Bummed Out - Double Vision

[OrlandoTommy]

Hey Everyone,

Well im happy to report that its been almost 7 months post op since i had any experience with double vision.

My Coumadin levels have consistantly been 3.0 (Doctor recommends 2.5 - 3.5). I check it every week with my kit i have at home.

I havent taken the asprin i used to take in months, i wasnt sure i ever needed it but i took it to be on the safe side but then i stopped when i cut my hand and it took all day for the bleeding to stop.

I started jogging last week as i posted earlier this week. I feel wonderful and my cardio doc who i just saw did a EKG and said everything was perfect and i looked great.

With all that being said i was in a meeting this AM staring at my computer screen and everything shifted somewhat, almost like i was starting to have double vision but it didnt actually happen, i would say on a scale of 1 - 10 the severity of it was about a 3 and it only lasted for about 45 seconds.

I have heard people on the board say this can happen every once in a while and usually it can be brushed off.

Last week i switched from 50mg of Toprol XL a day to 25 a day, blood pressure has been fine and BPM's have been normal since the switch.

Well i feel fine now (1 hour later) but i have just shot down to a all time low in the way i feel, now im full of anxiety, biting my nails and i just cancelled my plans for the entire day.

And to top it off im in Tennessee for the weekend and know no one here so that makes my anxiety even worse.

My parents said maybe its the altitude change, i said i doubt thats what caused it but I live in Florida where there is no "altitude" so i figured i would run it by everyone here.

Thanks for listening

 

[geebee]

Tommy - go back to your plans. This is something that does happen to many of us on a regular basis. Many have received the same answer - "nothing notably wrong and not sure what it is."

I have also heard everything from a microclot to muscle spasm to occular migraines. I only know for sure that, with me, it always passes in less than a minute. Annoying but ........

It never hurts to discuss this with your doctor but it may just be something that you will have to learn to live with. Please try not to be bummed and remember that you went through OHS to live your life - go live.

 

[Marguerite53]

Hi Tommy. Maybe your body is not able to adjust as easily to the new, lower dosage. Sounds like, with the sudden double vision and the increased anxiety that the smaller dose is affecting you.

I think a call to the cardio is in order. You are most likely feeling the increased anxiety because of the lower dose. Could you place the dose somewhere in the middle of those two and then in 2 weeks, taper down to the new dose. I know they are time release and all, so you aren't really supposed to cut them in half, I dont' think. But I did!!! I even cut them in quarters. I had a very strong reaction (just like yours) to cutting back immediately, so I would take 3/4's of a 50 mg for a few weeks, and then go to the 25 mg. (for me, I was weaning myself off of them completely wtih doctors okay, so I really was just taking crumbles for awhile!!! )

Anxiety that is keeping you indoors like that is not necessary. Please call the cardio and get their advice. Or, just take the 50 mg dose until you leave Tennesee.

These are strong drugs and we need to use instincts as well as doctors orders to weave our way through our best use of them. You aren't feeling right, and it is the drug. Please take care.

Marguerite

 

[WayneGM]

Sorry to hear you're bummed out. I don't have answers, but suggest you not cancel your plans entirely, and go out and do something pleasant to clear your head and get your mind off things. When I'm depressed I ride my bike, or simply go for a walk someplace with pleasant surrounding, and I feel better. I hope you feel better soon. Best wishes.

 

[halleyg]

Hi Tommy,
I don't have any advice either but I hope you were able to enjoy your day. Being in TN you're not too far from me and it was such a pretty one. I haven't had your exact experience but I know how you feel w/the anxiety. Definitely not fun! Hope you're feeling better.
Halley

 

[OrlandoTommy]

Today

Today

Hi everyone, i took everyones advice and continued my day, but i hate the feeling in the back of my head i have constantly that i might have double vision again, its so annoying...!!!

On a better note, i felt fine all day, hopefully it was just a fluke, kind of paranoid to start jogging again but i will anyway...

Thanks everyone for the good advice,
Tommy

 

[westkane]

Double Vision - Not alone

Double Vision - Not alone

We'll I see I am not alone, every now and then I will have an episode where my eyes will have double vision and apparently focus at two different depths (happens for a couple minutes). Or I will get tunnel vision or what I call sunspots. (You know when you look at the sun and turn away and there is a big spot in front of your eyes for several minutes).

What had me very nervous was that these two phenonenom (one or the other) would occur about a half hour before I was getting a migraine in my earlier years ( migraines have not been much of a problem for me since I turned 40 and found out I was allergic to chicken). Once I had these symptoms occur I knew I was going to be in for a doozy of a headache.

I had not had these vision (or aura's) occurances very often since I found out about the poultry allergy ( I avoid anything with poultry in it). But since surgery and taking these meds, their frequency has increased, (I am greatful that the migraines don't follow them like they used to)

I wonder if it has something to do with taking vaso dilating medicine and these vessels occasionally pressing on the opthalmic nerve? Mine seem to occur more frequently after having caffeine. I take Lisinopril, Metaprolol, Lasix, Aspirin.

 

[PJmomrunner]

Just my 2 cents, but I think you should resume the aspirin. If there's any chance you are experiencing "microclots" I wouldn't be skimping on the ACT or blood thinning. I don't know WHAT the difference is, but I know the coumadin and the aspirin have different effects; I'd be afraid you're missing the affect of the aspirin.

 

[bvdr]

This past year I have really had a time with double vision. In my case I had other neurological problems as well. There can be many causes and in my case I believe it was either a side effect of Flecainide or if not caused by the drug then at least made worse by it. I know how unsettling it feels and it is almost impossible to ignore. In my case, the letter O looked like 8's as one set of the images sat directly on top of the other. It has improved since coming off Flecainide but not totally subsided. Check the side effects of your drugs as quite a few of them have visual disturbances listed. I had been on Flecainide 3 1/2 years before I started having problems. I hope you find your answers so you can put this behind you and you can get back to enjoying your wellness soon.

 

[kbheart]

I've had problems with double vision, also. In fact, this morning it happened after several weeks of no symptoms. Last year I saw a neuro-ophthamologist and he said that it was probably just my mechanical valve sloughing off stuff. He said no amount of coumadin can stop all of it and not to worry about it. My cardiologist, on the other hand, suggested that I take an aspirin a day. It's happened a lot less since I started taking the aspirin.
Good luck! I know it's aggravating.