Went blind in my left eye for 2-3 minutes!!! WTH?

[deek]

Dee I just figured it out. You went to the darkside of internet and found pics of me didn't you? That would surely do it.

Yeap! God's way of protecting me from the horror. Just kidding, Ross! Oh, where would we be without a little humor? Nuts, probably.

 

[Karlynn]

Have you had your pacemaker checked lately?

 

[geebee]

Dee,

I would have been long gone to the ER. There is nothing good about blindness even if your vision comes back. It is an indication of something and something that could be very serious.

 

[njean]

Like others recommended, please see a dr about this ASAP! That does not sound normal at all.

I've had moments when my vision becomes very blurry & it may last for 10 minutes or more & then comes back to normal gradually. Luckily I haven't had an episode in quite some time. One time that happened when I was on my way to work & I had to pull the car over until it passed. Scary!

Keep us posted & good luck!

 

[ruthienc1]

Dee- I had the losing vision in half the field of vision in one eye for five minutes or so about two weeks after my AVR (at least I think that's when). It passed quickly and I took an extra aspirin- was going to my cardiologist in three days and told him then. They did a doppler study of the carotid artery to make sure it was clear (which it was) and and decided it must have been caused by a tiny bit of debris from the surgery. My eye doctor is following with interest, but there's been nothing since.
With your other new symptoms, please go to the doctor....something's not right!

 

[PairoDocs]

Deek,

Don't be too frightened, especially if you've been taking Toprol or metoporol (its generic). One of the side-effects that hit me hard was near total blindness in my left eye in parts of my visual field for several minutes at a time. After I got off the Toprol, the symptoms gradually faded. Of course you should have the other more serious possibilities eliminated, but if this has happened several times (like mine did) with resolution in the same amounts of time, it's just occular migraines or side-effects of the Toprol or another related beta-blocker heart medication. I had scotomata (spinning lightning-like moire patterns superimposed on slightly grayed-out vision) which I think were my occular migraines from the OHS anesthesia and heart-lung bypass machine, and the purple to black blind spots always in the same eye in the same parts of my visual field (accompanied with a strange sense of pressure in my eyes) were from the Toprol and (worse) the metoporol side-effects. Once or twice I had both occur simultaneously--that was scary, but it never happened again. Today my vision is absolutely normal in both eyes.

God bless,

Chris

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Whenever I experience ANY kind of Visual Effect (or other possible symptom of TIA or Stroke) I chew either 1/2 or a Full plain ASPIRIN (162 or 325 mg), depending on how long it has been since it took my daily 81 mg Aspirin.

My Cardiologist is aware of this and said "that is probably a Good Idea".

 

[tobagotwo]

Temporary, one-eyed blindness, "curtain" effect partial blindness, sparkling or stained glass visual effects, odd shaped blobs in the visual field...

Fun, ain't they?

Lots of us get them. They seem to be scary, but not indicative of anything in particular. If you note any continuing symptoms or typical stroke-type symptoms with them, you would want to look into it immediately, of course.

Don't want to suggest that you not get checked out, but also don't want you to get overly horrified by a rather common phenomenon.

Best wishes,

 

[Hot Rod Harry]

What medications are you on? I hope you can figure out what is causing this.. We are thinking about you.

 

[deek]

Hey Harry! I'm on Lasix, Metoprolol, Lisinopril, and Potassium...and Ambien (as needed for sleep). Never had this before and I've felt funny ever since...just in subtle ways, head pressure, constriction in my neck, palpatations, weak and tingling limbs...and of course the usual chest congestion and cough. I'm waiting to hear back from my Dr....
Thanks for your thoughts and I hope you are doing well. Dee

 

[TakeStock]

Dee, I hope everything checks out. I've had lots of minor issues with my vision since surgery 3 months back, especially with scotoma problems. Doctors tell me it's all normal. Last week I needed to get my driver's license renewed and started to have the scotoma squigglies blurring my vision right as a was ready to head out the door. Needless to say, since a vision test is included, I waited 20 mins and crossed my fingers before I went to the BMV. I passed the vision test just fine though, so I'm free to drive with squigglies for another 4 years! The scotoma effects are getting better though, so hopefully I won't ever have a problem driving. I think the beta-blocker (metoprolol) may be your problem -- it seems to be what started my problems too when I was put on it pre-surgery 6 months back.

 

[realkarl]

Dee, I am sorry to hear you still feeling funny. I could not help notice that many of the symptoms you describe, "constriction in my neck, palpatations, weak and tingling limbs", can be the physical manifestations of anxiety. These can well be the body's natural reaction to increased production of adrenalin due to feeling afraid and worried about your vision episode. Since you are feeling those sensations, you get more anxious, producing more adrenalin etc, and you get into a cycle.

I apologize if you already know this. I have struggled with anxiety myself - sometimes caused by imagined CHF symptoms, other times caused by nothing at all, but just knowing that anxiety can lead to physical symptoms has helped me in the past, to break the cycle. I hope this helps you feel a little better while waiting for your doctor to get back to you, such that you can get your initial and current symptoms checked out, to make sure all is well.

Best wishes, Karl

 

[deek]

Update: Went blind in my left eye for 2-3 mins!

Update: Went blind in my left eye for 2-3 mins!

I'm home after 8 long hours in the ER...they "think" it was a TIA but can't be certain...okay, THAT makes me feel better!!! Back on asprin and have to follow up with cardiologist next week. Told me to come back in IF it happens again. UGH!!! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. Love to you all, Dee

 

[njean]

I'm home after 8 long hours in the ER...they "think" it was a TIA but can't be certain...okay, THAT makes me feel better!!! Back on asprin and have to follow up with cardiologist next week. Told me to come back in IF it happens again. UGH!!! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. Love to you all, Dee

Alls well that ends well! Thank goodness!!

 

[bugchucker]

I'm in the ER now on the blackberry...EKG looked pretty good, slightly irregular heartbeat. INR was 1.9. They are going to CT scan my head. Oh what a fun way to spend a Thursday night. It took 2 days for the cardio nurse to call back, she was pretty concerned...

 

[halleyg]

Hi Dee,
Just got on here to check on you - so glad you're doing OK!! Hopefully it won't happen again. I used to get vision problems in one eye after OHS #2, didn't even know about the mini strokes... but hopefully that will be all you have to deal with!

 

[deek]

I'm in the ER now on the blackberry...EKG looked pretty good, slightly irregular heartbeat. INR was 1.9. They are going to CT scan my head. Oh what a fun way to spend a Thursday night. It took 2 days for the cardio nurse to call back, she was pretty concerned...

Phil,
Please let us know how you made out....k? Sounds shockingly similar. Hope you can get a clearer picture. For me, they said it was probably a mini stroke, but couldn't tell for certain from my CT scan. OK???? THAT makes me feel better. NOT!

 

[tobagotwo]

Did they give you aspirin, heparin (Lovenox), or Plavix in the ER?

They may be saying TIA because you insist on a diagnosis. TIA is a pretty popular diagnosis right now, and the only evidence of a TIA is that there is no evidence left behind (otherwise it's a regular stroke). Keep your mind open to visual/occular/atypical migraines, which are very common in valve patients and also fit your incident. Some doctors tend to like TIA diagnoses better, because there are pills for TIAs, and it looks like they can do something about it. For VMs, there isn't anything except patience.

People have chased things like this for years with neurologists and come up with diagnoses that essentially mean that they get spots or visual obstructions on occasion. It's been put down to vasoconstiction (vascular spasms), TIAs, showers of tiny calcium specks, brain injury, all sorts of things.

So, if you are offered something stroke-preventitive for it that is life-altering, consider your risks and options and discuss it carefully with your doctor before taking the plunge.

Best wishes,

 

[greg]

Dee, glad you got to the ER and had it checked. I'd also suggest you see and eye doc. Too many years ago, when I was 42, I lost vision for several mins. in one eye. The sight just kind of shut off from top to bottom, then came back the same way. When I was able to get an eye exam, the doc said I had witnessed the fluid sac sagging across my optic nerve. He said some see it happen, others don't.
He said it happens around age 40, so maybe you're not there yet. Anyway, just a thought.

 

[dick0236]

, they said it was probably a mini stroke, but couldn't tell for certain from my CT scan. OK???? THAT makes me feel better. NOT!

TIA events can and do occur after valve surgery and usually only cause transient problems. I am probably overly sensitive to vision events since I had a CVA (mini-stroke) that caused the permanent loss of 50% vision in both eyes. This happened back in the "olden days" when doctors and patients did not have a good "handle" on ACT. I was also very lax concerning the use of warfarin in those days and my disregard of the proper use of that drug almost certainly contributed to my CVA. Since that event, I have been diligent, but not paranoid, in using warfarin and I have had NO further problems, although I have had infrequent and minor TIAs. Like many other drugs, warfarin must be taken and monitored carefully.