Blurry Vision 3 months post-surgery?

[SuzanneSLO]

I woke up today with my distance vision significantly worse than it was yesterday. I know some people experience vision changes post AVR surgery, but I had no issue until today, three months post-op. I am on 25 mg per day of metopropol and my resting blood pressure has been on the low side of normal at cardiac rehab (95/62).

As a result, I am back to not being able to drive. Between the new (self-imposed) restriction and frustration at experiencing new symptoms this late in the revcovery, I am freaking out.

Anyone experience something similar? Thanks -- Suzanne

 

[Jkm7]

Just to be on the safe side, I would suggest you have your eyes checked. A visit to the opthamologist might be a good idea even if only for your peace of mind.

 

[DannaT]

Hi Suzanne,
I too have episodes of occasional blurry vision eight weeks post op. I had it checked by my ophthalmologist during a regular eye checkup and was told I had a hemorrhage in my right eye. She said it was common after surgery from changes in pressure due to the heart lung machine. She said she herself developed one after riding on a rollercoaster! She also said that she would recheck me in 30 days (which is next week as she is hoping it will resolve itself). Although today I again had a few minutes with a feeling of double vision. It passes quickly, bit is scary in the moment. I also know of two other people in my cardiac rehab class who both have the same thing, so I guess she is right about it not being that uncommon. Go and have your eyes checked...just to be safe. I'm sure you will be fine!

 

[sood]

I don't know how to discuss my vision problems post AVR. But in the hospital post surgery I had what I would call occasional sensitivity to light. It would almost be blinding to be in a lit up room and I couldn't even look at my mobile phone. When I would close my eyes even in holding my hands over my eyes I would see things lighted up. I thought it might be related to my pain meds at the time. After I stopped that it went away until last night. I am 16 weeks post op. I am not sure what the issue is from or if I should worry. It usually goes away after 20-30 mins.

 

[enkaynj]

Sood,
I had similar "light-ups" for 3-4 months. I saw vivid colorful "icons" if I was suddenly exposed to bright light. You should be fine and back to normal soon.
It could be because of the anesthesia or the diuretic pills if they gave you any. But no one could say for sure what causes such things.

 

[Jimjam]

Blurry vision

Blurry vision

I had double vision a few times around day 4,5 and 6 post op and my vision has certainly got worse - close up vision is now blurrier than ever before.
A little frustrating at times but hey - nothing in the grand scheme of things I put it with the other random things that now go on with my body post op.
Get checked out and rest assured you're not alone.
J

I woke up today with my distance vision significantly worse than it was yesterday. I know some people experience vision changes post AVR surgery, but I had no issue until today, three months post-op. I am on 25 mg per day of metopropol and my resting blood pressure has been on the low side of normal at cardiac rehab (95/62).

As a result, I am back to not being able to drive. Between the new (self-imposed) restriction and frustration at experiencing new symptoms this late in the revcovery, I am freaking out.

Anyone experience something similar? Thanks -- Suzanne

 

[pellicle]

Hi

...post op and my vision has certainly got worse - close up vision is now blurrier than ever before.

I noticed the same thing, but had been to the optometrist some year or so before the operation and had an eye check then (quite a detailed one, several machines, digital images, measurements ...) and so a year after my operation I went back because I couldn't read my laptop as well anymore (which I had been able to read 2 years earlier). They basically said that my degradation of vision was right on the graph for my age group.

After that I told them about the OHS and was wondering about this issue and if it was related. She basically said that it was more likely to be just the timing of the things was the same and I had noticed it more because I was looking for it more.

My own readings into presbyopia have shown 2 interesting things:
1) as you get older your lens (which is a flexible sphere) progressively hardens, this seems to be roughly linear (and based on thousands of samples) within a range and depends on which lattitude you live in. Eventually it reaches a hardness that exceeds the ability of muscles to reshape it.

2) the muscles around your eye responsible for pulling on the lens (to focus) progressively get more pronounced (bigger) as you get into your middle ages. This then seems to reverse.

My personal interpretation on this is as they lens hardens your eye adapts to that until it reaches a point where the ability of the muscle to exert force on the lens is less than is needed to reshape it (and thus focusing).

Now (ahem, my theory) when we have the General Anesthetic the muscles relax for a bit and start to go out of 'fitness', however most of us have reached that point where the ability of the muscles to deform the lens have reached that point of reduced ability. So we end up seeing this as a lack of recovery to where we were before the surgery.


I can't say for sure that is what happens with many, but it seems that's what happend with me and I simply didn't see anything like this in my surgery when I was 28 ... where the only things I saw were those vivid dreams!

and no, lets not talk about the ones this time either!

 

[AmyR]

I have the same issue and yep it happens everyday. My left eye has this blurry vision. Like if i close my right eye and try to look through the left it feels like darn i cannot even recognize faces. Its funny but happens.

 

[epstns]

I've had a few episodes of double-vision since surgery, but they never seem to last more than a few seconds. During the episodes, I can see just fine with either eye, but I cannot bring the two eyes into focus together. In my case, it feels like muscle cramps in my eyes, then it relaxes and goes away.

 

[clawie1]

Pre op, I had occasional "floaties" but now they are larger and more pronounced so I guess these are part of the random events too.

July 21, 2013, Minimally invasive Aortic Valve Replacement, 21 mm St. Jude porcine valve, septal myomectomy, Keck Hospital at USC, Los Angeles, Ca. Dr. Cunningham, Surgeon

 

[epstns]

Floaters can simply be a sign of advancing age. My ophthalmologist says mine are nothing unusual, and that most people just adjust to their presence as long as they do not block vision.

Others have said that they have had some strange occurrences after OHS, so I guess anything is possible. Could be minor "debris" in the blood that got past all the filters on the heart/lung machine during surgery.

 

[pellicle]

Floaters can simply be a sign of advancing age. ... and that most people just adjust to their presence as long as they do not block vision.

I have one which seems like a strand of something. It floats around with eye movement rather like one end is anchored.

its occasionally distracting.

The joys of age

 

[Classtime Sailer]

Imagine if there was no internet? You would be the only one with eye problems and really freaking out I had/have them too from time to time. My wife (who has not had OHS) told me she has them too. (I damn near fell off the toilet one morning with vertigo. Again, no comfort from my wife who also has had bouts of vertigo.)

 

[Agian]

Allow me to share an experience. About three weeks ago, I had crouched down to get something from the fridge. As I got up my vision was a bit blurry, within a few seconds I could see absolutely nothing in the lower half of my left eye's visual field. It went away after a few seconds and I forgot about it. Last week, I decided to get it checked out by my eye specialist, thinking it had something to do with the retina. He had a look and told me the retina was normal, but suggested I might have had a TIA. He told me to get a carotid ultrasound, which was normal. I did a CT head scan, also normal (btw, I got them to inject dye, while they were there. No aneurysms either). I see the cardiologist in two weeks. No problems since. I'm pre-op. Has anyone else experienced something similar?

 

[epstns]

Agian - Since I see that you have moderate aortic stenosis, your vision issue could also be from pre-synope - almost fainting. Sometimes with relatively advanced aortic stenosis, if patients stand rapidly from a kneeling or crouching position, their heart cannot keep up with the demand on it for increased blood pressure, and the patient becomes light-headed, almost fainting. I had that for several years before I was finally ready for surgery. My cardio simply told me to be aware of what I was doing and stand up more slowly. That worked for me. Now, after valve replacement, I no longer have this issue.

 

[Agian]

That crossed my mind Steve, but it only affected one eye.

 

[kimcdougc]

Hmm interesting reading. I find since my surgery I can only read with my glasses for about 30 minutes at a time, then everything becomes blurry. I then take my glasses off and it takes about 2 hours to not be blurry anymore. Thinking I am making an eye appointment tomorrow. Glad to know I am not the only one experiencing this.

 

[Jkm7]

Some patients post OHS need a change in their eyeglass prescriptions.
It is not unusual.

 

[elliedrake]

I had OHS in May for an aortic valve replacement. Within a month (shortly after I left rehab) I noticed my eyesight was blurry (especially distance). I also have spots sometimes. Having just had my yearly eye exam in March, this was very unexpected. When I mentioned it to the heart specialist, he suggested an opthomologist. At that time I was too drained to consider another doctor and hoped it would go away. It is now 4 months since the surgery and is still a problem (if not worse). I will see an opthomologist on Wednesday and hope she can do something about it.