Health problems, doctors wanted... advice needed...

[88keys]

I doubt that everybody's migraine is the same, but FWIW, I don't get blurred vision from my migraines at all.

Mine start out as white lights (the aura) in left eye almost like what you would see if you stared at a bright light for too long. After abot 20-30 minutes I'll have the most miserable headache you can imagine concentrated on the right side of my head. To me there is a clear difference between a migraine and an ordinary headache because of the pain. The pain has been so intense that it has made me vomit on several occasions. I think these are often mistaken for TIAs, but I've never experienced blurred vision, slurred speech, or numbness/tingling in the face for any of my migraines.

 

[bradly1101]

I'm not medically inclined but the combination of symptoms I think can narrow things down (maybe check for exposure to items on list etc.).

This site says there are 46 possibilities:

http://symptoms.rightdiagnosis.com/cosymptoms/blurred-vision/confusion/fatigue-all.htm

 

[Sulaco]

OP, I may be able to help.

My father is a Neuro-Ophthalmologist, obviously a subspecialty of Neurology and Ophthalmology.

He's also a board certified Neurologist and Professor of Neurology at the University of Kansas Medical School. This sounds to be his exact area of expertise and training.

I would be more than happy to describe your wife's case to him the next time we talk, or through email. I don't live in Kansas and he's obviously always busy so we talk somewhat infrequently, but I can drop him an email about it.

http://wichita.kumc.edu/im/facstaff/jensen.pdf

As I said, what you've described, especially with the blurred vision, sounds like a textbook neuro-ophthalmology consult.

 

[bradly1101]

I know well what it's like for a loved one to have medical issues, and the available assistance feels lacking. It's such a powerless feeling. I'm sure your support is a big part of what's getting her through this.

In my experience doctors need to be pushed into treating you as a priority. It's delicate; you don't want to be labeled a problem patient, but you feel the need to persist. I found if I expressed the fear of not knowing enough (without being hysterical), questions got answered faster.

 

[KlokWyze]

Good luck with finding the root cause. :\

 

[dmcowen674]

- Wife is 28, started having blurry vision in her left eye around Christmas time.

Now it's important to note the symptoms here. In addition to the blurry vision and seeing spots in the vision, my wife has also complained of being confused or clumsy at times. She also seems much more tired than normal,

Just a little while ago she called me from work. She is very upset, feels tired as usual but she says her face feels weird. She doesn't want to be alone at work, doesn't feel safe.

Sounds like a circulation problem.

Is her right hand and foot cold?

If so looking in wrong area, check for heart valve problem, most likely Mitral valve. Very common problem in women.

If Atenenol and Captipril don't fix the issue, it would require surgery.

One step at a time. Get it checked out. Ultra sound would see if it is the problem.

 

[tcsenter]

Sinus infection?

I hate when they say 'there is nothing wrong with you' based on a 'clear' MRI or CT just because they don't see anything abnormal. Big difference between 'you are neurologically just fine' and 'present technology and knowledge does not permit us to actually identify a bunch of dysfunctional or pathological conditions in the brain'.

e.g. you can't 'see' 100K destroyed hypocretin neurons on MRI (nor any other imaging) but it sure as hell produces narcolepsy (which I have). You can't see "bipolar disorder" on MRI, either. Well, some times, you can see some atypical anatomy in things like severe depression but most of the time, no. Plus, a 'snap-shot' of the brain is very often worthless and it is the changes in the brain over time that matter more, which require a baseline or reference point for comparison.

I can't find anything or I don't know != nothing wrong!

 

[Williz]

Have you tried turning her off and on again?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

OP, I may be able to help.

My father is a Neuro-Ophthalmologist, obviously a subspecialty of Neurology and Ophthalmology.

He's also a board certified Neurologist and Professor of Neurology at the University of Kansas Medical School. This sounds to be his exact area of expertise and training.

I would be more than happy to describe your wife's case to him the next time we talk, or through email. I don't live in Kansas and he's obviously always busy so we talk somewhat infrequently, but I can drop him an email about it.

http://wichita.kumc.edu/im/facstaff/jensen.pdf

As I said, what you've described, especially with the blurred vision, sounds like a textbook neuro-ophthalmology consult.

Good idea.

These are tricky things to diagnose and it's often a frustrating process of elimination. I had symptoms of a brain tumor of an invariably fatal sort with a high probably. In the end it was an ethmoid sinus infection which may have been there for a very long time.

 

[Doppel]

Good luck, OP. Hope you guys get it figured out soon. Health is the only possession we have that really matters at the end of the day.

 

[Northern Lawn]

Concussion?

 

[Cuda1447]

OP, I may be able to help.

My father is a Neuro-Ophthalmologist, obviously a subspecialty of Neurology and Ophthalmology.

He's also a board certified Neurologist and Professor of Neurology at the University of Kansas Medical School. This sounds to be his exact area of expertise and training.

I would be more than happy to describe your wife's case to him the next time we talk, or through email. I don't live in Kansas and he's obviously always busy so we talk somewhat infrequently, but I can drop him an email about it.

http://wichita.kumc.edu/im/facstaff/jensen.pdf

As I said, what you've described, especially with the blurred vision, sounds like a textbook neuro-ophthalmology consult.

That would be amazing. Thank you so much. I'm going to send you a PM with my personal email address that you can give to him if you'd like.

 

[Cuda1447]

To answer other peoples questions:

- We thought tumor at first as well, but that's why they did all the MRI's which all show nothing.

- She has had blood work done, so I assume they checked for diabetes.

- She has not traveled in the last few months

- The stroke/mini-stroke symptoms make sense. To a degree. The blurry vision is non-stop and the most concerning symptom. But from time to time she will get a tingly/falling asleep feeling somewhere in her body. Leg, foot, face etc... It's rare though. But if it was a mini-stroke or something of that nature, I would expect the vision to improve during the non-stroke time period?

- Have tried turning her off and on again, it didn't seem to help.


Thank you guys for all the replies.

 

[olds]

...
- Have tried turning her off and on again, it didn't seem to help...

Pics of her turned on?

Good luck OP, must be frustrating.

 

[Lounatik]

I was pretty sick the second half of 2013 and all 8 can tell you is this: keep on the doctors. Call every day, twice a day, if necessary. My wife is a medical malpractice paralegal and she has seen first hand what lack of communication can do. It's nothing intentional, the doctors are very busy with so many patients, and nurses forget to give tests to another office, someone doesnt tell another someone that you called.

It didnt take too long to figure out what was wrong with me, but it took a while to drag it out of several different doctors

Be a pain in their asses. Call, call call. Do not get off the phone until someone gives you an answer.

Edit: Cuda, does your wife have any gastrointestinal problems? I was diagnosed with Celiac disesase and it caused, according to the 3 docs I saw, the ocular migraines I was suffering from and the dizzyness I was experiencing from time to time. Just a thought.

Peace


Lounatik

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Has she been checked for diabetes? This has several symptoms that go along with it. Increased water consumption and frequent urination are others. Don't assume this was done with "routine" blood tests as it sometimes is not.

 

[slatr]

"But from time to time she will get a tingly/falling asleep feeling somewhere in her body. Leg, foot, face etc... It's rare though"

Neuropathy maybe, please be sure she had her B12 checked when her bloodwork was done.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

What is her visual acuity. Have the visual fields been checked. How much was the intraocular pressure.pl. provide the info for analyzing the problem better.

 

[Cuda1447]

"But from time to time she will get a tingly/falling asleep feeling somewhere in her body. Leg, foot, face etc... It's rare though"

Neuropathy maybe, please be sure she had her B12 checked when her bloodwork was done.

They did check the B12, everything was good there.

 

[msw1382]

I'm in now way a holistic person, but sometimes you need to look in that direction. Lets forget modern medicine here. Perhaps all her tests are showing normal because everything is. I would suggest trying out a low carb gluten free diet for a week. Cut out artificial things like splenda, MSG, aspartame etc...See how she feels.

 

[Vdubchaos]

God, if I can only tell you how many times we have went through your typical "American Healthcare" circle jerk and confusion......and each and every BUSINESS loves confusion as they pick/decide whatever they want to do to you/random.

Must be nice to just define how much money you want to make as you please.

It's completely FUBAR

 

[zinfamous]

I'm in now way a holistic person, but sometimes you need to look in that direction. Lets forget modern medicine here. Perhaps all her tests are showing normal because everything is. I would suggest trying out a low carb gluten free diet for a week. Cut out artificial things like splenda, MSG, aspartame etc...See how she feels.

that's good advice, but that is not outside of the advice you would get with modern medicine.

 

[WackyDan]

Bell's Palsy may be a stretch as she doesn't fit the stereotypical symptoms, but I had a buddy who had it and he didn't have obvious signs initially... it slowly crept in over a month or more before it fully manifested itself. IN his case, the palsy was caused by his immune system going rouge on him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell's_palsy

Worth discussing perhaps.

 

[Cuda1447]

I'm in now way a holistic person, but sometimes you need to look in that direction. Lets forget modern medicine here. Perhaps all her tests are showing normal because everything is. I would suggest trying out a low carb gluten free diet for a week. Cut out artificial things like splenda, MSG, aspartame etc...See how she feels.

We may give that a try. My wife eats fairly healthy as it is. Mostly water and orange juice. The carbs and gluten would probably be the worst in her diet, so we will check into that.

 

[D1gger]

When you mentioned blurred vision and face numbness, I thought of migraines, as these are some of the symptoms I have with migraines. There is also a type of migraine with no associated pain. It seems unlikely it would be continuous for more than a month but who knows.

Silent Migraine