Eye specialist symptoms and conditions

A year ago I was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis and began taking 50mg Prednisone per day. The worst side effects in the beginning were weight gain, moon face, facial hair, hump-back neck, bruising (for example, just by my knees being together while I sleep,) excruciating joint pain and water retention to the point I felt my skin would split open. And poor vision which could have led to glaucoma, but an eye specialist put me on eye drops to reduce the pressure to normal levels. I've felt horrified and embarrassed by the change in my appearance but relieved that my sarcoid was being treated.
I feel confident in my case that Prednisone was the necessary treatment. My pulmonologist, opthamologist and regular doctor all agreed on a course of treatment. But I really advise people to get a second or third opinion before they take it. A friend of mine was prescribed a weeks course of Prednisone for a severe sinus infection. Luckily she didn't have any side effects but I really question if it was necessary. I'd also like to stress that if you're on Prednisone and experience worsening vision, please see an opthamologist who is a glaucoma specialist because it can lead to blindness if not treated.
And lastly, sorry this became a novel! I have been tapering off and I'm down to 20mg. But recently I've noticed my hair is thinning so much. I lose a ton when I brush it and it clogs the drain when I shower. Also my skin is shedding. When I shower and use a loofah sponge like I've always done and I lose layers of skin like a snake. I would really like to know if my hair will start to grow back when I'm finally off the Prednisone or am I going to lose it completely??

I started taking Topamax for migraines. I had been on the medication (about 25 mg 1x/day) for 7 days. On the 8th day, my doctor told me to double my dose and take 2 - 25 mg pills each day. I did that on the 8th day.

It was Memorial Day, 2006, and I had taken a pill that morning. By about 10am, I was dizzy, had blurred vision, a pounding headache, and slurred speech. When I got home, I went straight to bed thinking I could sleep it off. I woke up about 2 hours later with the most horrible pain you can imagine and was completely blind. I called for my husband, who rushed me to the hospital. I spent 4 days in the hospital completely sedated. I threw up constantly and subsequently lost 14 pounds in those 4 days because I could not keep anything down due to the pain. I saw every kind of doctor and no one knew how to help me or what was wrong.

On the 5th day, the hospital had me see an eye specialist. He took one look into my eyes and ran out of the exam room. He returned shortly and told me that I had acute angle glaucoma and that I was lucky I had come in to see him. He told me that if I had waited, I would have been permanently blind in a matter of a few hours. He had to do laser surgery to blast holes into the backs of my eyes to relieve the pressure that had built up.

He asked me what medication I had been on. I told him Topamax. He did some research and found that glaucoma is one of the side effects of the medication. When I went back 3 weeks later for a follow-up visit, I had started getting my eye sight back. The doctor told me that since I had been in, he had 2 other people with the same diagnosis all brought on by Topamax. He then called the FDA and told them they needed to list that side effect in a more visible place on the drug pamphlet.

Since my Mirena I have experienced extreme dry eyes. It is so bad that sometimes at night it feels like my eye lid is going to stick to my eye ball. I thought it was because I had lasik surgery, but that was six years before having the Mirena placed. I have been seeing an eye specialist and other doctors and no one can figure out the problem. My first guess was the Mirena because this problem didn't start until after the Mirena was placed. Now after reading other stories I'm really convinced.

I'm posting for my father as he's not into computers. He went to the hospital for COPD - emphysema and he was on Prednisone for 10 days that he was there followed by 3 weeks of tapering it off. I didn't listen to his complaints and now I feel bad, it seems that his blurred vision and teeth and gum pain are serious, and a couple of his teeth have basically fallen out. Does anyone know if the vision problems were permanent? Obviously it's too late for his teeth...

I had the Mirena put in six weeks after having our daughter, on June 30th, 2006. I never was able to loose weight, and felt very bloated, moody, with pains in my sides (ovary level), and then in the Fall of 2007, I noticed a significant loss of vision in my left eye. I went through $40,000 worth of hospital visits, and one 8-day stay, to figure out that the Mirena had caused a rather large blood clot to form on the outside of my brain in the main vein that crosses over the top outside brain. I have suffered from multiple ER visits with migraines lasting up to 72 hours, even after shots and meds. I have been going to the University of Colorado Hospital for treatment and it has taken over six months to get me on a medication regiment that will hopefully alleviate my debilitating headaches and now am living with the possibility that my vision may never get better in my left eye. The Dr.'s I have seen: an eye surgeon, a Neurologist, a Neuro-ophthalmologist, a Retinal Specialist, and the multiple local MD's. The tests run on my body and head have been very extensive, including blood tests, multiple MRI's and the final MRVenagram that tests the flow and drainage of and around my brain that found the blood clot and have ruled out everything from MS, to Pseudotumor Cerebri (which is a lifelong disease offering only pain management for the most part), as well as a macular deterioration related with people over fifty, not 24, they have also ruled out any pre-existing tendency for being prone to blood clots . This has been the scariest thing of my life and so consuming and debilitating, that I would never recommend the Mirena to anyone. I have missed so much work and the traveling to doctors have been a drain on our financial situation. This kind of information needs to get out there because Dr's are denying any relation to the Mirena. My Dr's have definitely diagnosed my problem as the Mirena. The swelling of spinal fluid was my body trying to protect itself and that swelling caused such great pressure on my optic nerve that my macula, where a person has central and fine detail and focusing, wrinkled in a layer of my eye that cannot be operated on. I can no longer read out of my left eye and the stress that created for my right eye is a contributor to the migraines. I also see double at night, when lights or signs are illuminated by the headlights of my car. I am seeing two images! This is very hard to accept and not being able to read for very long also upsets me. The likelihood of my vision repairing on its own is slim to none. Thanks Mirena. SO please, please help the word get out!!!! Also caution anyone you know who is planning on getting the Mirena, or who has one in to be aware of any changes. My experience has been very extreme but maybe women out there are going through the same things I have been and no one will recognize the relation to the Mirena. I am only glad my Dr. was willing to admit the Mirena was the cause.

My husband was on Fosamax for only 6 weeks when he began to have headaches and to see double. He immediately went to an eye specialist and needed strong glasses. He had never worn glasses before. The night lights still effect him. I was told by a nurse that eye problems are the latest thing being caused by this strong drug.

Has anyone else heard of this side effect?

I was given Aveloz with Predisone for sinuitis...I was having no symtoms but a MRI Then 2 CT's showed bad infections in sinus.

Day 2 3 hours after taking I saw gold sparks fly off the back of my friends dog has he came out a doggie door. I said oh wow your dog just got shocked. She was like no she didn't. I got in my car to go home it was dark and my left eye began to rapidly flash white light. I drove one 1/2 mile and my visison was blurred with numerous floaters. I called my insurance company and they told me to get to the ER. The er Doctor told me not a side effect as I suspected but my retina had detached. HE said go home and lay flat and go directly to Eye, Ears, Throat Doctor expecting to have laser eye sugery in the am.

I did go to the Eye specialist and he said I was fortunate that just the gel wall collasped in the back of my eye. He said it is not the drugs...aging happens to everyone. I just knew better.

I took the meds a different time yesterday and had a similar worsening experience.

Today I was on the phone and all of a sudden was in a deep brain fog. Words would not come out of my mouth. I knew I was trying to talk but it was like my brain was detached and was not letting the words come to me.

I am suppose to take this 15 days, refill and take 15 more days. Come back for an MRI ..then take 15 more days.

I am not sure what to do now.

I called manufacturer of drug and they took report and said "we will report to FDA." Also took my information and doctors phone, fax and address and name.

I experienced complete Loss of hearing in my left ear for 24 hours & stopped taking the Vioxx at the first sign of a problem.
A Blister also appeared on my left eye near my cornea the following day. Of course I went to both an eye specialist and hearing specialist to see if they could identify the problem. Neither doctor could figure out why this happened and would not admit that Vioxx might have been the culprit.
My pharmacist is the only one that thought the loss of hearing could have been a side effect caused by Vioxx. I had only been taking it for less than one week at the time both problems occured. I also had some of the usual side effects before the hearing and blister happened.

I stopped Yasmin 16 days ago because of visual disturbances - blind spots, severe light/ glare sensitivity, headache, some aura...I'd been using it for 2.5 months. Last 10 days later, my blood pressure shot up to 144/104...I've always had blood pressure well within the normal range. Now, I'm having tingling sensations all over my body - kind of like drug withdrawal...has anyone else experienced this? I've also seen an eye specialist who said they've found some bc pills to cause migraines that have lasting effects on the eyes! Does anyone else know what more I can expect after coming off this pill and for how long??? My docs have suggested non-hormonal methods from here on.

Inherited high cholesterol. Recent blurred vision in left eye that started with a vitreal detachment but led to loss of vision prompted the eye specialist to contact my primary physician. After MRI, etc., determined vascular disease. Immediately place on Zocor 40 mg per day along with low dose aspirin. That was 2 months ago. I now have ankle swelling, heart palpatations, weight gain all in the middle, night sweats, hot flashes and awful dreams. Had a fasting cholesterol test done on Monday. Results - Satisfactory (whatever that may mean) since the doctor did not bother to quote the levels on the small postcard sent to me to give results. I WILL be telephoning his office first thing Monday morning!

I started this pill about 3 weeks ago. I started having eye pain after about a week and for the past 2 weeks, have had severe blurred vision. I unfortunately did not link my symptoms to the pill until yestereday and have been seeing an eye specialist who also did not make the connection. My cornea's are enflammed and have been on steroids for this for the past week with no improvement. I am now stopping this pill and hope my vision returns back to normal soon. I have also experienced stomach pain and indigestion as well as depression- which I thought was linked to my vision problems but now I question that too. I am forwarding this site onto my OBGYN- I think the Dr.'s need to be more informed and careful in prescribing this pill.