I'm getting brain surgery
 

My Sister-In-Law (my brother's wife) made arrangements for me to get a free eye exam. My concern was the possibility of early stage glaucoma, seeing as it's relatively common for diabetics, and I definitely had been noticing pretty pronounced peripheral vision loss, particularly to my far right. I see the world almost as if looking through a football helmet.

So I go through a series of tests today, the first thing she says is that I definitely need glasses (in fact she told me that until I get glasses I'm not technically legal to drive) but my direct vision can be corrected to 20/20. I find some level of comfort in that, but I also repeat my concern about my peripheral vision.

So, "ok, we're gonna do one more test here....Actually we need to do one more.....ok this one is the last one I swear"...

So they have me wait in the little room for a while, then the eye doctor comes back with some printouts and a sort of grave look on her face.

The first ones are some pictures of my optical nerves in each eye, they're both healthy.

The second was a chart printout from the last test I took (I focus on an orange light and click a button every time I see a white flash), they literally look exactly like two half moons, with the left side perfectly dark and the right side totally white. This result is saying I'm near totally blind in exactly the right half of my vision field in both eyes.

I am already shocked, after all I can see straight ahead and to my left, I just don't see peripherally to my right. The explanation is that I see with the left half of my right eye, and that field of vision blends in with the left half of my left eye, resulting in a more-or-less normal direct field of vision.

She then explains that this type of result is not consistent with any eye defect. It is however consistent with a brain defect (I really noticed my vision loss last year but it's entirely possible that I just didn't notice it before that). According to her, these results indicate I must've had some kind of a stroke. The damage is almost certainly permanent, barring a miracle.

So the doctor lady will be working with my sister-in-law to get me on state-sponsored insurance, I need to see a neurologist and if there was a stroke I'm guessing a cardiovascular specialist as well. When I know more I well keep you posted. Needless to say I'm shocked.

How do you have a stroke and not know it?

Holy hell. My peripheral vision has almost entirely deteriorated over the course of my lifetime but to not be aware of it would be remarkable. I'm glad it's not glaucoma or macular degeneration, though. My grandma has MD and the shots she's had to take (directly into her eyes) haven't been covered by insurance.

It's crazy how a person can have a stroke (or many strokes) without even noticing a problem. (My mom's had a few mild strokes over the years - they've caused her to be partially disabled and I truly think she's showing signs of early dementia.) Really scary stuff. Hoping for good (or at least non-life-threatening) news for you.

My mom had no idea when they happened to her, but they found a few lesions on MRI scans that suggested a stroke. She's dealt with slurred speech sometimes and has taken many falls due to complete lack of balance but she's never noticed anything out of the ordinary (or what she could call ordinary at this point). It happens. Mild strokes can happen and you don't even know it. It's freaky.

You tell me and we'll both know. But she said there's no question, at all, that I've suffered brain damage that'a consistent with a stroke

Well, I'm goin' to hell.

Please do keep us updated, Paul, that's some crazy ****.

Oh man that is not good. I'm so sorry to hear that Paul. I just hope that it doesn't get worse. I hope the Neurologist can give you some answers.

I thought I was shocked today losing my doctor (2 and half years seeing him) to some personal situation where he just left and didn't come back. Now I need to find another one. Ugh.

Paul, I'm so sorry to hear that. I guess the silver lining is that it's better to know than not know. Hopefully now you can get the help that you need to address the issue and prevent problems in the future. Please keep us up to date with how it's going.

Seconded.