delphicdragon Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 I'm scheduled for a comprehensive Neurological / Opthamological (eye) exam on Monday. According to the nurse, this is supposed to take 3 hours!!!! I will, supposedly, be with the doctor for those 3 hours. I can't imagine what they will do for those 3 hours.Does anyone have any idea what this consists of? I'm scared....NOTE: I do have a pituitary tumor, which is why this was scheduled.Sara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ana_22 Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 i have no idea what they will do but i would be interested if you caould post on here afterwards and let us know!i have had my eyes checked out by a eye dr (not optomotrist...the other kind) and it involved vision feild test (looking into a box and clicking a button everytime you saw a flash)also the eye dr put drops in my eyes to make my pupils bigger and checked out a few things with vaious tools....was not scary at all.she then sent me to another testing facility at a childrens hospital where they attach sensor things on your bottom eyelids and around your eyes and measure things while you look at flashing lights.all of this was comfortable..... the only trouble was remaining upright for the majority of the time! oh and i did find thet they over estimated how long everything would take...i think they said 3 hours but i was out of there in an hour and a half. i think a neuro eye exam would be different.let us know how you go and what happens!& goodluck xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firewatcher Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 It is like a normal eye exam where they dilate your eyes, but they also do other testing. The one they are really looking for is a visual field deficit test: you rest your chin and forehead against this support and look into a big white dish (they lower the lights so it is not bright) then you have one eye covered and you tell them if you see a light flash in certain areas of the dish. Cover the other eye and repeat. If the Pituitary tumor is growing and pressing on the optic nerve, you will have a deficit in your field of vision (a hole or area where you can't see.) Mine took a while, but not three hours. My MRI did not show an active tumor (just a cyst) so she was not as thorough with me. The cool thing about this is that your doc will be BOTH a neurologist AND an opthamologist, so they should understand any dysautonomic lingo you throw at them. Mine was really good and reclined the chair for most of our conversations and some of the testing.Make sure you have someone to drive you home from the appointment and it always helps to have an "advocate," friend, family member with you in case the doc has difficulty with your dysautonomia dx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifesaver Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 I saw a neuro-ophthalmology exam back in July. It took 3 hours. Saw a resident, med student and the doctor. That is part of the reason it took so long. The other part is that it was an extremely thorough exam. I honestly can't remember everything they tested--I was in so much pain. The doctor did diagnose me with Trigeminal Neuralgia and put me on medication and then referred me to a neurologist for further testing and treatment. I had my eyes dilated. She was looking for neurological causes of my eye problems. Sorry I can't remember more. But it is not painful, you are in a dark room for most of the visit. I hope all goes well and you get some answers!!Becky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia3 Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 My regular optometrist spends a lot of time with me (he takes time with all patients)I have to break my visits up but he is very close to me (3 minutes) I have to do visual field test in separate visit. It's a few minutes per eye. forget if it's like 4, 8 or 12 minutes they can do? I think I do the 8 minute one. That is tiring because you have to concentrate. I have narrow angles behind my eyes so he does this to check for vision loss. He is just an optometrist but a very THOROUGH one and has made many comments on my eyes over the years...I am one of his most unusual patients....sigh.Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delphicdragon Posted November 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 The exam went well. Was going to go into work after, but my eyes were so dilated, I couldn't see to drive home, much less do the detailed stuff I need to do at work. So, I'm home. He did visual field testing, a regular eye exam, and a quick neuro exam. Other than trying to drive in the sun with dilated eyes, it went well. He knew about both EDS and POTS (I was SHOCKED!!)Apparently there's a Dr. Ehlers who works with him, so they tease this doctor all the time about it. My optic nerves are fine and the pit. tumor isn't affecting my vision. My pupils are different sizes and I have nerve damage from a car accident, but other than being a "strange bird" <-- his words, not mine. I'm good.Sara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firewatcher Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 Whew! Good news! Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 Oh that is great. Always good when the complications that plague many of us DON'T enter the picture. Quite a relief. Glad the tumor isn't making a problem of itself. From some reading on the subject (I've had a head injury too and have fixated on my pituitary & hypothalmus more than the average fellow) apparently the damage or tumor things that are sometimes discovered often end up being quite benign. Glad it's not pressing on anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia3 Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 glad things checked out ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia3 Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 bumping this up as I am seeing a neuro opthamologist exam in two weeks due to deficits in a visual field tests & unusually narrow angles (rare glaucoma potential as opposed to OPEN angle glaucoma, much more common)I've had weirdness with pituitary stuff for years with recent blood work normal. I first had MRI about 1998 for the pituitary issue and all was well.I have had an intermittently enlarged thyroid we keep an eye on for years (My autonomic doc is endocrinologist, too)it goes up and down, larger and smaller. blood work & ultrasound were all normal last year. but I know the pituitary has much communication with the thyroid....and with us it's complicated. autobodies for Hashimoto's were normal.The eye appt might last 90 minutes and the neuro doc I am seeing does not dilate the eyes? ***? The girl on phone just said lots of testing. WOW.So I've an email back to my autonomic doc to see if he needs to send anything to me to take with me to this doc to sum up ANS issues in a short note. HA.My optometrist immediately picked up the phone & made an appt when I went to his office with my ANS docs email. Not that he is panicking but wanted to get me in.My appt is on the 21st. There are not alot of posts on this when I searched but any more details about tests are appreciated.visual field tests wear me out so much by itself...sighthanks for any enlightenment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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