Saturday, March 22, 2008

When the Lights Go Out

This morning around 10:15 a.m., I sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast and reading the paper.

I had already spent time on the computer, just playing. It was time to do housework and try to make up for all the time I'd been ill.

As I read, the words on the paper started disappearing. I realized I had a hole in my vision.

I have problems with flashers and floaters; I thought perhaps this was some new version of this problem.

The hole was egg-shaped and the edges of it were wavy. Things looked quite odd. I shut one eye and then the other.

The hole was there no matter what.

This was scary.

I went to the computer and typed in "hole in vision" and ... realized I couldn't see to read anything. Things started going black all around the hole.

By the time I picked up the phone and called my husband, I couldn't see the phone to dial. Most of my vision, except for the upper right corner of space, was gone.

This kind of dark is much different than nighttime. It was a darkness unlike anything I have ever experienced.

My husband contacted the doctor's office here in my county, and then he raced home and took me in.

By this time, it was 11:25 a.m., and my vision was clearing up. I could see. It was a relief, let me tell you.

The doctor told me I had an ocular migraine. I have migraines but they have diminished greatly in recent years. I haven't had a bad migraine in quite a while. I had some vision symptoms with previous migraines - spots before my eyes, light sensitivity, that kind of thing. But I'd never lost my sight.

Apparently they've morphed into this new thing, this ocular migraine. It may be tied in to this terrible chest cold I've had for two weeks, too. Perhaps my system is simply that much out of balance.

We returned home and I went to bed. A nap helped tremendously.

Going blind has always been a major fear of mine. I have a hard time imagining not being able to read or take photos or see my husband's wonderful loving face. Sight is something taken for granted.

I won't be taking it for granted for a long time, I suspect.

10 comments:

  1. Wow that's frightening! I read that going oh no, what happened? Then logic kicked in that if you were able to type a blog the symptoms had to have resolved. Relieved to hear it wasn't anything serious. =) HAPPY EASTER.

    Jen

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  2. Oh gosh, how scary. How terrible to have that happen.

    When my metabolic disorder goes out of wack I can have wavy vision, especially on my right eye. It's very scary- - -and vision is something I don't know if I could every handle losing.

    It's amazing how our entire body is connected- - one thing connects to the other, to the other, to the other. Good luck resting, and getting you body back in balance. Shannon

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  3. Egads! I'd have been scared sh...tless. My roommate just had a similar episode with her vision. She began seeing double. It was terrible. Blood work was done right away, but was told she needed to see a neuro-opthamologist. Of course, she couldn't get in to see him for 3 weeks. After about 10 days, her vision got back to normal. She still went to the doctor, but because there was nothing happening at the time, no answer could be provided. We don't know what happened or if it will happen again. Glad yours cleared up too.

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  4. Thank you all for your good wishes. Eyesight is certainly very precious!

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  5. Oh my goodness, that must have been so scary! I was very relieved to read that you are okay now. I certainly do hope that it never happens again.

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  6. When my blood sugar was high, my eyesight would do some strange things. But what happened to you is downright creepy. I hope it never happens again.

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  7. phew - that must have been very scary.

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  8. I could not believe it when I read what happened to you! I had the flu about a month ago and just when I was feeling better, I was sitting on my couch one morning and I started losing vision in the right eye. Scared me outta my wits! I called my hubby at work right away. He asked a nurse he works with about it and she said that it's a symptom of a migraine. Sure enough, about a half hour later, I got a very bad headache. Must be something with this flu, since I have never had something like that before. Weird, huh?

    Anyway, glad you are better. Love your blog. I found you through Ms.Eleneous's blog.

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  9. Gosh, Sweet, that is weird! Maybe it is this flu.

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  10. Anita, I'm late in catching up reading your blog. When I get a visual migrane, I "see" circular crystalline shapes. It was such a relief to find out that these are manageable -- and a lot better than regular migranes! Welcome to the club.

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