Scared About Losing Part of Your Vision After Stroke
About the Author: Joyce Hoffman is one of the world's top 10 stroke bloggers according to the Medical News Today. With the help of her team, Joyce created this newsletter inspired by the format of Dear Abby. The newsletter is a dialog with Joyce on issues only a survivor could fully understand.You can find the original post and other blogs Joyce Wrote in https://dearjoyceqanda.blogspot.com
(This next request comes from the Strokefocus.net Forum. Though it wasn’t addressed to me specifically, the answer is useful and I believe I should share it).
Dear Joyce,
What can I do to improve my peripheral vision? I phoned my opthalmologist (who did my lens replacement some years ago) and was told nothing can be done. Is this correct?
Scared About Losing Peripheral Vision
Dear Scared,
I suggest you read Dr. Heidi Moawad article. She is a neurologist and expert in the field of brain health and neurological disorders. The link is here: https://www.verywellhealth.com/loss-of-peripheral-vision-3146459
The bottom line? It is often common for a stroke to cause a visual field loss because the neural pathway between the eyes and the brain that clarifies what we see is a long one that can definitely be damaged by a stroke.
Look for a second opinion, too. All doctors know different things but, as I say, no doctor knows everything. Perhaps there are exercises you can do to regain that loss.
Though loss of peripheral may be permanent for some people, Dr. Moawad says, “A stroke that causes a loss of peripheral vision can improve over time as the stroke heals and stabilizes.”
We’ll leave it on that very encouraging note! Write again if you regain some or all of your peripheral vision. We’d love to hear about your success. Best wishes!
Brought to you by Strokefocus and one of its associations, Northwest Brain Network