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  • Scoliosis and visual disturbances?

    My dd's eyeglasses prescription has changed again. She just got new glasses 3 months ago.

    Prior to that, nine months went by without a change (from 1/08-10/08), and prior to that, four months (from 9/07-1/08).

    We are looking for an opthamologist to take her to (she had been seeing an optometrist), but I wondered if any of you had any experiences with this.

    Her eyes go all at once--she describes them as feeling like they are in slinkys.
    She gets a slight headache too.

    She had a CT scan in August 2007 when she tripped during a race and smacked her face onto some blacktop. I suspected a head injury when she said that she felt sleepy, so I took her for a CT scan. It came back clear.

    When we saw her surgeon last Oct., I mentioned that she had a lot of changes with her prescription and he just told us to check into having an opthamologist look at her.

    But I'm open to suggestions from this board,too.

    TIA,
    Marian

  • #2
    Next step

    An ophthalmologist is the next right person to see. Another person to consider is a neurologist-not a neurosurgeon for an opinion on the balance situation.
    Original scoliosis surgery 1956 T-4 to L-2 ~100 degree thoracic (triple)curves at age 14. NO hardware-lost correction.
    Anterior/posterior revision T-4 to Sacrum in 2002, age 60, by Dr. Boachie-Adjei @Hospital for Special Surgery, NY = 50% correction

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Karen Ocker View Post
      An ophthalmologist is the next right person to see. Another person to consider is a neurologist-not a neurosurgeon for an opinion on the balance situation.
      Thanks, Karen.

      Do you think a neurologist is necessary? She is not very active or into running, so I just chalked it up to that.

      She used to Irish dance about 7 years ago. She was very coordinated then.
      She had to stop b/c she had foot pain--the podiatrist found out that she had fusions in the third metatarsals in both feet. He had her fitted for orthotics then.

      She hasn't had any real balance issues per se.

      But I will mention it to her surgeon when we see him in Feb.

      Thanks!
      Marian

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      • #4
        Eye problems plus scoliosis can mean nothing or it can mean a possible connective tissue disorder like Marfan's syndrome.

        The key thing you need is a slit lamp exam to rule out a dislocated lens.

        The comment about her eyes feeling like a slinky should be mentioned to the eye doctor though you should get the slit lamp exam regardless.

        Mention you want to rule out lens dislocation which is also called a subluxation apparently.

        Good luck.
        Last edited by Pooka1; 01-28-2009, 04:25 PM.
        Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

        No island of sanity.

        Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
        Answer: Medicine


        "We are all African."

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        • #5
          Hi Marian,

          Interesting that her eyesight is getting worse. My own vision is not good (but corrects to very good with contacts!). In my teen years, every 6 months or so I was getting a new prescription. This went on for 3-4 years. Once I was about 19, the progression slowed down. Some people's eyes are like that. I agree 100% that she needs an opthamologist. They know much more about the eyes than an optomitrist.

          You mentioned her coordination isn't as good as it used to be. Maybe its because her scoliosis is making her body not well-balanced. Maybe not. Has she had a full-spine MRI? Not a CT scan (like she's already had). Just makes me wonder out loud... When "symptoms" are written in one place, you sometimes can connect the dots better. There is a huge chance this is normal development for her, and nothing more, but you want to be more safe than sorry. Good luck and let us know how things go.
          Carmell
          mom to Kara, idiopathic scoliosis, Blake 19, GERD and Braydon 14, VACTERL, GERD, DGE, VEPTR #137, thoracic insufficiency, rib anomalies, congenital scoliosis, missing coccyx, fatty filum/TC, anal stenosis, horseshoe kidney, dbl ureter in left kidney, ureterocele, kidney reflux, neurogenic bladder, bilateral hip dysplasia, right leg/foot dyplasia, tibial torsion, clubfoot with 8 toes, pes cavus, single umblilical artery, etc. http://carmellb-ivil.tripod.com/myfamily/

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Pooka1 View Post
            Eye problems plus scoliosis can mean nothing or it can mean a possible connective tissue disorder like Marfan's syndrome.

            The key thing you need is a slit lamp exam to rule out a dislocated lens.

            The comment about her eyes feeling like a slinky should be mentioned to the eye doctor though you should get the slit lamp exam regardless.

            Mention you want to rule out lens dislocation which is also called a subluxation apparently.

            Good luck.
            Thanks, Sharon. I will mention this to the opthamologist.

            I will keep everyone posted.

            Marian

            Comment


            • #7
              I feel a bit better, Carmell, knowing that it could be something like her prescription changing rapidly.

              It's not that her coordination is bad--she just isn't very active. She can do yoga and such and not fall over. She walks just fine with her orthotics. Even when she's not wearing them, she walks pretty well, just flat-footed even though she has high arches.

              She's home-educated, so she's not in any kind of really physical activity like running. She did bowling and shooting sports last year and did just fine. She does yoga, walk the treadmill, and shooting sports this year and she's just fine with coordination.

              She did have a have a full spine MRI last October when she was first diagnosed. Her current surgeon suspected a chiari, however, after he checked it out with a neurosurgeon colleague of his, he said it wasn't a chiari.
              Other than that, all 3 surgeons who looked at her MRI said it was clear.

              Thanks so much for the input!

              Marian

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              • #8
                I wonder if the eyes 'feeling like slinky's' could be a visual migraine. I get those. When they start out, I will see a little rotating image, mostly in the left field of vision, and it grows and appears to be bunches of rotating swirlies that impair my vision partially, this whole little process only lasts about 20 minutes for me. Sometimes with a headache and sometimes without. If I remember correctly it is called an 'Aura migraine'. Unless its more of a physical feeling for her, then i have no clue.
                I notice vision changes can occur with hormonal changes. I didn't have to wear glasses full time until I was pregnant for example. I don't know how old your daughter is, but it may be something to ask the doctor about.
                But definitely take her to the doctor. I would get it checked out even if it were my daughter just to make sure it's not something else, especially since your daughter has had a good knock on the head in her past.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Christl View Post
                  I wonder if the eyes 'feeling like slinky's' could be a visual migraine. I get those. When they start out, I will see a little rotating image, mostly in the left field of vision, and it grows and appears to be bunches of rotating swirlies that impair my vision partially, this whole little process only lasts about 20 minutes for me. Sometimes with a headache and sometimes without. If I remember correctly it is called an 'Aura migraine'. Unless its more of a physical feeling for her, then i have no clue.
                  I notice vision changes can occur with hormonal changes. I didn't have to wear glasses full time until I was pregnant for example. I don't know how old your daughter is, but it may be something to ask the doctor about.
                  But definitely take her to the doctor. I would get it checked out even if it were my daughter just to make sure it's not something else, especially since your daughter has had a good knock on the head in her past.
                  Thanks for the input Christi.

                  Her major complaint is that is the eyes feeling like slinkys--if you all can imagine those glasses where there are eyeballs on the end of springs. She doesn't complain so much about headache.

                  But this has always indicated a prescription change.

                  She just turned 16 last week.

                  Now she told me she's been noticing more floaters--little black dots that appear, float around, then disappear since she had her eyes checked last October.

                  We do have an appt. scheduled for Monday.

                  Will have to hang in there til then!

                  Marian

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                  • #10
                    Update

                    Took dd to the opthamologist today.

                    He said everything looked fine--actually agreed with the optometrist's exam.

                    Her prescription change was ever so slight--he said that he didn't think she'd need another pair of glasses so soon.

                    But we asked for another pair anyway. Dd is in some activities which require very accurate vision (4-H Shooting Sports) so we wanted to make sure she'd be seeing the best she could be.

                    Thanks for all the encouragement, Ladies! It's nice to know that it was something that was so easily taken care of.

                    Marian

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                    • #11
                      Glad to hear her vision is fine, just slightly worse than before. Glad to hear there is no alarming problem to fix. Good news.

                      Has the doc suggested contacts for your daughter? I don't see well (clearly) with glasses, but see VERY well, detailed with contacts. If someone took my contacts away from me, I would be very upset and sad. I love being able to see the leaves on the trees on the mountainside. I love being able to see the birds flying in the distance. If I couldn't see that, my life would be very sad.
                      Carmell
                      mom to Kara, idiopathic scoliosis, Blake 19, GERD and Braydon 14, VACTERL, GERD, DGE, VEPTR #137, thoracic insufficiency, rib anomalies, congenital scoliosis, missing coccyx, fatty filum/TC, anal stenosis, horseshoe kidney, dbl ureter in left kidney, ureterocele, kidney reflux, neurogenic bladder, bilateral hip dysplasia, right leg/foot dyplasia, tibial torsion, clubfoot with 8 toes, pes cavus, single umblilical artery, etc. http://carmellb-ivil.tripod.com/myfamily/

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Carmell View Post
                        Glad to hear her vision is fine, just slightly worse than before. Glad to hear there is no alarming problem to fix. Good news.

                        Has the doc suggested contacts for your daughter? I don't see well (clearly) with glasses, but see VERY well, detailed with contacts. If someone took my contacts away from me, I would be very upset and sad. I love being able to see the leaves on the trees on the mountainside. I love being able to see the birds flying in the distance. If I couldn't see that, my life would be very sad.
                        Thanks, Carmell.

                        The optometrist we were seeing suggested contacts b/c of dd's depth perception problems (had that for a long time). He said she might do better when driving with contacts.

                        The ophthamologist, however, said that he didn't think there wouldn't be much of a difference if she got contacts or wore glasses.

                        I would be willing to go with the contacts, but dd doesn't like the idea of putting things in her eyes. I won't be putting them in for her--that's for sure!


                        If she ever gets to the point where she'd want them, then I'd go along with it.

                        Marian
                        PS--Today it's off for a repeat x-ray before we see the surgeon 2 weeks from today.

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