Hypoxia and vision issues

[Breeches]

my son has a hypoxic brain injury and is in rehab. There is now some question about if/what he can see, Has any one had experience of Hypoxic injuries and can offer advice on the vision issue. i am beside myself with this and feeling desperate as to what to do next

[Hidden]

Hi Breeches, my dad has Hypoxic Brain Injury as a result of a heart op. A coma was followed by a long slow recovery which is still ongoing. Dad says his eyesight has changed a lot but at first they were so negative about his recovery and warned us many times he wouldn’t survive that they didn’t bother to test it in hospital. As he got better we gave up asking and then he was sent home from rehab due to Coronovirus and as he’s bed bound since the op we still haven’t managed to get an eye test. He’s had great private physio though and can just about stand with help at the moment. He can see though, and just struggles with his old glasses. He says he can’t see the TV properly these days but he’s not interested in it anyway as too much noise and movement is too much for him. Can you tell us a little more about your son? It’s unclear what his current level of health is. Dad was literally at deaths door in October last year and he’s now 75% himself again so from my experience there is always hope. All the damage that has been done by the lack of oxygen needs a long time to repair itself but it seems that slowly and surely it does to some extent. In the hospital they told us it takes about two years to get to the best recovery level possible. Julia

[Breeches in reply to Hidden]

Hi Julia

Thanks for your reply, yes my son was in a coma too. I am trying to determine how much he can see and whether he should be referred to a neuro ophthalmologist as the OT says he is blind now, he is in long stay rehab. He is 8 months out of the injury. yes, the hospital were very negative too about my son's survival. A neuro ophthalmologist looks at sight from a brain perspective, and that's who i think he should be assessed by. The neurologist was very dismissive when I suggested it, I want a referral and i am going to have to challenge the neurologist.

[Hidden in reply to Breeches]

Yes it sounds as if you need clarity as to why the Neurologist doesn’t feel it’s important. My dad has improved in every single way since it happened, including his eyesight, but it has been very slow going. We have never had a formal diagnosis and certainly no investigation into the extent of the damage or where it was. He went into hospital ok and left with brain damage and unable to walk. They didn’t seem interested in the Neuro side of things, only the physical process of getting him well enough to be discharged. But time seems to be the greatest healer, as the brain works it’s magic and does as much self healing as it can. From all that I have read online and In this forum the common theme is time and patience make the greatest impact on continual healing and improvement. Good luck with getting to the bottom of it.

[absa]

i suffered a cardiac arrest a little under 2 years ago. 26 minutes without a pulse in astystole due to an accidental overdose. My vision definitely changed. everything became quite blurry.

i endured it for over a year, because i thought the situation was hopeless. my neurologist referred me to a opthamologist - who made the determination that i somehow developed severe astigmatism in both eyes, essentially overnight... a process that typically takes years - as i understand it.

he prescribed me some glasses, and sure enough, i can see perfectly now. i never needed glasses before... but i sure do now.

[Breeches in reply to absa]

Absa

Thankk you, I don't know whether he should be seeing a neuro ophthalmologist or a optometrist or there are now behavioural optometrists. I do not know why the neurologist seems to dismiss he sees other professional s in this field. he is in rehab and works with SALT. Physio and occ therapy. The occ therapy told me he was blind and it would never improve. I felt completely shocked and trying to work out what should be done next for some chance of restoring some sight. I feel quite desperate.

[absa in reply to Breeches]

i would explore all avenues