Another question for chipmonkey re my enlarged pupil. Sorry to be such a pain!

[kaylasmum]

Hi really sorry to bother you again, you must be thinking i'm a real pain in the neck. Yesterday i hardly noticed the size of my pupil in all lighting conditions and felt quite releived as i thought things had gone back to normal, but today its just the same as before. I just dont understand why this would happen, i'm thinking about going back to my GP to see what she says but i was hoping that you could put my mind at rest once again. You said before that you've seen lots of people with uneven pupils, did you refer many for further investigation? I'm really scared about going for further tests and just wish that someone could tell me that its ok and for me to be able to accept that and stop worrying.

Thanks in advance for any replies,

Tracey.

or if anyone else can help.

Please.

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago where one pupil was bigger than the other. I also had slightly blurred vision in one eye. I was sent to the eye hospital and had all sorts of tests including a bizzare eye ultrasound. They were all mystified and said in the end it was probably something called 'accomocative (sp) eye spasm' which apparently people who work close up and students get. Mine comes and goes even now.

hi veryberry,
Thanks for your reply.
did you only just notice it or was it always there. I have had an eye test at the opticians and she said that everything was looking ok. I don't have any problems with my vision at all but i can't help worrying. Was there any treatment for your problem? I don't work with computers and i'm not a student either so not sure if the same would apply to me. I'm just hoping that it will sort itself out without the need for anymore tests. My GP did'nt seem to think there was any need for me to have further tests but i'm a terrible worrier. When you say that yours still comes and goes, how long does it last for? i've had this now for over a week as far as i know, or at least thats when i noticed it. I suffer badly from anxiety and at the moment i'm not dealing with it too well.

Thanks again,

Tracey.

Sorry you are so worried kaylasmum. The problem just came on one evening. I was watching TV one evening and noticed the picture was a bit blury so I closed one eye then the other etc and realised it was just one eye. I then looked in the mirror and noticed one pupil was smaller than the other. It was more noticable when it was not too light. I spent days looking in the mirror and went straight to the doctors as it really scared me. Well I went to the opticians first, then the doctors and they reffered me to the hospital. I had a number of appointments and they did all sorts of things. My sight did show up as being less good in the blurry eye. They prescribed glasses (I don't usually wear them) and I wore them when my sight was not good. I still get times when I wear them now but very rarely compared to when I was first diagnosed. I also did not do close up work or reading/studying and they were very confused. I saw a different consultant each time I went and they were scratching their heads and even looking in books. Anyway, once they ruled out anything dodgy, they sent me on my way.

It lasted 2 weeks initially then periods of a couple of days at a time after that

what tests did they do at the hospital? Was'nt your appointment at the optician reassuring? I just don't know whether to ask to be referred to the hospital or not. The optician told me that if she thought there was anything major to worry about then she would have sent me to the hospital right away. How long did you wait for your hospital appointment?

I went to the optician and he told me to see my GP so I did. GP referred me to hosp and I was seen within days. Maybe the blurryness together with the pupil thing worried them, I don't know. At the hospital they did the usual eye chart, periferal (sp) vision tests. They then did the glaucoma thing with the pen on the eye. My dad has has glaucoma and cataracts so the family history may also have worried them. The consultant said they wanted to rule out Turners syndrome (I think it was called). I cant remember exactly what tests they did but they all involved putting various drops in my eyes and shining various coloured lights in my eye through their machines and hand held equipment. The ultrasound involved a water bath held on my eye after it had been numbed then a wiggly probe put in the water bath. None of it hurt at all, just a bit stingy with the numbing eye drops. I am sure you have nothing to worry about but I know its easy to say that. Have you seen your Gp? If it would put your mind at rest, you could always make an appointment.

Sorry, just noticed you have been to GP

Horners syndrome not Turners. I think if the optician and GP have told you it is ok you should try your best not to worry easier said than done.

I think i'll try to put it to the back of my mind for a while, try not to look in the mirror hundreds of times a day and stop taking photos of my eyes on my phone!! I worry about having to have an MRI scan done, and then waiting for results. I think it would tip me over the edge. I need to try to sort out my anxiety.I'll see how it goes and go back to my GP if i'm still worried in a couple of weeks. Thanks so much for talking to me about this, it really helps to put things in perspective.

Tracey

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just wondering if chipmonkey is around.

Hi Kaylasmum. I have no advice about your pupil I'm afraid but you sound so similar to the way I was a year ago. Except my obsessional worry was about an odd mole, which a number of doctors reasurred me was fine but it was a huge source of anxiety for me and I could NOT stop obsessing and worrying about it. I examined it everyday, measured it convinced myself it was changing daily and eventually convinced myself that it was malignant and had spread and managed to develope a whole host of lovely physical symptoms to wory about.

I never believed the doctors when they said it was ok, just felt they were missing something.

It took me a year to recognise that actually my problem was extreme anxiety and eventually a very kind but firm doctor got me on the right track to deal with it. A year on the mole is still here but the anxiety isn't.

You're right to get your pupil checked out but if you are unable to feel reassured by medical proffesionals who say it's ok then maybe it's a different issue.

Sorry if I've gotten it completely wrong but I spent a year in mental torture that started over one small physical worry and would hate you to put yourself through that.

xx

Hi, This sounds just like me about 8 yrs ago, I was diagnosed with Holmes-Adie syndrome. One evening my eye became itchy and I rubbed it a bit, when I went to bed I noticed one pupil was completely dilated whilst the other normal. It didn't constrict (or was very slow) to react to light. It didn't hurt and I didn't have any discharge. No loss of vision either. Went to hospital who didn't have a clue and ended up being referred the same day to a consultant opthalmologist who diagnosed it. Resolved fully within a week and has never happened again. Hope it sorts itself out soon.

Oh yes, Holmes-Adie was mentioned to me as well, I remember now. It's a good idea to try and take your mind off it if you can. I hope you are still not worried too much.

connortraceptive- hi, thanks for your reply, i am definately suffering from extreme anxiety, this happened to me after the birth of my daughter who is now 4, and i was eventually diagnosed with PND for which i'm still taking medication. That time i was obsessing about bowel cancer and saw 5 different GP's at my practice and still could'nt believe that i was ok. I'm so obsessed by this that i've taken about 50+ photos of my eyes on my phone, how obsessive is that? Anxiety and depression is an awful thing to live with and i find that my family don't fully understand the impact that it has on me. I try so hard to keep it under control but every now and then i feel the panic and dread washing over me, its awful, it makes me feel weak.Its good to know that i'm not the only one who reacts in this way. I think i'll have to go back to my GP to see if i can get any help with this as its completely taking over my life. I just don't want to live in fear anymore.

colesey-did you have to have lots of tests to confirm the problem? i have been reading about that syndrome, but my pupil does'nt stay enlarged all the time, sometimes it looks normal and other times it looks larger and also its reacting normally to light, according to my GP and optometrist. Th optometrist did say it could be viral or hormonal or maybe just the fact that i'm absolutely shattered as i have a 10 month old ds who wants to feed all night and as a result i get very little sleep. She said that when your very tired that sometimes the message from the brain to the eye can become scrambled. She also said that it could go away or stay the same.

Veryberry- hi again, i am still worrying though maybe a little less than before but i have to try and stop looking in the mirror so much! People ill be thinking i'm very vain!

Tracey.

veryberry- i meant to ask you if you had any other tests such as an mri scan to determine the cause of your dilated pupil and if you noticed it change from enlarged to normal several times a day as i do?

colesey- what tests did the opthamologist do to diagnose holmes-adie syndrome? I thought when you had that it did'nt go away.

Thanks for any replies,

Tracey.

anyone about

sorry, just hoping for some more reassuring stories, anxiety is really starting to take over.