Am I paranoid??

I have had brain surgery for epilepsy 3/06. In 3/07, I slipped on the ice and fell upon my head ~ a mild TBI (traumatic brain injury) as the plate shifted and bled a little. Just a teensy bit of background so you can understand where I'm coming from.

For a few years now, I've noticed that I have a "blind spot". In peripheral vision, the upper right is gone from both left and right eyes. The O.D. said that the loss is definitely in my brain, otherwise it would only be one eye. He attributed the cause to be from my brain surgery.

I do vaguely recall the surgeon mentioning that as a possible effect of the surgery, prior to. However, I could swear that my vision tests went perfectly at the 3-month post op testing. I didn't have it checked after my TBI. The effect of my blind spot is technically minimal, since it's peripheral I suppose. The farther an object is away from me, the larger area I cannot see. As a result of the blind spot, I've banged into more than a few walls and corners!

Can't the vision loss be due to the TBI? The plate in my head shifted on impact of the icy pavement. The doctors don't seem to take that into account though. Instead, they're concerned that it may be a tumor. Not that I want to have a brain tumor, or another brain surgery, but I feel that's highly unlikely. I'm not that lucky, to have something tangible to blame. Why even bother worrying about some .01 possibility?? Know what I mean?

I personally would let the doctors go ahead with all their test and not worry about the what if's until they know for sure what's going on.... loss of vision can be cause my so many different medical and optical issues that its hard to say what going on here.

shezbut,

i agree with rhapsody - it's best to have it checked out. i suffer from partial complex seizures and i know how i dread going to the neurologist. but, eyesight is very, very important. and i would not fool around with it. there are several things the problem could be caused by so it's best to see your MD and have the tests because, as you age, your eyesight will naturally get worse. i don't think the blind spot is minimal if you are banging into walls and corners. please see the doctor and let us know how it goes. thanks.

Thanks for your input, unhappyguy.

We'll see what the doctors say next Thursday.

shezbut,

good luck at your appointment. please let us know how you make out.

How did things go Shezbut? Really well I hope

I would think the plate was to cover up the surgery site and protect your brain and a shift would be more on top of your brain rather than hurting something major in your brain like vision; I wouldn't think that sort of vision would be of the surface?

Things went so-so. My MRI didn't show any new changes. He doesn't expect my vision to improve or worsen. The loss is due to the brain surgery, which went through the visual artery. (I think that's what it is called.)

My assistant recommended that I not mention my difficulty with driving, as losing my license would be a given & I probably wouldn't ever get it back. I feel very "wrong" for with-holding that information from the epi, but I would lose A LOT of parenting time without my license. I just can't give that up ~ so I try to avoid driving as much as possible.

I was upfront about consistently pushing my bf's wheelchair into walls, due to the lack of peripheral vision. My epi said that most people who undergo brain surgery do lose some of their vision, but most are unaware of any changes.

We kinda left it at that.