Have a read. What you'll find is that they don't like treating people with brain injuries because the conditions are too complicated and don't fit in their diagnostic processes. The attitude is that if they don't understand what's happening then they put the visual effects down to hallucinations, mental health conditions and YES the effects of antidepressants particularly sertraline and amitriptyline. In other words they have no idea what's causing the visual problems and rather than say I DON'T KNOW they blame mental health and medication.
As you can see there is consideration for both the eye and the visual processing in the brain. There are loads of tests, potential treatments and therapies. There is also consideration of linked conditions ie the visual system with the vestibular system.
The problem most people find is that the NHS only employ ophthalmologists so if you want your brain injury taken into consideration for potentially causing your visual problems then you'll get no real answers other than it's due to mental health or medication.
If you want your BI taken into consideration, you'll have to pay to see an optometrist because you can only get this privately.
My eyes suddenly went from long sighted to short sighted ..they then fluctuated for a couple of months as specsavers did test every four weeks … I have just seen a neuro eye Dr and have been told it’s just one of those things , that the optic nerve is fine so get some new glasses .. the first eye Dr I saw at the same hospital said it can’t happen all of a sudden 😫 .. I’m 4 this November and my eyes have been fine upto this point .. the neuro Dr in hospital said it maybe because I have the beginnings of a catterac which specsavers said that it is normal for my age only slight starting and felt she said that as she was trying to find something to say 🤔🤔. Now I’m reading this and more confused 🤔🤔 is this something that also could be looked at privately ??? Help !!! Very confused Sue
also neuro optometry and neuro ophthalmologist so the list seems endless at who or what you can see or what they can do .. it was neuro ophthalmologist and a ophthalmologist I saw at the hospital along with specsavers who truthfully were the most helpful ..Sue 😊
I'd add to this that my NHS rehab physio referred me to an orthoptist. I don't seem them referred to at all in these fora, but in my case am crossing fingers for some help - physio flagged possible muscle or even nerve damage around my eye, as well as damaged vestibular-ocular reflex. A high street optician hadn't picked that up, nor has A&E or a private physio, and I have no idea if an optometrist would have either (I gave up looking after the options near me were shamefully expensive and not that experienced in BI. I had asked my GP and neurologist about seeing an opthalmologist and been told no. And my trauma was to my eye area!).
It's so difficult when we have so many different things going on - I don't know what is structural damage, what is VOR, what (in the early days at least) was my brain just not understanding visual signs, what was delayed reactions, what was all the different flavours of vertigo, what was POTS... ad infinitum (though the one thing that everyone looks for, and seems to actually be less of an issue for me, is BPPV).
I definitely agree with you that there ought to be more consideration of eyes and vision post-concussion, I'd just caveat that it might not just be optometrists that are needed. Of course, I have yet to see what the answer is in my case, so who knows...
Some days I thank my lucky stars that I found the person who fixed many of my visual issues. She was a registered ophthalmologist and optometrist. She also did the same tests as an orthoptist (specialist in eye movement disorders). Ophthalmologists and optometrists are supposed to be able to pick up orthoptic disorders. She also told me about the cervical/ vestibular/ ocular reflex and I managed to find lots of free rehab demonstrations on YouTube and fixed this myself.
She told me John and Jannet Glover also specialized in vision and vestibular/ ocular problems after brain injury.
I checked the NICE guidelines to see what should happen in the NHS for these brain injury related visual/ vestibular issues and there are no guidelines except to see a physio.
We know the NHS is on it's last legs and when the 'strategy for acquired brain injury' was announced in parliament in 2021 the real extent of current problem with diagnostics, treatment and aftercare was exposed. There is none.
But it sounds like you have had a bit of a breakthrough and hopefully your eye movement issues can get sorted. Can you write a post about your experience with all this because most people are totally lost and bemused when it comes to visual and vestibular issues.
Again I feel so lucky that I found the right person for my issues.
Good luck to you, keep going, you'll get there in the end.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
A few more TBI facts; neurological, physiological, psychological.
Right First Time: Headway calling for changes to disability benefits assessments
ABI and Mental Health
