it is so hard when you can’t see.
But maybe her regular dr should schedule a MRI? I have a friend who became blind after a brain tumor.
I dont want to be an alarmist, but it seems like there are things that they can do before her appt.</p>
<p>I’ll second the thought of getting an MRI in the meantime if possible. The cause of my vision issue (not the same, but nonetheless a vision issue) was a brain tumor. An MRI might give peace of mind - or get things expedited due to “higher” concern.</p>
<p>I’ve been thinking that too-if no one can see an obvious cause, wouldn’t an MRI make sense? I can’t imagine waiting 6 weeks to even begin a deeper look at things.</p>
<p>Sseamom, I’m concerned about the long wait. Naturally, it was the doctor’s decision, but it’s her vision, and if this is continuing, I don’t understand making her wait. Maybe a call to her primary doctor can speed things up. Even if the neurologist is booked, maybe there’s more than one, or they can work her in.
Yes, it does make sense to look behind the eye, draw blood for tests, or anything they can to see what is going on. </p>
<p>Penny-I brought the wait and possible MRI and other suggestions here up to my husband, who says it’s in his sister’s hands. She’s only 65, not impaired mentally in any way and the last person I’d ever expect to let people push her around. He says that if she wanted an MRI or to be seen sooner, she’d have raised a commotion to make it so. But I’ll keep being a squeaky wheel about it.</p>
<p>Im assuming she isnt able to drive? Does she have someone to help her?</p>
<p>I agree with the others who recommend starting with ophthomologist who may refer to retina specialist. Another condition which can cause loss of vision is central serrous retinopathy, which can initially present like macular degeneration. I was interested that someone above said they had to take steroid drops, as my retina specialist has told me to avoid steroids of any kind because steroids are a risk factor for CSR. There are non invasive tests that they use to look at the back of the eye, including an angiogram. Also, I hope only one eye is affected. It’s possible to continue with weaker vision in one eye, if the other eye is still strong. (Yes, I have CSR).</p>
<p>EK, she has never driven. She lives about 20 steps from a bus stop, and a block from both a grocery store and pharmacy, but mostly her son or DIL drive her places. She still babysits their D 3 days a week so they’re able to check on her. Moneymom-I have an online friend with CSR related to steroids. My SIL does not use them, in fact she is in good health otherwise. But best wishes to you (and to you too, EK, with your health issues). </p>
<p>I am at the Drs office right now, with my eyes dilated. 
One eye couldn’t even see the big E!</p>
<p>sseamom- I hope your SIL gets the help she needs and has a good recovery. It is in her hands now, and I hope it all works out well.</p>
<p>My dr ( at the eye clinic on Jefferson), is trying to rule out glaucoma.
Since African- Americans have 5 x the risk as whites, especially for those over 60, I would want to be really sure they ruled that out.
But a regular ophthalmologist should be able to diagnose, maybe even an optometrist.</p>
<p>I thought I would update as we learned the cause <em>yesterday</em>, yes, more than 2 months from when we first learned of the problem. The specialist SIL saw 2 weeks ago could find no reason for SIL’s vision loss, and her retina was fine, no cataracts, no glaucoma, etc. His best suggestion was, maybe it’s hereditary but since your parent passed away very young we won’t ever know. And there things stalled, until yesterday when she was rushed to the hospital for uncontrolled high blood pressure and dizziness. </p>
<p>In the course of exams, a CT scan AND an MRI to rule out a stroke, they discovered evidence of a PAST stroke, which, you might have guessed, caused her vision loss. The good news is that she did NOT have a stroke yesterday, she is now on BP medication and is in the hospital to find out why it spiked yesterday. She obviously should have had an MRI long ago, but apparently this did not occur to anyone at a certain group health provider (which unfortunately is MY family’s health provider). The bad news is that my SIL is just as stubborn as ever and if her siblings had not been there to insist that she stay, was ready to walk out and go home in her condition. But at least we know why she has lost some vision. I’m baffled why no one thought of a stroke sooner. </p>
<p>I’m glad they found the cause, sseamom. I hope she is now under a doctor’s care and they will watch her for additional problems. </p>
<p>Thanks for the update. Physician here who has read many different accounts of unusual causes of medical problems. At first had my reply ready then read dates and the rest of the thread.</p>
<p>The lesson- with a sudden or rapidly changing condition jump on it at the speed it is happening. This means getting the referral today if it is hyperacute. Some things are treatable only early on. Definitely go to the specialist when advised- regular MD/DO ophthalmologists will punt when a subspecialist may be needed.</p>
<p>Also- being able to look up medical things online is both a blessing and a curse. There is still a reason to see professionals instead of doing self-diagnosis. An online search can help persuade a person to seek timely care.</p>
<p>Or in my case it keeps me away from the Dr, cause she is really trying to push cholesterol meds at me.</p>
<p>I wanted to add for people who do a lot of reading on electronics, wear glasses and have severe eye strain, that
I am very happy with the Prevencia coating I got on my new glasses.
Because of poor vision, I do 90% of reading on back lit screens. My eyes were watery, red & sore.
The coating prevents that.
<a href=“http://modernoptometry.com/blog-detail.php?blog_id=29”>http://modernoptometry.com/blog-detail.php?blog_id=29</a></p>