Vision Changes
 

I just returned home from my optometrist. I've had small but significant changes in my prescription since my last appointment in september.

He stated that he didn't believe it was due to the concussion but more likely related to my miscarriage which I had just before the concussion... I'd like to note though that my vision until the concussion seemed to be fine.... He stated that hormones are the more likely culprit for vision changes and that head trauma is more likely to do physical damage to the eye....

But given that I know my thyroid is now off, and I suspect more hormones are not right either... and I suspect that the hit to the head did soemthing to the pituitary gland... Could I not also draw the conclusion that if my hormones are off due to the concussion, that my vision is off due to hormones, and hence it's a good chance my vision is off due to the concussion?

Anyways, just wondering what the more educated people here think of this... I've had to scrap my very expensive and very new pair of hard contacts since I hit my head and I am now looking at spending big bucks on a new pair of glasses!

It is certainly possible that your changes in vision are due to your concussion. It's very important to keep your prescription up to date and wear the appropriate corrective eyewear. I had a small change in my prescription and changing to new glasses made a big difference in helping to alleviate my symptoms. There are a number of other cases of people noticing significant improvement after getting the appropriate corrective lenses. However, sometimes that means getting special prism lenses to correct for double vision and convergence problems.

I definitely believe that your concussion probably caused the change in prescription.

I've read that a lot of vision issues can ensue due to a concussion. The optic nerves and the neural pathways that the brain uses to process the information given to it from them are quite delicate. I've had to deal with a lot of weird visual phenomena myself since the concussion I sustained. Luckily, my prescription did not change due to the concussion that I am recovering from. (I got lasik surgery a few years ago and I'm still 15/20!)

Like Mark In Idaho always says, "Once you've seen one brain injury, you've seen one brain injury!"

The brain is very complex and many of its intricate parts can be affected by a concussion. Even "knowledgeable" professionals might not understand or know of all the intricacies that can be effected by a concussion; there is still so much to learn.

So professionals like your Optometrist who have even seen patients with brain injuries can be surprised. And they can definitely be wrong. It's just been his experience that hormones can change a prescription, so that's what he's going to go with. He probably hasn't even had a lot of patients with a brain injury. Maybe he doesn't even know how many of them have had brain injuries - some people don't even tell others about having them because it's embarrassing.

Also, Medical Professionals are taught to choose the reason behind something to be the most common one. (When you hear hooves outside your window, the sound is probably caused by horses and not by zebras.) He's probably not even aware that hormones can be drastically affected by a concussion - I think it's somewhat new information and probably takes specialization to even know (unless you're obsessed with learning about brain injuries because you're trying to cope with one or recover from one, like all of us).

But, just like I believe that the fact that I'm now allergic to wheat because of the concussion I sustained - there's no way to real prove it - other than the FACT that you know your vision wasn't altered until AFTER you sustained the concussion.

Eowyn here on this board has mentioned how much vision therapy helped her.

I've also recently read in a book called "Brainlash" which was written by a PHD who had to recover from an mTBI how much vision therapy helped her too.

I intend to go get evaluated for some vision therapy. I'm hoping it will help decrease the dizziness I still experience and possibly help me increase my energy levels.

A lot of people aren't even aware of the vision problems they're having after a concussion until they're evaluated.

Thanks Guys,

I just went and ordered my new glasses... Costco REALLY has the best deals compared to other places... their selection isn't as good as a big store, but I saved over 150$ off compared to a big brand store (including their 30% discount for being a CAA member!). They even come with a sunglass clip.... but it'll be over a week before I get them. Fingers crossed they arrive sooner, because my eyes really are so terrible I think they are partly to blame for my headaches, and the reason I cannot read, since everything is just too blurry....

I'm passing all the info onto my lawyer so she knows everything I've had to spend, and can properly assess the costs associated with this concussion....

Did you only have a medical eye exam, or did you also have a vision efficiency evaluation? My medical eye exam was completely normal (I could focus just fine, etc), but my eyes were having trouble working together and switching efficiently between near and far. This contributed a lot to headaches when I did visual activities such as reading & driving. Vision therapy helped a lot.

Might be something to keep in mind if the new glasses don't seem to resolve everything.

This was just an abridged exam. I'll go in at another time to have my pupils dilated to check the retina for damage or issues. I don't even know if the optometrist does a visual efficiency exam, but if the headaches don't stop, I'll certainly keep that in mind. I'm hoping the glasses will be in by friday, but that might be wishful thinking...