Ophthalmology Appointment…..Part 2 July 15th

Ophthalmology Appointment…..Part 2 July 15th

Sorry for a delay in this post, this has taken me a while to get my head around this one, also I haven’t been well again plus two weeks to get my act together with my blogging again but I will try to explained what happened.

Specsavers had found an abnormal result on my Field Vision test. They had referred me to the Luton & Dunstable Hospital for further investigation so on Tuesday 30^th June I went for the appointment.

It was so frigging hot in the hospital, as you walked through the main doors the heating was still pumping out of the main blowers over the doors!!! For Pete’s sake…..you want to save the NHS money? Start right there David Cameron!!! You don't need to be a frigging genius it’s nearly forty degrees outside, maybe just maybe it’s time to switch the heating off…der… this will save us a bit of money, don't ya think???!!!! Rant over.

First of all they did the usual eye test but this was with my glasses on. Pass. 

Then I had another “field eye test”. This one was a bit more technologically advanced than Specsavers, they took my glasses and entered the prescription into the computer. They then put a plastic looking lens into a little stand just about where my eye would be, once I had rested one of my many chin's on the chin rest. They covered my left eye with a pirate like patch and started the machine. I had to concentrate on an orange spot at the centre of the screen and every white light I saw out of the corner of my eye (my peripheral vision), I would have to press a button that I had in my hand. Easier said than done! The white lights were all different sizes, shapes, brightness, near and far. 

Next I went to see the Ophthalmologist Doctor. She said she had reviewed my results from both my “Field Vision Eye Tests” and unfortunately there was a problem with my peripheral vision and quite serious too. Then they showed me this.

This is not my results but near as damn it. To explain it simply the blacked out area is the area of peripheral vision that I cannot see! And she said because it is on the left side of the line it means that it is my brain that is causing it, not my actual eyes. She explained if she hadn't already received my notes, she would be sending me for an MRI because she would be concerned that I may have a brain tumour, had a stroke or a brain bleed but knowing I had an AVM, I had done the whole procedure the opposite way round.

Now this has confirmed where and what the AVM is affecting. My AVM is large and is in the temporal and occipital lobes. The occipital lobe is important to being able to correctly understand what my eyes are seeing. These lobes have to be very fast to process the rapid information that our eyes are sending. Similar to how the temporal lobe makes sense of auditory information. The occipital lobe makes sense of visual information so that we are able to understand it. If our occipital lobe was impaired or injured, we would not be able to correctly process visual signals, thus visual confusion would result. The big question is, is mine temporarily damaged or god forbid permanently damaged.

It really doesn't make sense, sometimes I can see perfectly fine, other days not so good. On the day of the test I thought I wasn't so bad but the doctor told me I had failed the test and that I was not allowed to drive. She could not guarantee that I would ever drive again either. She said that maybe if the AVM could be removed I would get my sight back but maybe it would make it worse, I would have to seek advice from the specialists at UCLH. I give her dues, she must have had one hell of a tough ass with all those splinters in it, sitting on the fence like that must have been taught at university. I can see it now “Tough Butts 101” with private after school hours, breakaway splinter groups, popping up everywhere lol. In fact as much as I joke about it, I do have a lot of respect for her, she was as honest as she could be and she wasn't going to hide anything but I guess she doesn't have all the answers.

They want to keep a regular check on my eyes now and I will have to see them every 4 months, my next appointment has already come for November sometime. All these appointments, I will have to have a separate diary just for them!