waves in front of eyes

[stalion]

I just gave myself shot 36 this morning. I was on the PC and I started to notice waves across my vision. I just had my eyes examinded, they said everything was fine. Is this something I should be concered about? It is starting to clear up, I would appreciate any input on this thank you Stalion

[RobertBeWell]

"Stalion.  Hey, I have had something like that before.

Check out or google "migraine precursor"

http://*****************/question/index?qid=20081125102621AA7iuLZ

I've had them a few times but have never had a migraine.  I don't know how to best describe the symptoms but the visual distortion made me think I was having an acid flashback.  : ) "

They call this a "visual migraine". I had four of them occur in the space of a couple months and they really scare the crap out of you. This was about three years ago.

In my case, oddly enough, it was the aspartame (artificial sweetener) in chewing gum causing it. I used to chew an INORDINATE amount of gum - like a pack or two a day. Just for grins, my eye doctor asked me if I drank a lot of diet soft drinks - which I don't, but I told him about the gum. He suggested I stop chewing it.

Haven't had one since. Aspartame is purported by some to be very nasty stuff, and the approval process by the FDA for this stuff has been questioned since it was approved. There's a huge list of reported side effects, including visual migraines.

RBW

[RobertBeWell]

I get  something like that every once in a while... not exactly "waves" but for what seems like just a microsecond, it seems like everything speeds up to about 10,000x normal speed. Is that weird or what? It's like someone hit fast-forward on the DVD player.

Never had it before treatment. Its happened maybe, 3 times in the last 12 weeks. It's a very weird feeling. Like you, I had an eye exam before starting, no issues at all.

I'm thinking vision "glitches" are pretty common from the Interferon.

[stalion]

To all that commented, thank youall your explanations make sense. I am having thyroid issues, my Gastronologist had put me on meds for this, but I am still having problems. I am going to see a specalist for this in Jan. thanks again hope you all have a nice holiday season and a happy healthy new year  Mary ann

[Trish77]

Well, this could be way off but one of the things that tipped me off to what turned out to be thyroid issues was my vision started getting funky, a little ...yeah, I guess wavy would cover it.  We had escalators at work and I could no longer adequately assess with my vision where my feet were going onto that first step down and had to stop taking them for a bit until I saw my doc and said things were getting a little weird.  He knew right away from my description of things, asked me to hold my hands out and they were shaking.  Dunno if this fits for you but thought it better to mention it than not, as vision was one of my first tip-offs that I'd gone hyperthyroid.

[Bill1954]

To expand on SusieS2010’s comment, this is an excerpt from the makers of Pegintron; if they’ve checked you out, and understood you’re using IFN there’s unlikely a problem; assuming you saw an ophthalmologist and not an optometrist, that is. Good idea to let them know as well, though:

“Decrease or loss of vision, retinopathy including macular edema, retinal artery or vein thrombosis, retinal hemorrhages and cotton wool spots, optic neuritis, and papilledema may be induced or aggravated by treatment with peg-intron alpha 2b or other alpha interferons. All patients should receive an eye examination at baseline. Patients with preexisting disorders (e.g. diabetic or hypertensive retinopathy) should receive periodic ophthalmologic exams during interferon alpha treatment. Any patient who develops ocular symptoms should receive a prompt and complete eye examination. Pegintron alpha 2b should be discontinued in patients who develop new or worsening ophthalmologic disorders.”

www.spfiles.com/pipeg-intron.pdf

[SusieS2010]

You said you just had a visit with the eye doc. I would definitely call him/her and remind him that you are on interferon . Interferon can cause retina problems and it is nothing to fool around with. You are probably just fine, but it's your eyes and they are very important. See if he wants to see you again. Better safe than sorry.

[babs824]

i too have had some visual  wavyness and floaters, it usually goes away shortly. if u just had retina check with your recent visit u are probably just experiencing one of the odd sx. but dont be afraid to call eye doc if there are dramatic changes. early intervention is always best even if u must be a pia. good luck, babs

[Trinity4]

http://www.relieve-migraine-headache.com/eye-migraines.html

[Bill1954]

Nah, throw this back at your primary care doctor. If they have questions and feel it’s related to treatment, they can always conference with your GI. If the GI can help, that’s great too, but it doesn’t sound like they’re interested. Hopefully, your primary care doc will call you back soon. If anything gets strange, you can always go to ER if you need to.

Have a good holiday,

--Bill

[Willy50]

This is your brain on drugs......  (just kidding.....)


Stalion.  Hey, I have had something like that before.

Check out or google "migraine precursor"

http://*****************/question/index?qid=20081125102621AA7iuLZ

I've had them a few times but have never had a migraine.  I don't know how to best describe the symptoms but the visual distortion made me think I was having an acid flashback.  : )

I had severe distortion, like one sees as if heat was rising in the desert, like a mirage.  I was unable to look at a page of printed word and see things in focus, maybe one or two words would be in focus the rest was a shimmering mass of wiggles. For me to read, I would have to fix my eyes and move a page; very strange and unsettling.  There would be no way that I could have driven a car.  Even walking felt a bit odd.

It passed.  I asked someone who had migraines and they called them a precursor.

Check it out.  Oddly my very first was the most powerful but I've had them since, but still no following headache.  My first may have been related somewhat to stress, as I had just experienced a harrowing customer relations meltdown, of which I was the recipient of *intense heat* in the transaction.  : )  But I survived.  Mine passed in about 30 minutes.

Willy

[stalion]

Thanks Bill , I called the doctor, he is not in . This is the same person that I spoke to for my sinus infection, she told me to call my GP, as this was not his field of expertise, he is a Gastronologist, my GP said this is not her field of expertise, she knows nothing of Hep-C tx. I donot live in the best area for doctors with expertise!!!

[Bill1954]

I’d call my doctor and report it; if nothing else, this gets you on record. It’s likely nothing to worry about, but you had that sinus infection for a couple of months, right? I don’t know if there’d be any connection or not. I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better overall, though. Take care—

--Bill