Right eye & memory not working since yesterday feedback please

[truckin]

I've been having neck spasms for about a month--no major issue except it made me feel lightheaded and my ears got a lot of pressure inside them.

Yesterday morning I was having a panic attack so I took a Seroquel. My shoulders were trembling so I lay down on my stomach to try to calm down.

After about 10 minutes I got up and experiences a major wrenching in my left neck muscle, which has always been twice the size of my right. It went all the way up thru my scalp. It was excruciating. I took Seroquel and rested and used ice/BenGay etc. till this morning.

When I went to pay my bills by phone, my right eye couldn't see the text to the right of the word I was reading. It took me 8 attempts to pay my gas bill due to entering incorrect numbers over and over and not pressing each correct number on my phone keypad.

It's like just to the right of the middle of my right eye there's a blind spot. Add to that my memory holes from one minute to the next and I'm scared.

I called the neuro and the nurse is gonna talk to the doc and get back to me. Meanwhile I'm going to the dentist later to get exam and antibiotics for an infected tooth that needs extraction.

Just yesterday I was playing brain games online--word bubbles--and today it's painstaking to just balance my vision, memory, and hand/eye coordination. Word after word in this post I've had to correct.

I do remember when I first took Seroquel several years ago--my memory went out the window and I wobbled along like a string puppet till I got used to it. I pray the neuro will get me in before the weekend.

[BigA]

Well...

From my experience, anxiety makes my symptoms worse. Everything feels worse when I have anxiety. Then I start to worry that it means I'm getting worse, which makes me feel worse, etc, ect, etc (as per the king and I)

I've not tried Seroquel, but paxil made me foggy.

So what works for me? Exercise, Yoga and Meditation. Yoga is the most amazing thing you will ever do and you may find relaxation in a way you never thought possible.

Of course, if you think you've had an exacerbation by tomorrow, you should call your doctor.

... but still try the yoga

[mjan]

Gee whiz, I am so sorry for all you are going through. But I wonder if there may not be a connection between the tooth infection and your symptoms.. just saying. Make sure you mention that to your dentist and neuro.

Seraquel can have some tricky side effects, but you also sound like you have a case of ON. Hope you get that checked out really soon.

Hugs to you, hope you heal up fine. I miss hearing from you on here!!

Warmly, Jan

[truckin]

Thanks for the support! Eyes are scary.

Well I went to dentist yesterday and they put me on antibiotics for 2 weeks till the extraction. She said the infection can cause all kinds of effects to the facial nerves and the antibiotic may clear up the eye. I'm starting to feel pain where the vision problem is, so hopefully it's tooth-related.

Neuro nurse called back. I'm due for another MRI of brain & c spine and if the eye doesn't clear up they'll look into ON exam etc.

Until then I'll keep turning my head to make sure I don't miss anything--or bump into something.

Blessings, T

[mjan]

What? They are going to WAIT and then do an exam for ON, really? Can you see a neuro-ophl or any ophl right away? I thought they were NOT to supposed to wait!!

I would post this separately and those with hx of ON can help you more. And I would ask REDWINGs to help you.

Get better soon~

Jan

[MarkLavelle]

Not to be alarmist, but has no one thought to check whether you've had a stroke? That's what turned out to be the cause of my homonymous hemianopsia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homonymous_hemianopsia) last summer...

[truckin]

I had the MRIs 3 days ago--the neuro hasn't called back. That's a good sign. This afternoon is the eye doctor exam, so I'm hoping he'll figure a way to clear this up.

Yesterday was rough--I just took Seroquel and muscle relaxer and lay around doing nothing basically. I'm more active today but dizzy (usual MS symptom).

[Thinkimjob]

That Seroquel must be good stuff

Three days, and they haven't called back? I would be "gropeable" as they say in Australia.

I'm sure everything is okay, but how can you stand waiting and not knowing?

I know you've just a national holiday, but three days is too long.
Here's hoping everything gets sorted at the eye doctor.

[limbo-lifer.73]

Hey, Thinki:

For those of us not of the Aussie persuasion, what does
gropeable mean?? If it's good, we might insert it into
the lexicon here.....or not....could go either way...probably....

Take care of you,

me

[Thinkimjob]

It's "ropeable" with an Australian accent from the suburbs. Angry, not fit to be groped.
Ever heard of Kath and Kim? It's quite amusing. (Not the US version, which kind of sucked.)
They never quite pronounced words the right way, or really knew what was the right word.
Bit like our Prime Minister who says "hyperbowl" when she means "hyperbole". She calls the Opposition Leader "Mr Rabbit" when he's actually "Mr Abbott". Accent from Hell, but half the country sounds like that now.

[limbo-lifer.73]

Ahhhhh.....that whole accent thing! Actually, I'm
beginning to think it's one of those "you have to live
there" to really get it, type of things.

Does it rhyme with anything we might be familiar with
on this side of the pond?

Take special care of you, through all of your multiple
woes, Thinki!

me

[truckin]

Opthalmologist visit

Well, neuro referred me to eye doctor: long visit Thursday with many high tech tests by the nurse. Then the doc checked my eyes. He said optic nerve was fine, retina was fine, no diabetes, no glaucoma. Said there was right sided peripheral vision loss on my right eye, wrote a glasses rx, and said to check with my neuro, and he faxed the test results and notes to my neuro. Said MS was likely candidate.
Great

My neuro and nurse were at a satellite clinic Thurs. and Fri.--I had called Thursday to check the MRI results and the receptionist said she'd leave a text with them. Said the nurse responds if necessary and that there wouldn't be anything major going on with the MRI if they needed the eye doc results before having me come in.

Otherwise I'm just plodding along, being frustrated at my inability to read smoothly and follow what I'm trying to write. I'm tempted to search the internet about long-term use of anticholinergics and vision--I've had blurriness off and on since I started taking Nortriptyline and Seroquel.

Any online work is going to be painstaking (I have an online editing job) if not impossible.

Just overwhelmed with medical visits fatigue and fear.

[Thinkimjob]

Well, you've not had much fun, have you?

What's with this "nurse responds if necessary" bs? Why not just respond. They're getting paid, providing a service.
"MS is the likely candidate" - you could have done with a bit more help.

I don't know how bad your eye is, but maybe glasses will do the trick.
Online editing is hard enough. You'll still be able to do it, it'll just be that much harder.

Don't make any decisions until you've recovered from your trip in the medical whirlwind.
All the best.

[truckin]

Finally I'm going to neuro tomorrow to review MRI. Meanwhile I'm exhausted and queasy taking 1500 mg Keflex per day to get ready for tooth extraction in a couple of weeks. Feels very toxic and disorienting. Also taking Seroquel and Nortriptyline, which just adds to the weak, wiped out feeling.

[truckin]

Better, kinda

Well a lot of tests etc: MRI showed it was MS. Neuro put me on prednisone taper, then 5 days of Solumedrol in the clinic, which wigged me out, had to start bp meds, now I'm back on oral taper after sleepless 4 days after the Solumedrol.

This is my 2nd day of bp medication, I can feel the effect already, got the headache with it, temporarily I hope. Stabbing needle-like pain in my left eye brow muscle, which seems to be coming from those dang messed-up left neck muscles. I'm going to wait till after this taper is done to start PT on my neck. Too overwhelmed at the moment.

My right peripheral vision is better--no images anymore, still the blank spot, but what's frustrating is I can't grasp the right half of lines of text that require me turning my head to the right. Amazing how I take for granted how a visual field affects split second memory just to read.

BUT: I am determined to coninue my word bubbles game--I haven't done bad considering I have to manage the keyboard and follow the line of text.

Neuro said this should clear up with plenty of eye movement practice.