brain interpreting light wrong/ lights have a strange effect - Brain & Nervous System Disorders Message Board

danii20 · 07-12-2002, 05:23 PM

I'm 21 and had this problem for 6 years

When i was at school and in a room without windows and fluorescent tube light - i'd be in there for a few seconds
and then the light would start to fade quickly to BLACK - as if i was about to faint(but i'd remain conscious)
Everything would be a 'buzzing' black tone
and i'd have high-pitch tinnitus in my ears.
This really freaked me out the 1st few times it happened. After a while it would be happening in every lesson and the 'blackness' would last all lesson.

It would make me feel really strange and 'freaked out' and would make me be really stupid as i couldn't think properly - wouldn't be able to read sentences AND understand them - or write sentences AND comprehend meaning - i couldn't do more than one thing at a time.

So i'd go in a room normal and once in the lit room - would go under a dramatic transformation!

It would give me headaches and led to 6months of constant 'blackness' and i was housebound. This happened on 3 separate occasions.

Does any one else find light does this to them?

Now i find the light is constantly blurred - light coloured blurs of light - this has been constant in one form or another since Jan - v distressing (but not as bad as the 'black' light - will i have to avoid flourescent light for ever?!)

so light has had a major effect on my life for 6years - whenever a light is turned on ... and now my vision is affected even in natural light (although to a lesser extent)

Do you get this???
btw i find sunglasses only makes the light seem even worse!

thanx

my vision problems are getting worse

tsyndra · 07-13-2002, 11:58 AM

<<I'm 21 and had this problem for 6 years>>

i'm 25 and have had this prob for ~5-6 yr's

<<When i was at school and in a room without windows and fluorescent tube light - i'd be in there for a few seconds
and then the light would start to fade quickly to BLACK - as if i was about to faint(but i'd remain conscious)
Everything would be a 'buzzing' black tone
and i'd have high-pitch tinnitus in my ears.>>

you hit the nail on the head re: faint vision w/o faint feeling...not to mention the "buzzing" black tone--yer still talking vision @this pt right? cos that's wot it's like fer me...little white/silvery floaters swirling on a black-tinted background. as for the tinnitus, mine's usually barely audible...but enough to mess w/ my head.

<<It would make me feel really strange and 'freaked out' and would make me be really stupid as i couldn't think properly - wouldn't be able to read sentences AND understand them - or write sentences AND comprehend meaning - i couldn't do more than one thing at a time.>>

same here...the worst times incl discussing sci research w/ my honor scholar program coordinator in her tiny office @college, psych research w/ another prof's office @univ, etc...tho sometimes i've also noticed it inside @work (pizza delivery) when things get hectic...and even whilst hanging out w/ my extended family for the holidays, etc...so, even tho fluorescent lights usually play a factor, it can also happen when i'm in a well-lit room trying to fake sociability.

<<So i'd go in a room normal and once in the lit room - would go under a dramatic transformation!>>

same here...tho again, i'm not sure if it's cos of better lighting or escape from social interaction...or maybe a mix of both fer me. i tend to experience dissociation/depersonalization when this happens...definitely feel like i've suddenly become a tangential mess incapable of complete thought...so then, of course, i worry that the person i'm talking to notices this...@which pt, the prob gets worse and worse 'til i terminate the conversation and head outdoors.

<<Now i find the light is constantly blurred - light coloured blurs of light - this has been constant in one form or another since Jan - v distressing (but not as bad as the 'black' light - will i have to avoid flourescent light for ever?!)>>

again, sounds very familiar...tho not as noticeable/distressing/etc fer me lately, since i too have stopped leaving the house as much...tho perhaps for diff reasons than you (psych vs physio).

i dunno if any of this has been helpful @all for ya in the long run...since i've yet to see a dr. myself and cannot really offer tremendous amt's of insight...just empathy/sympathy/etc.

p.s.=just sci curiosity on my part--and feel free to decline to answer--but have you ever experienced sleep paralysis?

danii20 · 07-13-2002, 02:08 PM

sleep paralysis? what's that?

yes i was talking about vision - 'buzzing' tone

do u experience what i described every time a light is on? in other words does this impact a great deal on your life? if so why haven't you seen a dr?

thanx for the empathy factor btw

what did u study at uni? just curiosity

tsyndra · 07-15-2002, 06:21 PM

<<sleep paralysis? what's that?>>

[url="http://dubinserver.colorado.edu/prj/dgu/p02.html"]helpful page[/url]

asked about sleep paralysis cos my daytime tinnitus manifests itself during these episodes as a loud buzzing sound...felt not just in the ears, but in my whole body...you'd mentioned tinnitus, so was just curious wot other things we might have in common

<<do u experience what i described every time a light is on? in other words does this impact a great deal on your life? if so why haven't you seen a dr?>>

(1) most times, esp if light=fluorescent +/or situation is characterized by social pressure of any sort <--prob due to increased blood flow, etc

(2) it has the greatest impact on my academic life (talking to prof's in their offices, trying to make myself come across w/ above-avg intelligence i possess, etc)

(3) i have seen therapists re: my anxiety/social phobia/etc...i have NOT seen a medical doctor to eliminate physio causes tho...i dread visits to the dr's office, so i put them off quite easily...so i suppose the prob doesn't bother me enough in a physical sense to seek medical help...truth be told, i've socially isolated myself lately--so now i don't even make appt's w/ psych dr's.

one other place on these boards i've noticed ppl talking about fluorescent lights=lupus board...for some reason, i think i also read about mercury fillings having to do w/ it...???i forget which board here i read that @...if i find it again, i'll letcha know...i have mercury fillings in a cpl cavities in my back teeth as well as the root canal i had done 7-8 yr's ago...for some reason, the dentist never mentioned putting a crown over that tooth...so i never had it done...and now i have a piece missing (cos i grind my teeth when i sleep), which causes the filling to be exposed on one side as well as the top...something i prob should get checked out :O

<<what did u study at uni? just curiosity>>

major=psych; minor=chem

catch ya laters...have a nice day and take care!

[This message has been edited by tsyndra (edited 07-15-2002).]

Dodger8 · 08-11-2002, 08:35 AM

If you have problems with lights, have you ever had an MRI of your brain using dye? Some types of brain lesions could cause problems with lights.
If not, maybe you should request an MRI.
You are in my prayers.