Findings at the Eye Doc's

Today I had my next appointment and things are OK. It appears that the "White without pressure" is in fact in BOTH eyes. I saw a different doc this time, so I've now had 4 people look at my eyes.

This doc said that I have way more floaters in my right eye than my left. I told him that I thought I had a few more but couldn't tell which eye it was in. Thinking that only left eye was an issue, I told him I just assumed it was my left eye. Well all of that goes out the window now. He said the peripheral retina thinning in my left eye is much more advanced than in my right eye, but he said he thinks I'm probably seeing lights in both eyes. Oh great!

He told me to avoid any heavy lifting and to pay more attention to the lights, when it happens and which eye it is in. Now that I know it could be either eye, I'm trying harder to figure it out. I told him the heaviest thing I lift is probably doing the dishes, which he was very happy to hear. He said that I do not need to be putting anymore strain on the eyes and that lifting something heavy could cause the vitreous to pull away from the eye...FUN!

I think I've had this problem for a long time now, but this is the first real eye exam I've had in about 15 years...lol Who knows long this has been going on for!?

That's about it. I have another appointment in 4 months, but if anything comes up I should immediately call. This definitely makes me feel a little better because it hasn't gotten any worse in a week's time. I am a little concerned about the long term though. I am certainly too young for the vitreous to detach/tear. This is something that isn't supposed to happen until you are in your 60's-70's.

Some Blood Work

Here's some blood work I had done. It came back the day I went to the eye doctor, so I haven't been thinking about it much. hehe

I started on 12.5mg of DHEA yesterday on the advice of my doc. Then after 2 weeks take 1/2 tab twice daily.

Electrolyte Panel
Sodium 141 (135-145) Good
Potassium 4.0 (3.5-5.2) Pretty decent
Chloride 104 (97-108)
Carbon Dioxide 24 (20-32)

FT4 1.25 (0.61-1.76) Doc says the range should be 1.0-1.76
FT3 3.4 (2.3-4.2) Mid-range
TSH 2.095 (0.450-4.500) Little high
DHEA-S 24 (65-380) WoW!!

With these thyroid labs, my doc wants me to start on Armour in 2 weeks once I get the DHEA up to 25mg daily. He doesn't want to change 2 things at once, which makes sense.

Something weird that has come up out of no where is this strange pain near my right rib cage. It actually woke me up yesterday morning and was excruciating for about 15 seconds. Then it faded some--thankfully. It MIGHT be a pulled muscle, but I'm going to give it some time to see what happens. I have been doing some painting in the house, so it's definitely possible. heh I don't know why my muscles are so weak if that's the case.

Tonight my eye is not good. Very strange with lights near my peripheral vision, but I'm going to hang in there unless a shower of floaters come up out of no where. If that's the case I'll be calling the emergency number.

What's My Eye Gonna Do?

Last night I woke up and my eye was pretty wonky. There were definitely some flashing lights. After the mini panic attack, I calmed myself down and just stared into the dark to see exactly what was happening. I got up to get some water and realized that everything was OK.

I am definitely seeing more bright spots in my vision that go away just about as fast as they come on. Yesterday my eye was pretty good. Didn't notice anything until late last night when I asked my husband if there were fireflies out (lightning bugs) and he told me no...lol So obviously I was seeing some spots last night too.

When I woke up today for the day, my eye was not good. It felt very heavy and there was this strange pressure on the left side of my head. Thankfully that discomfort has gone away for the most part and the vision seems better now. If I can make it through this week to my next eye appointment, I will be relieved. Right now I just feel like it could "go" at any moment and I'll have to call the emergency number on the doctor's card.

I asked my hormone doctor exactly what I would need to do if I needed surgery and I'll have to mega stress dose before and after any type of surgery. He said to take 50-60mg of HC an hour before the surgery and then another 50-60mg of HC afterward as well. Then I might have to taper down the next day or not. I need to be ready for whatever happens.

Second Opinion on my eye problems

Today I got my second opinion on my eye and it looks like the retina is thinning. There is a risk for a detached or tore vitreous and retina, so I have to go back in a week to see if it is progressing.

This is certainly not something I was looking to deal with, but that's life right?!

There is no correlation between my meds, pituitary tumors or my medical conditions that would be causing this. It is likely because I am very nearsighted which drastically increases your risk for it. My dad also had a torn retina about 10 years ago, so that puts me at higher risk too. Needless to say I am really scared. At least this new doctor is concerned about it and wants to keep checking it on a weekly basis for at least a few weeks to see what happens. Obviously if the flashes get worse or if more floaters show up, then I have to call him immediately!

I'll keep everyone posted on how this turns out.

Ninja edit---I found a picture of what I have here...If you scroll all the way down to where it says "3.) White Without Pressure" You can see what my retina looks like atm.