All my Dr. has ever said, Elyse, is the eyelid is irritating the cornea causing the blurring. That's a bum answer I know because my left eye has been off and on since July 4, 3 years ago, regarding acuity. I still need to get that MRI, but with tinnitus and hyperacusis that one is going to be a challenge! My g.p. said it would be easier to refer me if they have the MRI, so I guess my butt is due a kicking to get it done.
I'm kicking your butt all the way from new york! Go get that MRI mister! I know you are worried about it complicating your other medical problems, but you need to get it done. A neurologist can't do anything for you without it. If it makes you feel any better, I have to get one with contrast very soon too. My doctor just sent me the prescription today, and he wants me to get it done in July. I'll have to call and make an appointment for when school is over. It's not pleasant, but for me it is a necessary part of life. I also have to get about a dozen blood tests (for my annual physical, and to make sure the Rebif that I take for the MS isn't killing my liver.)
My eyes are just as crappy today as they were yesterday. They are very itchy and very crusty. My vision is blurred, but I know it is from my poor tear quality because it gets better when I blink. I am going to have to step the hot compresses up to three times a day I think. But it's hard, because putting a washcloth on my eyes is like a narcotic for me! I fall asleep immediately! In the morning I have to set my alarm to wake me up from the hot compress so I can go to work!
I hope the financial advisor had some good news for you!
Hello, Sis. I can hardly see to type, the left eye is so bad. Mine isn't tear quality because when I blink, nothing changes. Not a pair of glasses in the house can come close to correcting that smeared, glazed, blurred mess!! You're right. I'm convinced I need to get the MRI done. I'm scared of what it may reveal, but this has gone on long enough. Sometimes, I think that head blow in last October's wreck did do something!
Looks like we both need MRI's. Praying yours goes well and is easy to endure.
I'm so depressed, I don't care about anything this a.m. When you lose your sight, what else is there?
I don't know anything else, and will post this. I've done good to see to type it with one good eye!
Well, Sis, you're going to be proud of your ol' Texas brother--I just now called and had them re-slate the MRI! They will call later, I suppose, to tell me the time. I sat here with that blurred eye, and just suddenly got a fat gut full of it!! I told Barb I'm calling while I've got the guts and am mad at this eye!! The Dr. and nurse both said that day that it will make it easier to refer me to a neuro opthal if there is an MRI. The receptionist said on the phone, when I said that just now, that this is true, be it a neurologist or who--they all want an MRI to go by. Now your job is to give me a daily kicking to my rear to keep me in gear to go through with this! Don't let me chicken out again! Thanks!
Way to go! I'm proud of ya, T-man! You took that first step & we all know that first one is the hardest. I'm pretty good at kicking butt these days, so with the two of us out here...I think we can cheer you on, kick butt, whatever it takes! Once you have the MRI & conquer that dread, you'll be able to do anything!!! Overcoming the obstacle of that "fear" will give you more power & confidence than you can imagine. I'm proud of you kiddo. And know you'll do fine. And you've got that great lady by your side all the way.
That in itself, is a major plus.
So considered yourself cheered on and kicked in the butt! Day one.
Faith
Howdy, Faith! Hee! I got a plan! You can take one cheek with your boot, and Elyse can take the other with hers! Got your ol' brother covered!
I figure if this is all that is standing in the way of better help, then I might as well climb the hill! We talked to the front desk guy at the MRI building a while back and he said the dye used now is much better than the old and that for a head scan, it is really an easy deal. I had something injected a while back for a body scan and felt just fine, so maybe this won't affect me.
I'm really just so tired of the blurred vision in that eye, Faith. I can squint with that eye nearly closed, and things get clearer. The last time at the opthal's, and I failed to mention this, the assistant had me look through the perforated part of the eye cover. I found a hole that cleared it up, so to me, this says it could be a tear "mix" problem, or blepharitis. But again, I go back to getting up that July 4 3 years ago, and that eye was out of it's guord! So, surely eventually, we will find what's going on.
Butt-kick, Day One, ten four!
Tny
Guess that squinty-thing works for a lot of us, Tony. I always squint. I remember making the pin holes in cardboard as a kid...plus they always use that on me every time I go to the eye doc. Never bothered to ask what that test proved. Maybe I should just wear cardboard in front of my eyes all the time...sure would be cheaper than glasses!
Sometimes, I can get my eyelashes just right & that makes things clearer, too. All I know, is I'm gonna need botox pretty soon from all the squinting I've done over the past 18 yrs. But then I couldn't get my vision clearer if I couldn't squint!
Hang in their Bro...that butt kicking is gonna get more intense as the days go by.
And Elyse & I have got it covered.
Have a good night.
Faith
Yeah, Pin holes. I couldn't think of what it's called. I think they should make special specks, with both the corrective lenses and a pinhole layer like shadow masks on old color TV's--we'd get clear vision by hook or crook! It's still weird how when that eye is really bad, when I can get the right distance far enough away from something with my bifocals, lettering is sharper, but I've got lots of ghosting and smearing downward of what I see. No one can give me satisfactory answers for that one yet. Well, it's never normal anymore, but on "better" days, it's still with that effect to a degree.
Any-who, got my butt shield on and ready to snort! Don't kick too hard-I might do sump'n in my britches!
Nighty night to you too.
Tny
Last edited by Anxiety Man; 06-16-2005 at 05:38 PM.
Tony, I've got a nice hard boot that I wore when I broke my foot in January (instead of a cast). It wouldn't feel too good getting kicked in the butt with it, so go get that MRI done!!!!
I'm sorry that your vision is still so crappy. Have you given any more thought to seeing a neuro-ophthalmologist?
I think I've figured out why my eyes are getting worse over these past few days. I usually sleep with a warm air humidifier on. The past few days I've noticed that the water level in the tank is not going down like it usually does. This morning I woke up and went to shut it off, and even though the switch was in the on position, there was no steam coming out of it and it was not makiing any noise. I think I may have to replace the UV bulb. But since it will take a few days to get one of those from the company that makes the humidifier, I might go out tomorrow night or saturday and buy a new one. I'll probably still fix the other one, just to have as a spare. I don't imagine it is going to be easy to find a warm air humidifier in the middle of the summer. But I need it! My eyes are dying without it!!!! I really liked this humidifier too!!!!
Just a short note. We have an appt. with a realtor about where we might could move this a.m. Just read in the obits of a fellow me and my parents knew, passing away. His son, a guy I ran around with in my younger days, had died Christmas week, now, looksl ike his dad is gone. My left eye is better this a.m. so that's good.
Well, I have some good news! My broken humidifier is made by a company that is only about an hour from here. My parents called them for me this morning, and they told them that if they come there, they will give them a new one free of charge! It's not even under warranty anymore! So my parents made the trip while I was at work, and they just handed my dad a brand new humidifier, no questions asked!
You know, Staten Island is such a small world. Today my parents were at the nursing home visiting my grandma, and my dad just happened to be talking to the nursing coordinator. Somehow they got to talking about me, and my MS. (leave it to my dad!) She has it too, and wanted to know how I was diagnosed. So he told her that the ophthalmologist diagnosed me. She said "Oh, I go to a
Well, I have some good news! My broken humidifier is made by a company that is only about an hour from here. My parents called them for me this morning, and they told them that if they come there, they will give them a new one free of charge! It's not even under warranty anymore! So my parents made the trip while I was at work, and they just handed my dad a brand new humidifier, no questions asked!
You know, Staten Island is such a small world. Today my parents were at the nursing home visiting my grandma, and my dad just happened to be talking to the nursing coordinator. Somehow they got to talking about me, and my MS. (leave it to my dad!) She has it too, and wanted to know how I was diagnosed. So he told her that the ophthalmologist diagnosed me. She said that she goes to a WONDERFUL ophthalmologist that she just loves!!!! She said that she's a nurse, and is usually very critical of doctors, but she LOVES her doctor. My dad told her that I also have an absolutely wonderful ophthalmologist whom I think the world of, and that HE is one of the best too! They each asked who the other goes to, and what do you know? She goes to my doctor! She also agrees with me that he is really cute! What a small world! He's not going to believe this one!
My eyes are VERY goopy! I can't take this white stringy stuff anymore! Hopefully the new humidifier will make a difference. Thank God I had the moisture mask to sleep with for the past few nights, without the humidifier.
Tony, I am very sorry to hear about the passing of your friend.
GOOPERWOMAN signing off for now.
Last edited by purple2067; 06-17-2005 at 03:37 PM.
Well, I don't know what is wrong with these boards now. At first, your post just ran off the end of a sentence, then after I posted, the rest of it appeared!
Glad you got the humidifier.
I get the MRI next Tue @ 9a.m. I'm ready! The eye is the tip of the iceburg with me. I've had off and on for years, temple and facial "jumps" and spasms. Since the wreck they had improved, not bothering me. This past two weeks, that has all come on me again in a bad bad way, and it worsening! It nearly drives me over the edge! I hope they can find what in hell is causing this crap! I'm stressed out and exhausted from the nerve jumps all day today!
I know the left temple area looks bigger than my right, and has for years. I don't know what that is. Maybe this will reveal something.
Last edited by Anxiety Man; 06-17-2005 at 03:37 PM.
Howdy, Sis--It's quit for now, but those things have drained me today! Yep, I think we almost "doubled" on that "transmission" post. I'll down my lorazepam and go for th' gold! Have a great rest of the evening, Sis.
Hi Tony, Glad you got that appt for the MRI so quick. Get the thing over & hopefully get to the root of what's going on. Sorry your having those spasm, too. I can imagine how aggravating something like that could be. Gotta love that lorazipam...I've got some, too. Helped me in getting the MRI done, and if I get anxiety attacks, they work pretty darn good on them too, and to sleep. I don't take 'em too much, cause if I do I get depressed. But they sure help with things like MRI's.
Hey Elyse, that's pretty cool about the humidifier. Not many companies would do that these days. Since you mentioned the humidifier, I've been contemplating getting mine out & using it cause of the A/C dry air. Usually only use it in Winter, but the pollen and a/c having been really drying lately. Good idea. Thanks! Hope your eyes are better in the morning. Did you mention something about Bion Tears being good? I've got to get something for work...my contacts feel like potato chips by afternoon, with the a/c & dust.
Hey, Tony...I just remembered...I don't know if you've heard of this, but was reading in a magazine today that they were treating tinnitus with botox injections and people were having pretty good results with it in a few weeks time. They said it calmed down the humming, buzzing, etc. Just thought I'd mention it.
Have a good night & hope you both wake up feeling better in the a.m.
Hello, Faith- Yep, I'm ready for some answers to years of off & on suffering with facial tics, hemifacial spasms, or whatEVER this is!
The loraz is good, but sadly, I've been on that stuff for years. I got tinnitus in '84 and by '93, it got so bad, I had to start Xanax, which has been proven to help with it. "X" turned on me like a snake in 2000, then I was switched to loraz for anxiety disorder.
I'm afraid now, by what I read on the UK Benzo site, that it "could" be causing some of this weird neurological stuff! I do have that fear. Getting off it would be a hellish nightmare, I'd bet.
I forgot to comment about the humidifier, but I'm glad they did that for ya', Elyse.
Well, I'm pooped from battling spasms all day. They've quit for now, and I hope I get a peaceful rest the rest of the evening!
Tony, how much Lorazepam do you take? How often do you take it? I would imagine that you'd have to be taking a pretty high dose for a long time for it to cause neurological changes. I guess if it makes you really tired, that could cause vision problems though.
I am glad you have an appointment for the MRI. I didn't want to have to go down to the basement and get my AirCast boot!
Faith, I use the humidifier all year round. I never used to, but when I started with the dry eyes, my ophthalmologist suggested it. He said he wanted to see if it would help ME and then he would suggest it to some of his other patients! LOL! Well, going without it for these past few nights has been the supreme test. I don't think I produce any tears when I sleep, and I guess it really does make a difference to have some extra added moisture in the room. It also helps because I used to get a lot of nosebleeds, and now I don't. You have to be careful which humidifier you use though. They can create mold and germs in the air if you are not careful. The one I use is by a French company (a very nice company!) called Slant/Fin. Weird name, huh? It is a warm mist, germ free humidifier. It has an ultra-violet light in it to kill all of the germs. It also has mineral absorption pads that take all of the unnecessary minerals out of the water. I found it one day just by browsing the internet. I was in desperate need of a new humidifier after the one I was using exploded. (yes, it exploded.) I found this company, and the website said that Babies R Us carried their products. I went in there and they had one left. It was the winter and all the parents were buying humidfiers for their babies!
I was absolutely shocked when my mom told me that gave me this new one for free (they usually cost around $100). They said they would have paid for shipping if we couldn't come and get it. I have used other humidifiers in the past, and this one is far superior to any that I have ever used. I had the one that just broke for over 3 years and used it all night, every night. It was great, but it seems that the motor finally just had enough! What a nice company! So Faith go get a Slant/Fin humidifier!!
Last edited by purple2067; 06-17-2005 at 08:45 PM.
Hello, Elyse--Sat. a.m., and I think I've already had a few spasms. I only take 3/4mg. total daily of Loraz. The rub is I've been on one benzo or another since 1993. I started on Xanax to help with tinnitus, just 1/2mg. at night. I never have taken large dosages of those, but the number of years I've been on this stuff is my concern.
I know you are worried about it complicating your other medical problems, but you need to get it done. A neurologist can't do anything for you without it. If it makes you feel any better, I have to get one with contrast very soon too. My doctor just sent me the prescription today, and he wants me to get it done in July. I'll have to call and make an appointment for when school is over. It's not pleasant, but for me it is a necessary part of life. 
I also have to get about a dozen blood tests (for my annual physical, and to make sure the Rebif that I take for the MS isn't killing my liver.) 
Thanks!
ny
It's still weird how when that eye is really bad, when I can get the right distance far enough away from something with my bifocals, lettering is sharper, but I've got lots of ghosting and smearing downward of what I see. No one can give me satisfactory answers for that one yet. Well, it's never normal anymore, but on "better" days, it's still with that effect to a degree. 
