Mom saw eye doctor this week-long her vision has become really poor. They said it isn't her eyes at all. It's her brain's inability to process what the eyes are seeing. She is on risperidone and it has very common visual side effects- some that she is having. Anyone with any info on this and how to manage it? She has a farm, animals and is very active. Vision is so crucial to quality of life!
I agree that you have to ask the doctors what caused the loss of sight. Saying it is cognitive is meaningless. If it is a medication side effect that must be addressed ASAP. The longer her vision degenerates the more difficult it can be to treat successfully. Where there is a problem there is a cause, and that leads to better diagnosis and more effective treatment.
Most optometrists and ophthalmologist don't know how to diagnose much less treat these types of disorders successfully. Go to noravisionrehab.org to find a specialist near you. Not everyone who is a member of NORA is trained or certified in this specialty, so call and ask the doctor about their training and level of certification. Feel free to pm me with questions.
For visual disturbances, have your mother look directly at the delusional image. It will probably disappear. She should sleep with a low wattage light on. This will help decrease visual disturbances. Make sure she gets adequate sleep and is well hydrated at all times. Good luck to you both. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this.
The majority of her patients are children or stroke patients.
I don't fit into those categories, though. Part of my situation was hereditary. It manifested differently in me (some tendencies to going cross eyed, eyes not moving together, esp when tired) than your mom.
So depending on what is up w/ your mom, it may be worth at least looking into.
Treatment in my case involved weekly visits and vision exercise homework 6 days a wk. I am "graduating" treatment and am seeing now how I do w/ 4 days a wk.
I live in So CA, and even here there are not a lot of qualified Vision Therapists. It's still considered kind of "new" for people like me and as such, insurance didn't cover my treatment, but maybe your mom would fare differently. The industry is trying to get it accepted by more by insurance.
Best of luck to you and your mom!
Yes w the cognitive diagnosis & eyesight..My father’s spatial awareness & depth perception were the first to be compromised..A bit later, he developed pinpoint-pupils, which narrowed sight even further..When the brain communication center changes, it affects many of the senses.😢
An unforgiving disease..Prayers to you & Mom..🙏🏻❤️