Living with Vision/Eye Issues

A few years ago I began experiencing strange hinderances that began with my staggering around, leg pain, and headaches. I began to have difficulty walking, especially up and down stairs. I had to sit on my bottom to get up and down the staircase to our apartment. Within a matter of months of this onset, I began having vision problems but only in one eye. Before I knew it, I lost all center vision in my right eye. Numerous tests were given to me. The doctors attempted to diagnose me with everything from MS to Neuropathy Come to find out, I had lead poisoning from a remodeling job my husband had taken.

Since realizing it was ‘only’ lead poisoning I received appropriate treatment and all the symptoms cleared up except the vision issues. Seemingly, a nerve was damaged. While some vision has returned to my eye it fluctuates from day to day. Currently, I have episodes of seeing double especially when looking to my left. My eye doctor has told me this is something I’m just going to have to live with. I’m only 39 and have a difficult time accepting having to spend the rest of my life never knowing if I’m going to have clear vision and no headaches from day to day for the rest of my life. So, for now, until I get up enough courage to seek a specialist (the thoughts of surgery make me ill - I could pass out just from the thoughts) I guess I’ll just have to deal with it.

Then again, if the vision has returned to this point and fluctuates, I am left wondering if there is anything I can do to help it heal completely.