Vision Issues

[bungle950]

I am not sure if this is anxiety related or not but here goes:

I am a 40 year old male. For around 3 years now I have had problems with looking at supermarket shelves, oriental rugs, high contrast patterns, rows of white text on black backgrounds (black on white - the problem goes away). Under these conditions everything seems to shimmer or vibrate, maybe like a guitar string being plucked is the best way to describe it.

It seemed to start after I got off a long haul flight from SE Asia. I couldn't sleep on the flight and had trouble reaclimatizing when i got back. I remember seeing like a haze coming off the road for a few seconds but it wasn't hot!) I mentioned this to the doctors but said it is nothing to do with that...

If I close either eye it goes away. Completely resolved.

Several eye tests by Neuro Optomoterist, Optomoerists, Opthalmologists (Pressures, slit lamp, OCT, glaucoma test, plus other testing including chromagen and ENG or iis it ENT?) - All clear and normal. Vision is 20/20. Only thing is that my left optic nerve is a little larger than my right one. My opthalmologist says completely normal.

Several tests with Neurologist including EEG, MRI (with contrast) plus standard tests. All completely normal.

I even visited with an R&D Neuro-Optomoterist at a University who hooked me up to a sophisticated machine which measures tiny eye movements as they thought it might be related to Nystagimus. Everything normal.

Its frustrating not knowing what is causing this. I use sunglasses with one lens covered up with scotch tape when I go to the supermarket. It is ridiculous!

I can also get some relief just by using sunglasses with both lenses uncovered but it seems to be better when one eye is completely covered.

Has anyone else come across this or experienced this at all?

Thanks for any advice!

[bungle950]

Hi there Nursegirl,

So sorry about the belated reply and thanks so much for your in depth hypothesis.

I am still suffering from this ailment. It hasn't gotten any worse though. I have been try on some colored overlays which seem to help. It is something called visual stress  where under certain circumstances my brain seems to find it difficult to process stimuli. I go for formal testing soon to see if they can prescribe some glasses With these colored overlays. It's not a 'cure' but will put me at ease when I read white text on black backgrounds and also when I go to the supermarket. These colored overlays are supposed to be for people/kids suffering from dyslexia. I don't suffer from this though.

I have suffered from anxiety before especially in crowded place like supermarkets. My hands would get clammy, my heart would race etc... Now I just feel frustrated because I am sensitive to certain environments which induces a level of anxiety. I don't do drugs and haven't for 20 years or so, so I don't think that is the cause.

I know I should reassured that there is nothing serious wrong with me organically but I still have this nagging feeling since I don't have a formal diagnosis and all the specialists seen to have no idea what's causing this. It has been close to 4 years now

[Paxiled]

Another possibility is vascular constriction, which is what causes migraines.  People with migraines get a similar vision disturbance as what you describe before the headache comes.  Since you've seen so many specialists I'm assuming somebody checked your vascular system, but this is most often done by headache specialists.  Anyway, something that came to mind.  As Nursegirl said, when you suffer anxiety you know it -- your feel fearful and anxious.  If you don't, that's not it.

[nursegirl6572]

Hello and welcome!  Glad you found us.  I'm sorry you're dealing with this.  Let me see if I can offer some ideas.

The one thing that you can be reassured of is that you certainly have had some pretty thorough work-ups to rule out either an eye issue, or a neuro issue.  That's a good thing, and that was the right way to approach this.

As for if this could be anxiety?  That depends on a few things.  For one, do you HAVE problems with anxiety?  Any history of anxiety issues, depression, or any other conditions?  Do you feel anxious and did you feel anxious before these eye symptoms started?  

The one side effect of anxiety that could explain your symptom is derealization.  When I first experienced DR for the first time, my vision was SO weird, and I saw several eye specialists, just like you.  The onset of the eye symptoms came after a significant exacerbation of my panic disorder, and after doing some research, I found out about DR.

DR is basically a benign perceptual change in how we see our environment.  Everything looks funny, people describe it almost like a dream state, or as if you were watching the world through someone else's eyes (or like watching a movie).  Colors look weird, familiar things look different, it's disturbing to say the least.  One of the first thing people with DR assume is that there's something wrong with their eyes, as the visual symptoms are pretty significant for most people.

The thing is, if you don't have a history of anxiety, and haven't been suffering from anxiety, DR isn't likely.  DR can also be caused by drug usage as well.  It can be triggered by use/abuse of any drug, but the more commonly reported ones would be pot, LSD, stimulants, those kinds of things.

So, if any of that makes sense to you, you could be dealing with DR, which could explain away the vision changes.  Do you have any medical conditions?  Do you take any medications?  Partake in any recreational drug use?

Looking forward to your reply.  If DR seems a likely possibility, I can give you some more info.  If you look on my profile page, in my journals, I've written one about DR (and depersonalization, another similar side effect of chronic or severe anxiety).  I would suggest you read that, along with the comments, to see if any of it makes sense to you.

Take care, hang in there!