Blurry Vision

[tulip]

Tulip - how do you really feel? .

Having lost vision in one eye, with the knowledge that the other could go at any time, gives me rather strong feelings on the topic. So yeah, that comes across like I meant it to.

[beccaB]

Get that checked out right away. Nearsighted people are more prone to floaters and flashers which can be caused by vitreous separation and can have implications for the retina. Not something to ignore.

[Duck on Wheels]

"Blurry" can be many things. You say it clears up after a couple of hours ...? Could it be migraine aura without the pain? Most of my migraines are aura-only and blurriness is the first impression those give (perhaps the only one, unless you get fascinated by their details in which case they can be quite "pretty" in a wierd and scary sort of way - like rainbowing crystal saw blades spinning in opposite directions), so the thought struck me. I have that occasionally. Bears looking into. If that's it, then a simple OTC pain-killer at onset can be helpful sometimes, and checking out possible "triggers" can help you avoid this becoming a more frequent issue. So ... If your ophthalmologist doesn't find an answer, you might want to check with your gp. Best of luck!

[indysteel]

Get that checked out right away. Nearsighted people are more prone to floaters and flashers which can be caused by vitreous separation and can have implications for the retina. Not something to ignore.

I've had both flashers and floaters. With each episode, I've hightailed it into my eye doctor's office. I am severely myopic and am at a higher risk for retinal detachment.

[Duck on Wheels]

I've had both flashers and floaters. With each episode, I've hightailed it into my eye doctor's office. I am severely myopic and am at a higher risk for retinal detachment.

Yep. Me too. The first detachment scared me! I was lifting wet laundry out of the machine when I felt a pop and suddenly there's this smoke-like dark plume in the middle of my field of vision on one eye. Luckily it wasn't the retina that detatched, "just" the vitreous whatsit (glasslegeme in Norwegian). Next one, I recognized the flashers that preceded it and waited it out lying on my back, so a much less dramatic separation, and again left the retina in place. In the aftermath, just more floaters than before, though some of them were blood that has since cleared. The flashers, btw, are kind of like lightning or camera bulb flashes upward from the lower outer "corner" of your field of vision on one eye or the other. You do want to see an ophthalmologist if this is happening. If the retina does detatch or seems about to (ophthalmologist told me detatchment would, from my perspective, look like a curtain rolling up or down) they may be able to reattach it. If it seems imminent, then lying down can help lessen the event.

[indysteel]

I've had flashes for years. They have been diagnosed as occular migraines, but I don't get a headache with them. When I do get migraines with my period, I don't get auras. The floaters started a couple of years ago. First in one eye and then the other. My vitreous was in the process of detaching, although I'm fairly young for that to happen. Doc kept a close eye on my eyes for a few months. I had my eyes dialated every week for a while and was told to lay off any high impact stuff. What fun that was.

[itself]

Diagnosis: Dry eyes! I started using drops today that the doctor gave me, and what a difference!

[OakLeaf]

Yay! So glad that's all it was. I was really worried.

[indysteel]

I'm glad it was something as benign as dry eyes. My eyes have been crazy dry, too. Air conditioning is a blessing and a curse!

[Duck on Wheels]

Doctor. ASAP. First thing tomorrow.

A few weeks ago, I started coughing up blood at 5:30 pm on a Saturday. I live in a small town, so nothing was open except the ER. I briefly considered posting here asking whether I should go, then pictured the response I would get. I was in the car by 5:33, and in the ER about 3 minutes after that. They saw me right away.

Turns out I have tonsillitis.

But really, there are times when we ask in a place like this because we don't want to deal the possibility of it being a real issue, as opposed to something relatively innocuous.

Well, deal with it and go. I hope it turns out to be nothing.

Good luck.

Edit: just realized you said you were going. Ah well, at least I got to share my story

Tulip:

As a sociologist of medicine, this is one thing I can say with professional authority One of patterns patients follow before going to a physician, and one that gives "cred" and helps move your consultation forward, is that people try to "soldier through", then talk to family and friends who will often urge them to see a doctor, then they go to the doctor and say "I'm having x and y symptoms. It's not really a big thing and I didn't want to bother you with it, but my [wife, mother, cycling buddy - it's often a woman!] badgered me into it." This is the point when the doctor takes over and starts examining, asking further questions. The "didn't want to bother you" and "badgered me into it" bits are actually part of the recipe for patient-doctor interaction success, as is stating symptoms rather than proposing diagnoses! I could probably even find the research references on this, but I won't bore you with that.