Night Vision Equipment

Hi!

I’m a 26 year old male in the northeastern USA. For the past 10 months I have had the following symptoms, most of which have gradually been getting worse:

(1) flickering / spotty / pulsating vision – i.e. looking at a white wall gives me mild moving flickering dark spots, looking at a dark wall gives me the same except the spots are light. these are not floaters – their edges are very indistinct and i can see through them very easily. this is more aggravating when i am trying to read text, but it is always there.
(2) a more constant dark spot in the very right side of my left eye’s field of vision
(3) occasional ghosted text in both eyes (intermittent bilateral monocular diplopia??
(4) occasional blurry vision
(5) frequent general out-of-it feeling: i feel tired all the time, have constant mild cold symptoms, occasionally feel disoriented, lightheaded, nauseous, or have an upset stomach.
(6) frequent hives
(7) really bad headaches for the past month

here’s what i’ve done so far to check:
(1) GP has standard bloodwork done and resting EKG done. everything is fine.
(2) Ophthalmologist examines eyes, says everything is fine, implies that maybe something is wrong with my brain.
(3) Neurologist does exam and MRI of brain, says everything is fine.
(4) Neuro-ophthalmologist does eye exam, says everything is fine. Tells me I should see a psychiatrist.
(5) Allergist cannot explain hives – allergy skin test is negative

My questions and insights:
(1) Could this really all be stress / hypochondria? If so, what can I do about it?
(2) Over the past five years I have had unprotected oral sex with about 4 different people. Could this somehow be HIV or some other STD?
(3) I’ve gotten sick this year more than normal. Six months ago I had the worst diarrhea of my life, and three months ago I had a week of shivering and night sweats, which I’ve also never had before. I assume this was just a nasty flu – but could this all come down to some disease like Lyme Disease, Diabetes, or Encephalitis? Would my normal blood work have indicated any of this?
(4) Should I go back to the neurologist and insist on getting an EEG to rule out other brain-related things? Should I repeat my MRI?
(5) I’ve also had a sore neck for the past 5 years and occasional unexplained chest pains (doctor says it’s just stress). Could all of the vision issues somehow be related to disrupted blood flow to the brain or pinched nerves in the neck?

Thanks for the help!
-Ryan

Since you have been examined by so many specialists in fields pertaining to you exact problem you situation is difficult think of as organic.
You seem to have a lot of potential causes, most have which would have shown up in simple blood tests. One thing you can look into is any medication or drugs you may be taking. Anything that thins blood can cause a minor bleed in a blood vessel that shows up as a dark spot that resolves in time.
On the other hand I remember a little girls telling me she could see air at night in the dark. You could be overly conscious of the normal things people see but ignore. You may see them more vividly but if a person stares at tiles or walls they can seem to move. You must be reading medical books which is giving you something to worry about.
I think you are tying together different minor symptoms to come up with a cause for something that can be normal.
I don’t see so many specialists missing the diagnosis. I hope i am correct and your symptoms resolve.

Mysterious flickering vision - is it a brain problem?

Posted Night Vision Monocular |