Blurred Vision

[smcij]

Hi
I had stereotactic radiotherapy around six months ago and have recently developed blurry vision, like misty patches drifting around my eyes.  They feel really tired.  Any idea if this is temporary or permanent?

[Jim Scott]

Hi, alegna ~  and welcome to the ANA discussion forums. 

I'm sorry you're having this problem with your vision.  I doubt it's connected to your AN treatment but I'm not a doctor and can't offer you any credible medical advice.  I would suggest you place a call to your physician to ask him about this development and perhaps schedule a visit with an ophthalmologist.

Jim

[ppearl214]

Hi alegna and welcome.

I had stereotactic radiosurgery (ie: Cyberknife) over 4 yrs ago and was being followed carefully by my eye dr.  I did have hints of blurred vision and it seemed to have calmed down.  It was not far off in timeframe to your treatment but for me, it only lasted a couple of months.  We know that "individual results may vary", so please check with your eye doctor on it.  You may want to let your radio-team know as well (I let mine know) just for "FYI" in case they had any other patients potentially run into it (ie: they could "log" it in case another patient asked and they could respond with "yeah, I know of another with the same complaint...")

Most radio-treatment after affects are temp but keep a "journal" of issues you may run into and review with your radio treatment team. They are the best to advise whether or not there is a connection (like Jim, I'm not a doc either...)

Again, welcome.
Phyl

[smcij]

Thanks for the replies.  I've only just seen them! 

I still have blurred vision.  I've had my eyes checked by an optician for general health and they can find nothing wrong. 

I've got another month to wait for my AC appointment.  My eyes are really tired and sore, look quite bloodshot in the mornings.  Not helped by using the PC for hours every day!  I wear contacts but it doesn't help if I leave them out for a few days.  Not really sure if my eyes are dry but I'm using lots of drops anyway!

I'll give feedback.

[Funnydream]

I had regular Surgery.

I had the floaters too along with blurred vision. Was very disturbing for me. Would last 5-15min at a time and then clear up. And it did get worst as my AN grew in my head. As in frequency and length of time I would see the floaters.

After Surgery I had the normal double vision which has cleared mostly up. I have NOT seen any floaters or blurred vision since my 2.8cm demon was cut out. I did see a eye doctor too and he could not find anything.

From my Joe Public point of view I would say a AN can affect your vision. I was told by my Surgeon that vision pathways run right by the AN and that it could be putting pressure on the pathways.

I hope my post helps and that your issues clear up sooner than later.

[sunfish]

This blurry, floater vision was the first "side effect" I noticed after CK.  I also went to the opthalmologist, who didn't find anything wrong and said it was neurological.

Unfortunately, problems with my balance followed gradually in the months after and, eventually, jumpy vision (not really classic nystagmus).

The vision problem started about two months after CK.  The neuro-otologist told me after vestibular testing that my vision will probably clear up gradually, along with my balance problems.

[free2be]

I had CK, what...about 6 weeks ago now. I have had some vision issues though mild relatively. I definitely have dry eye on that side. Dr. Chang at Stanford said this is from the trigeminal nerve and not unusual. I saw my eye doctor, who confirmed the "dry" eye and confirmed my observation that my vision has changed some. I wouldn't say that it's blurry exactly, but my eyes are more tired, my vision less clear. What I could see well enough before without my glasses, I now have to use glasses for and then sometimes it's not really enough. The eye test indicated a need for stronger glasses prescription, but the eye doc wanted to hold off to see if it settles down. He said that the trigeminal nerve also controls the muscles that focus the eye. With the stress on these nerves from the radiation, it is harder for them to work now, plus just the healing process takes body resources and eye muscles aren't on the physical priority list (or something to that affect). Hope that helps.

I would suggest you see an eye doc to get it checked. It might not be related since everyone's situation is different and I don't think everyone has trigeminal nerve involvement.

Connie