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Forum Name: Neurology Topics

Question: Visual Problems, Neck Pain & Head Pressure

TSJ2004 - Thu Jan 04, 2007 9:56 pm

Hi I am 27 and female, non-smoker. I have been experiencing extreme fatigue, weight loss and vision problems. I am constantly aware of my vision pulsating/flickering if that makes sense (like I am in a room that has broken strip lighting!?) And its as though everything is happening to fast for my eyes to register; with the sensation of 'activity' in my forehead. At various times of the day I also get the sensation of like a net curtain covering my vision. Following this my eye muscles feel strained and ache but also I get a bad neck ache aswell. When I get this my pupils appear to be more dilated than normal too. I do not get head aches as such but frequently get an area of my scalp (usually the crown area) which becomes sore to the touch - almost as if somebody has pulled real hard on my hair. Along with a sense of blood rushing to my head, this usually happens if I stand up quick but of late it has been happening whilst sitting or just looking across the room I also get the odd moment of feeling dizzy and disorientated. I went to my GP and informed him of my symptoms but he sent me on my merry way telling me its probably Anxiety, although he did request a Echocardiogram which came back normal. I had my eyes tested but were told they appear to be fine but I should seek the advice off a nuerolgist. I went back to my dis-interested GP yesterday & he has now agreed to refer me and my appt is in 2 months time. My instincts is telling me something is not right and I would be lying if I said I wasnt scared but am just keen to know what is up so that I can get sorted. I would be grateful for any advice on what it could be and what I should expect when visiting the nuerolgist? Thank you in advance for your time! Lindsey :-)

John Kenyon, CNA - Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:01 am

Dear TSJ2004 - It's good that you were able to wrangle a neurology referral from your doctor. It sounds as though you may be suffering from a variant form of migraine (sometimes called "optical migraine", although with the extra symptoms that somehow doesn't seem adequate to describe it). This is not unheard of at all, and it is often brushed off as Anxiety-related. Eventually, due to the odd symptoms, it begins to make the patient anxious and then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, which is unfortunate. I hope you can manage until your neuro appointment, as I think you will eliciit a lot more interest from that doctor. At least you should. If this is a form of migraine (often also confused with Seizure disorder) there are a number of medications which work well for a lot of people, although it sometimes takes some trial-and-error to find the right one. Good luck to you and please do keep us updated.

TSJ2004 - Fri Jan 12, 2007 1:22 pm

Thank you very much for your reply! Funny you should mention migraine as going back around 10 yrs ago I suffered terrible ones regularly where I would get only half vision and head ache I could only describe as pure agony! For those I was prescribed the Beta blockers PROPRANOLOL, which I still currently take. Could it be that my dosage needs increasing I wonder? I am only on a very small dose now of 10mg 3 times a day :-)

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