I am one confused lady and worried lady. I have had flashing in my left eye for the past 8months along with every now and again what looks like a cobweb all across the left eye. Optician cannot find anything wrong. CTScan is thankfully all clear. I have now been referred to an eye specialist but just been informed that as I have been referred to them as an emergency then it is a minimum of 6months waiting instead of the 12months if not an emergency!. The flashing which I tend to see at night when it is dark can be a straigt bright line or an upside down V and tends to be at the top centre and sometimes to the left of the eye, over the past week I have now started to also see a round white spot in the left corner of my eye. the flashing only last a split second and then repeats more often if I blink my eyes. I also get dry eyes and have a cream to use as and when which helps the eyes to stop feeling gritty but does nothing to stop the flashing in the eye. Quite often I feel as though I have a cold which causes pain in/around my left eye and also down the left side of my nose and pain my my left cheek. This is helped by taking a pain killer tablet. The consultant (from CTScan) and doctor thinks it may be migrain that I am suffering from? and my optician says that it could be vision migrain, she also said that it could possibly be a bad circulation problem?. I just feel so worried as it is ongoing and as my doctor forgot to transfer me to the eye specialist in October this means I now have another five months to wait to see the eye specialist so any advise would be greatly appreciated. I
I was diagnosed three months ago with underactive thyroid and I now take Levothyroxine 50 micro-grams per day. When the trouble with my eye started I was trying different contact varifocals but once this problem occured I now wear glasses only.
Look forward to hopefully hearing from someone soon
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Rhosgad
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It does sound like migraine aura. I suffered from one for the first time last summer - freaked me right out! - but my Dad has had migraine with aura all his life and was able to tell me that’s what it was.
If you google images for migraine aura, you’ll see some pictures of what it sort of looks like.
Now, your hypothyroidism might actually be the cause of your migraines. 50mcg is only a starter dose so it’s likely you’re still undertreated. Has your doctor been doing blood tests to see if you need an increase in dose? Your doctor should be testing every 6 weeks. You’re aiming for a TSH below 1.0 and resolution of hypo symptoms.
Do you know what your TSH was at diagnosis?
If you’ve been hypothyroid for a while, it’s quite likely you are B12, Vit D and iron deficient, which can add to feeling quite unwell. When you next see your doctor, ask for those things to be tested as well as thyroid function.
Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to let me know this information, it is so much appreciated. When you do not know what is wrong and if it might cause loss of sight in the future it can get very scary when things are moving so slowly ie waiting 5months plus to see an eye specialist. I will make an appointment at the doctors tomorrow armed with my new information so thank you again
You’re welcome. Keep in mind that many doctors don’t know a lot about thyroids and some don’t know that patients often do best with a TSH below 1.0.
What you can say is that you’ve taken advice from Thyroid UK (the parent for this website) who are the NHS Choices recommended source of advice for thyroid issues (it gives it a bit more credence than saying “I went looking for answers on the Internet” ).
I had similar symptoms to you several years ago - flashes of light and a sort of cobweb in my eye. I don’t know how old you are but has your optician ruled out pvd? It comes with aging! It’s when the ‘jelly’ inside your eye starts to dry and pulls on the retina which causes the flashes. I was referred to my local eye hospital as an emergency to make sure my retina was ok - it was.
Thank you, I feel so much better just knowing what I should be asking for when sitting in front of the doctor, it makes such a big difference having some knowledge
Usually flashing lights that are not headache related are retina detachments but yours is not as an Optician could not find anything wrong but did they look into the back of your eye?
Why no go to your local eye hospital A & E and they will be able to tell you if it's a retina problem or not.
If it was a detachment it would have come off by now I think.
The optician did a test last week to check the back of the eye and all was ok. I have now with my new knowledge read about migraines and mine does seem to be Ocular Migraine. I will be seeing my doctor tomorrow and I shall be prepared to ask all the questions that I now know to ask which will be far better than last time. This site is wonderful and just hearing from you all is such a great help.
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