Visual Symptoms Characteristic Of GCA ?
Jan 21, 2015
Yesterday a rheumatologist diagnosed me with GCA and, in an attempt to remove any threat to my sight, put me on 60 mg of prednisone immediately. He based this on the PMR symptoms and some visual symptoms.
He advised me to see my eye doctor. She did not see anything at all in my visual symptoms characteristic of GCA. She was surprised and disturbed that he made this significant diagnosis without more blood work and a biopsy.
Now that I have been on the prednisone, though only 2 days on 60 mg, the inflammation will be gone and there is no way, she says, we will ever know whether I really had/have GCA.
She will talk to him today to see if he had any other information she does not know about.
I'll trust my GP to sort out the best thing to do. I certainly am not staying on 60 mg of prednisone a day longer than I have to!
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Recently I have been diagnosed with a daily type of migraine which causes imbalance, dizziness and visual blurring although I don't always have a headache. The doctor put me on nortriptyline 10mg once a day at night. I'm on my second day and my dizziness and visual symptoms have gotten far worse? Is this normal and does it go away after a while? Feeling rather panicky as I struggle to even go to the shop. Nothing feels real. Any advice out there?
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I was diagnosed 5 years ago as a paranoid schizophrenic. I have allot of auditory hallucinations, but never once a visual one.
A week ago when I was in my room I stared at the ceiling, I have a wood one. Suddenly the marks and patterns on it started to move, then dance. I just thought that I must have been tired and went to sleep.
Since then it got a little worse. Every night the ceiling would dance for me. Then inanimate objects would start to bend and move around. The weird thing is that when my keyboard against the wall moves, the shadow casted on the wall by it, moves with it. I found this a bit odd.
Tonight was the worst case. The blanked on my bed puffed up and moves around, exactly like there was a dog underneath. My closet door handle would move up and down while the closet opens and closes, with no sound.
When my laptop's light went down and I stared at my own reflection, things got weird. My reflection's hands would move while I am sitting still. "He" would blink when I do not. Then my whole face started to change. It puffed up and my hair was longer. When I turned my face one way, he turned a different way and started smiling at me. And our eyes never made contact. When I looked into "his" eyes, he would look to the sides or roll them back.
Because I have had this illness for a long time I didn't go into a panic as I kind of got the jest of what was going on.
Since this was my first visual experience, I just want to know if this is the "norm" of it. I did not see anything that was not there, just things moving and getting distorted.
And does anyone know if the visual part can come for the first time after me having this illness for so long?
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Just out of interest, I get the following, although somewhat reduced by my current medication (quetiapine)
1. Flashes, peripheral disturbances;
2. Illusions -- shadows morphing into animals / people;
3. Seeing what I call 'black rats / cats';
4. Spiders on your desk...;
5. 'Throbbing' objects such as keyboards;
6. Seeing people on the street who just vanish into thin air;
7. Seeing people morph into skeletons
8. People faces screaming at your window...
9. People walking into your lounge you know but are dead / or miles away
10. Talking to people who aren't there.
Fortunately my medication stops at about number 6.
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I might have had 2 or 3 mild headaches in my life.
6 months ago i had most of my pituitary gland removed due to Cushing's Disease.
3 months ago i had a visual field test that showed possible swelling around the optic nerve.
6 weeks ago i started waking with headaches at about 4.30am ! i would sleep more then wake later with less of a headache but when i stood up i would get a whooshing sound in my ears and a throbbing in the top of my head. i told me GP. She said its normal when you first stand up ( Normal My #$$, if it was normal wouldnt it have been happening all my life, anyway i digress lol ). So i had these headaches, i got blurred vision and my blood pressure went up to 234/127. So off i go to hospital for 4 days.They played around with my blood pressure meds and sent me home. I still had headaches, blurred vision and my BP was 180/105( now on 4 different BP meds ).
2 weeks ago i went and had a repeat of my visual field test. The Opthmalogist wasnt too happy, basically told me one quadrant of my vision in my left eye was gone. Said he would speak to my Endocrinologist !
2 days later i noticed what i can only describe as a smudge in my vision...very annoying, but not painful and yes i can still see. but im not driving, im too scared to. I drove one day and as it got darker i couldnt tell where the other cars on the road were, kind of a distortion thing i guess
My Endocrinologist rang the next day and said i need to go for an urgent MRI...so i did.
That was 1 week ago. i have had no results, no phone calls. But i did get a letter advising me i have a Neurology outpatient appointment on 13th october ! i rang to confirm as i was waiting for an endocrine appointment. Hospital said, yes, the neurosurgeon refered you to neurolgy following your MRI. Hmmm thanks for that.
So now im trying to guess whats going on. Did my MRI show up something, if so what?, if not then why am i being referred to neurology?
I hate being in the dark. Yes i know i only have 2 weeks til i find out, but 2 weeks is hell when your second guessing.
Summary : i still have headaches ( they are for the most part mild, throbbing when i stand followed by whooshing in ears), vision has maybe slightly improved in last 2 days but still not normal. Blood pressure is still sitting around 180/105
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I have been on Oxytetracycline for the past 3 months to treat acne on my back. It seems to be beginning to work now but I have a problem in that my sight has degraded quite rapidly in the past 4 months. My optician did say there is a chance this could be linked. I have done a bit of research and sight variation is a rare side effect of this medication. Does anyone know if this would be a temporary variation on a permanent deterioration?
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18 months ago I started getting blurry central vision in both eyes at the same time - it wasn't there all the time but when it was happening I found it very hard to do fine work.
I saw an ophthalmologist who did an OCT and retinal exam and found nothing. He suggested it was neurological so I had an MRI of my brain and orbits but nothing was found to explain the problem.
In the last three months I found that the problem had become permanent in my right eye - I could now see a faint central ring that pulsated with my heartbeat on that side. I went back to the ophthalmologist and he diagnosed a stage one macular hole. He didn't think the previous loss of vision was connected to this. He has advised me to wait and see if it gets worse but I am considering doing the surgery anyway - maybe trying the new drug Jetrea first which is very expensive but which is said to help a small number of patients.
Has anybody had a similar experience - with the visual loss coming and going? Anybody tried or considered trying Jetrea?
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have been prescribed Oxytetracycline for my cystic acne. 250mg thrice a day for 20 days and then 250 mg twice a day.
I have read on internet that it causes vision loss or impairment in some patients and scared to start the treatment.
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I've had migraines throughout my life. Mine really peeked in my early 40s going through peri menopause they would be 3 days long. Now the painful migraines have gotten so much better and shorter. I also use Imitrex as needed.
I would also get an Ocular Migraine (visual disturbances such a bright zig zag lines, vibrating bright lines in vision) about every 4-5 years. They were checked out the first time and the doc said they were not harmful.
Recently my dog decided to put me on Atenolol to prevent migraines. After 3 days of being on them I started to have the Ocular Migraines every single day now! I've never had that happen. The Atenolol has stopped the painful migraines completely but I don't think I can handle something like an LSD trip every single day. This doesn't seem right. My doc doesn't think it's causing it but suggested I go off of it to see.
Anyone else with Ocular migraines?
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A little history on me: I'm 21/F. I have generalized anxiety, panic disorder, depression, PCOS, TMJ, and IBSD. These are all issues I have been dealing with. Medication list: Prozac (20 mg). Vitamin D (5,000 IU). Vitamin B12 injection (once a month). Iron (324 mg). Birth control. Ativan (.05 as needed).
My vision has changed since the beginning of this year. I now see small, clear halos when looking at bright, solid surfaces (such as the sky, walls, etc). I also see an odd wave, jelly-like substance when looking at similar surfaces. When I squint my eyes, I see a line of 20 small dots. All of the floaters I have mentioned move in an odd way, like they're falling. When I try to focus on them, my eyes make the floaters "jump" back to the top of my vision, only to begin falling again. These always look different (never the same spots or lines) and occur in both eyes. When I am focusing on something, such as the TV, I see random dots in my peripheral vision, but when I look in that direction there is nothing there. Went to the eye doctor, said everything looked fine, I am nearsighted, and any disturbances were ocular migraines. I have had three ocular migraines, where I can very clearly see rainbow lines in my vision. These occur when I have gotten very worked up/anxious and only last a few seconds. The floaters I have previously mentioned occur ALL the time. I can look at the sky at any time during daylight, and see them. Brought these issues up to my general practitioner and said this was nothing to worry about, but keep an eye on it.
When looking down or look around quickly, I feel a visual dizziness and off-balance.
PLEASE, if you have any information on what the possible causes of these disturbances/floaters could be, let me know. My doctors aren't worried, but I 100% am. I'm young, why am I having eye issues? I don't wear contacts and only wear glasses when driving.
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I have suffered with a so called anxiety disorder now for about 6 years. It started when I was on the train home from university and all of a sudden I lost some of my vision, felt very light-headed, pins and needles all over and thought I might pass out. This was the first time I had ever felt like this and before this incident, I was a very outgoing and independent person. However, since this I have has 6 years of constant, 24/7, light-headedness with severe panic attacks. I cannot go out, I cannot be left alone so my life is basically non-existent.
I have had every medical check there is - bloods, MRI, EEG, ECG - and all sorts of differing meds - citalopram, sertraline, lamotrigine, pregabalin and the list continues. All tests have come back negative and none of the meds have made any difference really. I have also had many diagnoses - depression, GAD, depersonalisation disorder, agoraphobia and even an inner ear issue. I have had counselling, CBT, hypnotherapy and all haven't made a difference.
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I am now over a year from retinal tear/ pvd with a mass of dark floaters/ cobwebs/ Weiss ring in my visual axis.constantly blurring my vision. Makes everything a struggle and exhausting. My ophthalmologist agrees they are extreme and is willing to do a vitrectomy - I am so tempted to get this done, but at the same time very apprehensive. Would love to hear any thoughts.
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I admit I have had multiple Anxiety attacks, I am a cashier at Walmart, I usually get them if I had rude customer like after I had a nasty customer who came down from self-check to customer service towards me, I was in tears before that, then my manager told me to hide behind the Customer Service desk. My worst anxiety attack I had a lady who's coupons would not work, I took the coupon price off the items she could not understand that and told me to take the items off period and demanded I give the coupons back to her, I already did. My brain got foggy so I asked her if she wanted me to take the items off, she said yes so I kept doing it, suddenly I wasn't feeling to well, I went to go see my manager to ask for help when I started hyperventilating, my manager had me sit down right there at the empty register. Another cashier was able to take over and finish it for me. My manager helped me over to the bench at customer service, where I suddenly lost feeling in my hands, they ended up curling up from the pinky in. I tried prying them apart using the metal bench but that didn't even work. That scared me, the same manager asked if I was okay I told her that I couldn't feel my hands, staring down at my fists. They finally unfroze after 10 minutes. The lady was so upset with me she left all of her items.
Anyway I will get dizzy, like it ranges from feeling as though I am spinning, I have to clutch on to something to keep from falling over, to the world tipping around me with every step, to not being able to see, not sure if that's exactly dizziness, but it started with dizziness. I'll get flushed randomly. I'll have PAC's. There have been a few times I have almost fainted, one time it was from not breathing, like I noticed that I wasn't breathing, my body was just like woah what's the matter you aren't breathing, I had to have a manager finish while I sat down. I was up and doing my job before I was supposed to so I did not feel well the rest of the day. My arms will also get exhausted suddenly if I have to lift them to head level, like I can barely do a pony tail without them being exhausted, the kinda feeling you get after a hard work out.
I've had the flushing and dizziness when I was talking to my mom and hanging out with my friends. My friends all know and are really accepting if they need to stop doing whatever so I can sit down.
My doctor originally thought it was POTS if anyone knows what that is, I'm getting a tilt table test in 2 weeks, now he seems to think it's anxiety. I'm sitting down while working just in case, it does seem to help slightly. It's just annoying, this has been going on for 3 months and I'm sitting down because of the time I have almost fainted also. Anyway people will say you're lucky you get to sit down, I don't consider everything and almost fainting lucky.
I'm not sure if it is anxiety since it is just physical symptoms, I've had no mental or emotional ones. Just feels like mental ones from fear of my physical ones.
I've done a stress echo and a holter monitor and blood work done.
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I recently had a liver panel (blood work) done and my alk phos (ALP) enzymes came back elevated. I'm scheduled for an ultrasound of the liver and gall bladder for this coming Tuesday.
My question is....what sort of symptoms did any of you have before discovering you had gall stones/gall bladder issues. I have what I call a "pinchy" pain that radiates from my waist up my right side to under the ribs and it's always accompanied by tons of gas!
At first I thought the pain could be muscle related...but now I'm not so sure.
I do not have any other symptoms of gallbladder disease...such as nausea, light colored stool, etc.
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On Dec 6th i had a protected sex with a sex worker. I read through Google and found it is a low risk.
But what am worried is the symptoms or the things happening.
On the 10th day after the incident, i had a sudden huge dehydration and from there mild fever, fatigue, Throat pain, Pain in my groin, Arm pits as well, Loss of appetite, felt a lot of tiredness. I don't know if the lymph nodes were swollen or not, Nausea, Oral thrush, Blood red spots inside the mouth for a day. I felt all disappeared yesterday. But from today morning, i feel nerve tickling or blistering in my legs and frequency is slowly increasing with a mild joint paints as well.
Tests taken
13th day PCR DNA - Negative
28th Day - Antibody screening (finger prick) - negative
30th day PCR DNA - waiting for results.
my questions are
1) Do you think i will be hiv + ?
2) How good is a 13th day PCR DNA test?
3) 30th day PCR DNA test results are expected to come by this weekend.. If it is negative, then do you think i still need to do the testing after 84 days or 3 months?
I know symptoms cannot diagnose HIV, but i m really worried confused and keep thinking of this always. Please help me with any possible information.
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Do you get flu like symptoms with HEP C?
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I have these symptoms for over a year and each time it's a little different.
1. I get burning back of head usually back of left side neck at the base of my head then it goes up to my top of head.
2. I get dizzy or drunk like feeling, usually with a bowel movement.
3. confused feeling, lots of gas.
4. My back of the left side between my should blade and spine has a constant pain.
5. I crack in weird places I never used to. Example, the back of my head makes a clicking noise. Sometimes my chest will pop. 5. Burning in my abdomen, sometimes.
6. Pain by my heart or breathing, usually when I have to poop or pee.
7. Feeling like I have poor circulation when I sleep or awake in the morning. I will often wake up because of numb body parts.
8. jaw pain or jaw burning.
9. I will get like heat or burning in chest to face then, I sometimes break out in a rash? I get red bumps on my skin, often. This comes usually with my hot face feeling. It kind of prickly.
10. tingling in hands of both. 11. I get weird beating or heart beat beats faster sometimes.
12. I feel nauseous when I drink water, often. Or when have to poop, sometimes.
13. short of breath at times.
14. Floaters in the eyes.
15. head pressure or eye pressure.
16. Tired arms, usually left arm.
17. If I push on my chest with my fingers at the right time, it will hurt so bad MORE than normal with just a push.
18. I bruise so easily on my legs.
19. twitching in different areas more than norm.
20. I find pain in certain area of my body that should not hurt.
21. crawling skin on head at times and, muscles moving or slightly tightening for no reason on my upper body.
22. Tooth pain all of a sudden, then goes.
23. I feel different in my mind.
I have been to the E.R. a lot, it's annoying. They usually do not find anything wrong. I went to my Doctor she said nerves and I have ibs irritable bowel. I have a heart ultrasound looks good. I have bad tooth decay. I had a bad tooth infection 1 year or 2 ago. I used to drink a lot of energy drinks and WAS addicted to painkillers for about a year. All my basic blood work came back normal. I had an allergy test my Doctor said I don't have any. Of course I was diagnosed with anxiety. I say of course because, it seems like a trend that most people have.
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Around the same time I was diagnosed with Sjogrens; I was also diagnosed with ADD. And I have been taking adderall for it. But, I have been wondering could the symptoms I have for ADD (restlessness, unable to focus, forgetfulness, and confusion) be from Sjogrens? My rheumatologist is thinking about changing things around. But, I wanted to see if anyone else has had similar experiences; before I start messing with different medications.
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I and other volunteers see a lot of posts regarding symptoms after an exposure. Some are minor such as a rash or a swollen node to "HIV like" such as a cluster of fever, sore throat, sores and body aches. Keep this in mind that as humans we are covered or exposed to germs, common viruses, and fungus which we all carry. This is called the "the biome" which is the invisible part of our environment. When we have sexual contact with somebody or their body fluids we expose each other to these organisms and our body reacts accordingly to fend off these invaders sometimes making us feel ill or display manifestations of symptoms. Stress and anxiety post exposure contribute to this since chronic stress decreases the immune system and makes us more susceptible to common infections. But what about the rashes? One may ask. Stress and anxiety causes the "fight or flight" response in our bodies causing release of cortisol which causes itchy rashes on the skin. Cortisol rashes are also called "hives" can be be similar to rashes found in STDs and can be frightening when they occur, (Ive been there). Allergic reactions also play a part. Also, sometimes the timing of exposure and illness is purely coincedental. Finally, if you have had a high risk exposure- when in doubt, test out.
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I know some people believe that they have certain symptoms when they ate pregnant that they feels determine whether they are having a boy or girl. Does anyone remember what their symptoms where and what they end up having? Pregnant with baby number 3 and the last 2 are boys. Never experienced anything like this before. Just wondering!
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Painless hematuria can be intermittently reduced or stopped by itself. So it can give a wrong impression to patients that it has been cured or turned better. A minority of bladder cancer sufferers have symptoms of increased frequency of urination, urgent urinate and painful urination.It seems to be suffering from cystitis, but antibiotic is useless. A small number of bladder cancer sufferers don't have gross hematuria but overproof of erythrocyte under microscope, namely microscopic hematuria. Therefore, patients with painless hematuria or "cystitis" which cannot be cured and microscopic hematuria should be vigilant and receive timely treatment. Doctors need to consider seriously and do complete inspection for patients, otherwise it would be easily misdiagnosed as urolithiasis, infection or prostate plasia and delay or mistreatment of opportunity.
Incidence of bladder cancer is relatively low of all malignant tumors, but the most common for carcinomas of urinary system and especially for the elderly. The most common symptom of bladder cancer is insensate gross hematuria. It is a sign for paroria. Almost every bladder cancer sufferer have the symptom and 85%; sufferers need to be treated for it. When suffering from prostatitis, the herbal pill like diuretic and anti-inflammatory pill works effectively.
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