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Anyone else's eyes do this?

7 replies

Chocciechunkcookie · 06/02/2024 11:13

Over the past few months I've had something funny going on with my eyes. My sight goes all wobbly when I look at something with lots of lines. Examples have been if I'm walking over paving that's lots of little bricks rather than large slabs, or at the bottom of escalators where there's that metal in the floor with all the lines across it, or even a few times when I've been in a public loo and there's a vent on the bottom of the door with lots of lines.

The lines go all wavy and crazy. If I look into the distance (so not at the lines) I can see they're still all wobbly in my peripheral vision. I think if I really concentrate on them, they don't wobble. But it throws me so much and makes me feel dizzy when it happens that I forget to test out that theory.

It's only been happening for a few months and is definitely not every single time there's lines. I did have an eye check a month before I first noticed it and other than mild astigmatism that's been the same since I was little, my eyes were fine!

Does anyone else get this? I briefly mentioned it to GP when I was in for something else and he dismissed it as possibly migraines (which I don't have history of) otherwise he says he doesn't know. But it's for all of 10 seconds whilst I walk across something and then it's gone so migraines doesnt seem likely.

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underneaththeash · 06/02/2024 11:26

It's called pattern glare, basically gratings of a certain spatial frequency (width) cause the visual cortex to be over stimulated. It's fairly normal - I get it walking down escalators.

What's less normal is for you to have not noticed it before. I've done a quick pub med search and there is a study where it was more common in people who have depression. Have you had anything like concussion recently? I would just go and get another eye test done, just to be on the safe side - get them to also try your astigmatic prescription in front of a patter grating, it may just be that it's got very slightly worse and that's what's caused you to notice it.

EllaPaella · 06/02/2024 12:45

Go and see an optician/opthamologist and get it checked out.

Chocciechunkcookie · 06/02/2024 13:33

@ununderneaththeash that's interesting, thank you. Will do a bit of reading. No concussion or head injury lately or even within the past 5 years. No history of depression either. Very odd that it's just started recently but I've been on and off unwell for the past year or so with many random symptoms (numb toe, pins and needles in leg) which have all been (frustratingly) dismissed as just one of those things so I can only guess this is just one of those things too

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Chocciechunkcookie · 06/02/2024 13:35

EllaPaella · 06/02/2024 12:45

Go and see an optician/opthamologist and get it checked out.

Yeah I probably should. Twice in a few months, they'll be fed up of seeing me 😂

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SummaLuvin · 06/02/2024 13:41

it sounds like a visual migraine, I had my first one this year.

However, I am shocked that your GP was so dismissive, the symptoms have a lot of crossover with retina issues and detachment which untreated can lead to irreversible loss of sight. I have family history of retina problems so I called my opticians when experiencing what I was 95% sure was a migraine, I was triaged over the phone and told I would either be sent straight to the eye hospital or into branch for a same day appointment. I got the latter, thankfully, and had my eyes checked and was assured I did the right thing as these were new symptoms to me.

underneaththeash · 06/02/2024 14:45

SummaLuvin · 06/02/2024 13:41

it sounds like a visual migraine, I had my first one this year.

However, I am shocked that your GP was so dismissive, the symptoms have a lot of crossover with retina issues and detachment which untreated can lead to irreversible loss of sight. I have family history of retina problems so I called my opticians when experiencing what I was 95% sure was a migraine, I was triaged over the phone and told I would either be sent straight to the eye hospital or into branch for a same day appointment. I got the latter, thankfully, and had my eyes checked and was assured I did the right thing as these were new symptoms to me.

The OP is definitely NOT describing symptoms which could be attributed to retinal
problems, which is why the GP didn’t suggest that. It’s caused by excitation of the visual cortex, the question is what is making it more excitable!

OP If you explain what’s been going on (add in the symptoms in your legs too), your optometrist will be happy to see you.

Chocciechunkcookie · 19/03/2024 13:51

Finally got round to seeing optometrist. They had a good look, did visual field tests etc and can't find a single thing wrong with my eyes (other than the super mild astigmatism we already know about) so that's that!

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