AN & the Eye

[chiggers]

Can having an AN affect the eye?

[borgiagins]

Why do you ask this question? Are there any instances that you have heard of that lead you to think that AN might affect the eye? Is there any medical evidence for this? I have not heard of any such connection, since I was diagnosed with an AN 18 months ago.

[anan88]

Before my op. to debulk the AN etc., I was getting twitches in the eye on the AN side as it was entwined round the nerves (but other than facial and cochlear nerve (?) I can't remember now which ones). So my eye twitched, as did the top lip sometimes. Both these twitches disappeared. When I looked to the right (AN side) my nausea and dizziness were triggered, but this wasn't the eye itself. I developed cataracts very quickly after having Gamma Knife therapy (yes, I know, there aren't supposed to be any side-effects, so perhaps coincidence), but other than that I don't know of any eye-effects of an AN. The cataracts were dealt with very simply under local anaesthetic and I now have great vision. Result!

[Kristyll]

yea I am afraid so if it gets very large

[BuzzyGary]

My AN was large - over 4cm - and I had experienced problems with my eye due to it affecting the facial nerve. Primarily, it felt irritable because the stretching and crushing of the facial nerve reduces the effectiveness of blinking and tear production.

The consultants also determined that I had a reduced touch sensation on the surface of the eye - don't test that yourself!

From reading, I think that as an AN becomes very large it can start to affect other nerves near the brain responsible for eye control, but I only experienced noticeable problems with double vision and dilated pupils for a few days after surgery.

[Highwycombe]

It can if its near the optic nerve.

[bypass]

Yes it can cause dry eyes and worse problems. Bu this is more usually after treatment unless it gets very large prior to treament