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Let's Get Personal: My Eyes Are Being Weird

Posted by Krystal Perez-Ivy on

I am more than just a business, I am a human being going through some pretty weird medical stuff. Here is the 411 on my current health. I want this blog to be a space for my customers to get to know me, all of me. Let's share our stories and connect :) 

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On January 30, 2022 I woke up with double vision. It was a slow realization since I am already pretty blind without my glasses. I had recently started a new medication for sciatic pain and one of the side effects was diplopia (double vision). Not thinking too much into it, I tried for a week to get a an appointment with a neuro ophthalmologist to get checked out. My health insurance would not cover seeing this type of specialist and required that I see a regular optometrist first. 

On February 8, 2022 I planned out a nice little outing with my husband. We'd go see the optometrist in the morning and then spend the rest of the day shopping. The doctor took one look at me and left to go call an ophthalmologist. What I failed to notice was that my eyes were traveling to each side of my head when I was not wearing my glasses. I am never not wearing my glasses, so we didn't notice! 

The doctor told me that I needed to immediately go to the ER. She confirmed with the specialist that I was experiencing Third Nerve Optic Palsy. This was not a side effect from medication but something completely different. I walked out in a daze, told my husband where we needed to go and then started to cry. 

I was admitted in to the ER that same day and so started this journey I'm currently on. I was hospitalized for four days while the neuro team tried to figure out what was wrong with me. I had CT Scans, MRI's and a lumbar puncture. In the end, they determined that I had a lesion in the middle of brain that was pushing up against my third optic nerve. This is what was causing my double vision. They also found inflammation down my spine. As of today they are leaning towards Neuro Sarcoidosis. It is not 100% confirmed because the lesion is in a spot that cannot be reached for a biopsy, neither are the spinal inflammation spots. 

It's the best educated guess since about 10 years ago I had sarcoidosis in my eyes that cleared up with steroids. Back then it came about in a weird way where black spots were blocking my vision. A few weeks on steroids helped clear it up. The thing about sarcoidosis is that it's unknown what causes it or when it will reoccur. 

I've only been on treatment for 20 days and from what I've been told it will take a good 30 or 45 days to see if the steroids are 100% successful.

Sigh. I am going to be ok. Right? Yes. I am a natural worrier, but I am trying my best to take this one day at a time. 

 

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