In a quandry…any suggestions?
June 21st, 2012 | 
Author: It’s been crazy here. My Mom, who is in a nursing home but doing pretty well at this point, has been having an issue with her eyes. She has had cataract surgery in both eyes. The first surgeon dropped the cataract in her left eye during surgery which resulted in a retina surgeon having to perform more surgery to clean up that mess. That left her with macular degeneration and glaucoma in that eye. The right eye surgery went very well. Since those surgeries a few years ago, she has begun to fuss almost constantly about not being able to see….blurry, cloudy, sensitive to light, etc. When I take her to the eye surgeon, she reads those charts like a champ and would even qualify for a driver’s license or even a CDL license. She’s been fussing for probably the past six or eight months. This morning she called to tell me that she could hardly see at all today. Last year she had an MRI and CT-Scans when they were checking for stroke activity. Has anyone else encountered anything like this or know of a website where I could search. I’ve been trying to search her medications to see if there are side effects that would cause vision problems but really have not found a really good site for that….just FRUSTRATED! The nurse at the home told me that she hasn’t had any report like that from Mom this morning at all…… manipulation by Mom??? And her eye doctor who is the surgeon, MD is on vacation until Monday. I want to do what’s right for her……but what is that? Anyone have any suggestions? Thank you ….that “it” that is crazy here I think is me!!
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I know this might sound a bit off the wall, but has her blood sugars been checked. Diabetics can have lots of problems with their eyes. Vision will change with the sugar level. DW went blind in one eye over night. Every time either of us go to get glasses, the first question asked is if our sugars are under control. If that’s not it……….
DW’s blindness was fixed by laser surgey, but she did go colored blind.
*Have you asked her primary doctor about other medicines that might be causing her vision problems? Medicines can have a lot of side effects and it might be something else causing these problems.
*Becky and Pepe, Thank you for the replies. I will ask to have her blood checked again. Heaven knows she eats enough sweets to float a battleship! Diabetes runs in my Dad’s side of the family so it’s never been an issue with Mom. I’m doing my best to try to find side effects to her many medications and trying to recall what ones may be new since she was admitted there. It was not a very good visit today any way I look at it. I don’t know what to think. Sometimes I think they just figure they are old and senile and don’t know anything anyway, which is not the case with my Mom. I’m just praying for some clear direction and may be looking to move her somewhere else. The place has been great overall. Today I was less than impressed…more frustration from all involved…… Thank you again for taking the time to read it and respond. I really, really appreciate it a lot…. God bless you
Sherry–no advice. Just want to say I know what you’re going through and how frustrating it can be. My mother, who had been diagnosed with dementia, lived with us for a while and everything was fine until one weekend DH went away to work on the cabin we were remodeling. I call it my weekend from purgatory! I finally had to call DH and have him come home. After he got back, she was sweet as pie again. (((Sherry))) Good luck and God bless!
*Thank you Patti. This is not for wimps….and takes a lot of prayer. God bless you! Praise God for the support I get, and I hope you do too. Mom was doing better today when DH went in with me to see her. I think she tones it down when he is there with me. Oh well… Monday should be interesting around here when I start trying to track info and doctors down to see if I can get anywhere. Class reunion tomorrow and then cooking for a ‘healthy’ luncheon after church on Sunday. What to make!?? That should keep my mind and body well occupied until Monday! Thanks again
P.S. Any tips on how to drop 30 lbs. by morning!!! LOL!!!
I recently had cataract surgery and one of the things the surgeon told me is that sometimes the membrane behind the implant will go cloudy. If that happens, al they have to do is laser open the membrane. It’s supposed to be easy and quick.
Has her eye doctor checked for that? I don’t know what kind of lenses she had implanted….the ones for distance, reading, or both, but depending upon what she had, that could impact the reading of the charts versus the cloudy vision (at least I think it would).
Hi Jana, I think she’s been checked for about everything and did have a lazer procedure about six months or so ago. She has now seen three doctors. At the moment, they are doing a new drop in each eye twice a day and hot compresses. I will ask about the membrane behind the implants. I’m not sure this will ever be taken care of. They think it could be part of the dementia too…. This just wears me out….. ok…so I am a wimp….. just so tired….. Thank you Jana for you help and concern. I hope you’re having a great 4th!
There are actually 2 laser procedures (at least that I know of)….one removes scar tissue if it forms and the other is for a clouded membrane.
I’m so sorry you are having to go through all of this with your mom. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you. There is no way you are a wimp. You are doing a very tough job and if it is just the dimentia, how would you know that???
Hang in there. We are all here for you if you need us. Remember to take care of yourself, too. You will be no good to your mom if you are too exhausted. Hugs!!!
Thank you so much Jana for your help and kind words. Everyone is lecturing me on not taking care of myself! Guess I’d best take that to heart and figure out how exactly to do that. I have all of the tools at my disposal so I just need to get me into the program. Ugh…not so easy, but I know I must do it. My ‘want to’ is a little lacking these days! That’s just a sad statement….gotta make the changes necessary. Maybe a good swift kick in the behind would get me moving on this!! Any volunteers? Hmm….do I really want to ask that!!!! If I see a line forming outside my door, that will get me off and running I’ll bet!!! Thanks again to all…have a happy, happy day!
Hey Sherry:
I have macular degeneration in my right eye and a retinal fold in the left. I love my Dr. she’s the best surgeon I know. Lasered twice in the right and twice in the left. It stopped the degeeration and fixed the fold but there are mornings when I wake up that things are a bit blurry Kinda scary running eyes and itchy.. we figured it out to be allergies to dust and pollen.So i take an OTC allergy pill on the days the are “foggy” Some things are still blurry but usually it is ‘distance’. A really good pair of sunglasses work well too i find as sometimes the sun is so bright everything “blurs” cause I squint. Didn’t notice that til DS asked if I had a headache. :)
Hi Abbenanny, Took Mom to the eye doctor again yesterday. They have checked everything, and there really isn’t anything else they can do. Three doctors have told her that now so she is going to have to learn to live with it. She has no signs of allergy at all and does have good sunglasses. She says the bright light bothers her too. Sometimes that doesn’t seem to be the case though. I do praise God for the patience of all of the medical personnel who have been helping us through this. They are super and so are you all…thanks again
Hi Sherry, I don’t want to sound impudent or disrespectful, but here is an interesting story and it may help you figure this out.
One time I was at my optometrists office and this lady came in complaining of exactly the same thing as your Mom. She kept insisting that her glasses were made incorrectly and wanted them remade. After the 5th or 6th time, it was discovered by a family member that she experienced this patchy blurriness was only happening when she was watching TV in the evening. It turns out that there was 2 simple reasons for this. 1. She had been cooking and the oil from frying was putting splotchy patches on the lenses and 2. that she had reflections from lamps and light fixtures in the tv screen and her lenses.
Now I’m not saying that this could explain what is happening with your mom, but it does show you that sometimes it can be a very simple reason. I know that everytime I go to see my dad, his glasses are so filthy, it’s a wonder he can see at all! How they get that dirty, I have no idea! Does your Mom wear glasses? If she does, is there an anti-reflective coating on them? Are they cleaned regulary? Sometimes, without this coating one can see the reflection of ones eyes or what is behind them on the lenses, depending on the lighting circumstances. This can be very disturbing, that’s why I always have an anti-reflective coating on my lenses.
The original anti-reflective coating was put on the outside of the lense but after discovering that this coating was very sensitive to fingerprints and smudges, it was decided to put the coating on the inside of the lenses (that side closest to the face). A much improved situation, to be sure.
So ask your Mom what she is doing when she is experiencing this and just exactly what she sees. This may give you direction to investigate, at the very least. I feel there is a simple explanation, it is just waiting to be discovered. Good luck.
Marian, I truly have been laughing out load on this one! The eye doctors have given the nurses at the home written orders to be sure her glasses are kept clean. We can totally identify with how dirty they get…reallllllyyyyy bad!!!! I try to keep them checked when I’m there too. Mom doesn’t cook or anything like that. She sleeps, visits with her roommates, plays some bingo and other games in the communtiy room, goes to the dining room for her meals, and that’s about it. When they watch TV, she seems to have no interest and will go to her room and lie down. I am quite interested in the info you’ve given on the antireflective coating on the lenses and intend to write myself a note to check into that. Maybe I’ll just give the eye doctor’s office a call in a few minutes. We never visit Mom that she isn’t fussing about her vision and says it only feels ok when she lying down with her eyes shut. It is possible that she’s fixated on that too. Her vision is 20/30, which really is pretty good I think. Thanks so much for your input. I’ll see what I can find out. I do know light bothers her eyes. ANYTHING to try to get this issue toned down to a dull roar!
My husband constantly gets his glasses smeared (like several times a day). I noticed when he takes them off, adjusts, etc. he puts his fingers on the lense. I can’t seem to break him of the habit. Perhaps your mom is doing just that.
I am legally blind in my right eye due to CRVO (central retina vain occlusion) but I noticed that once in a while my good eye would be blurry in the mornings but getting better as the day wore on. Decided to check my meds and found one of them, Gabepentin (sp) had right on the bottle said “may cause blurred vision). I really don’t need that med so tried an experiement and took my self off of it. So far have not had the blurred vision since, but knocking on wood anyway.