My Little Cousin All of a Sudden Can't See for a Few Seconds...

Updated on November 24, 2010
A.C. asks from Santa Clara, NM
10 answers

Hello there ladies and any gentlemen that might be a part of this wonderful site. I need any kind of help or advice anyone might have on my situation. Ok, my 9 year old little cousin has now had 3 "episodes" (i dont know what else to call them) in the last 3 months, where she loses her eyesight for a few seconds and sometimes doesn't remember where she is at. My aunt and uncle have taken her to the hospital, but they are not sure what causes them and just have told her to keep an eye on her, duh. The first one lasted about 15 seconds (I wasnt there) and she even stopped breathing. I went with them once they were at the hospital, and was talking to my cousin the whole time, trying to have her explain what she had gone through. I left once they actually admitted her, but the weird thing is, is that she told her mom that she could hear me, but she couldn't see me. So far they haven't seen a any kind of pattern between the 3 times, just that she loses her eyesight, but all 3 times she has been doing a different activity. One doctor who saw her after the second time told my uncle that the medicine she was taking for ADHD might have caused this. He was not 100% sure though. Since then, she is not on any kind of medication. The first "episode" was about 2 months apart from the second and the third only 2 weeks from the second. This last time she also had a really bad headache after it. If anyone has ever had anything like this ever happen to somone they know, please share your experience or what the doctors told you. We are concerned for her health.Thank you very much.

update: Yes they did do an EEG (I think thats what they said) and found nothing. The hospital also said a neurologist should see her, but not yet. But we have never thought about taking her to an eye specialist (i cant spell the big word). I will definatley let my uncle know. This is his only daughter and he is very very concerned, to the point where his health is at risk too. Thank you to those who have already responded.

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So What Happened?

Thank you all for your advice and sharing your stories. My uncle did make an appointment with an eye specialist and also with a Neurologist. One appointment is in January and the other in February. And just to let you know, she had another "episode" last night that lasted 16 minutes long! He will be going in to see her doctor today, to see if they can help him get an earlier appointment with the Neurologist. We are getting really worried now. Thanks again to all.

More Answers

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

This is scary. She needs to be evaluated by specialists. I agree that an ophthalmologist is a good place to start. Be sure it's an ophthalmologist and not an optometrist. An ophthalmologist has more medical training and is trained to spot medical disorders while an optometrist is trained to diagnose and fit glasses. If he saw something he would refer her to an ophthalmologist.

I also wonder why they didn't do an MRI or some other extensive testing. IF they did and ruled out such things as tumors, retina difficulties, neurological difficuties, small strokes then you do have to wait and watch. My father had a small stroke that put him in the hospital. The stroke was not visible in an MRI but they still diagnosed it as a stroke based on symptoms alone. It is possible for children to have strokes, bleeding into the brain caused by a blood clot or weak veins.

I assume she stopped the medication which didn't stop the episodes. How long since she stopped? It will take time for the medication to get out of her system.

Later: I don't understand why it's too early for her to see a neurologist. Given your uncle's stress, I'd make an appointment now.

4 moms found this helpful
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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

She's probably going to need weeks if not months of testing (dozens to hundreds of tests depending on how "lucky" they get). The list of what it COULD be is really, really long. Ranging from seizures, to infection, meds to tumors, structural defects, degeneration, autoimmune, refered, psychological -a panic attack doesn't usually cause blindness, but upping the adrenaline to anxiety attack levels can do all sorts of weird things)... it's going to take a LOT of testing to figure out what the root cause is. It could be a common symptom (like seizure or pressure on her optic nerve from ____), or it could be an uncommon symptom of something else ... sickle cell doesn't USUALLY cause blindness, but it can). There are quite literally HUNDREDS of things it could be.

3 moms found this helpful

S.H.

answers from Spokane on

she needs to get a referral from her PCP to Neuro office for testing, starting with an MRI.

3 moms found this helpful
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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Didn't they do any testing on her/MRI's, CAT scans, neurological testing,.... getting an eye specialist etc.?????
I am surprised... they are not referring her to any Specialists... nor seem aggressive in referring her....

I would... DEMAND that they do this.

3 moms found this helpful

T.M.

answers from Modesto on

She should go see an opthomologist so he can look into her eyes and see if there is any swelling or growths around her optic nerve. I know someone that had episodes similar to what you are saying and she had a brain tumor, the eye doc was the one that found it. Scary.
It also sounds like seizures, which again could be tumor related. Maybe someone needs to video tape her when she has an "episode" so the docs know what's going on?

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C.W.

answers from Dallas on

This sounds similar to something my stepsister has experienced. She hasn't actually gone blind but does get blurred vision where she can't hardly make things out. Usually experience nausea, severe headaches, and loss of time and confusion on where she is at. Lots of doctors and lots of tests she has been diagnosed with a seizure disorder. The have never been able to "catch" the seizure with any of the tests though. They have had her on seizure meds for years now and she hasn't had anymore of the problems. I'm not a doctor so I can't say that your cousin is having seizures but I definately think I would get her to a neurologist asap.

3 moms found this helpful

T.N.

answers from Albany on

Google 'Absence Seizures' and see if anything you read sounds familiar.

2 moms found this helpful
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D.G.

answers from Dallas on

I agree on seeing the different docs. Especially an opthamologist. It sounds like something my SIL had - occular migraines. But she does need to be checked very throughly.

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L.B.

answers from Stockton on

I agree with Deana. Sounds very similar to what my friend's son went through. The docs said it was ocular migraines. It started at school where everything would turn black briefly. He also started getting the bad headaches resulting in vomiting. Definitely push for the neurologist though to rule everything else out.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.H.

answers from Phoenix on

You should cover all bases and see the eye doctor, but first go to a Neurologist and they will order an MRI which shows everything in the brain, just to make sure there isn't anything there causing those symptoms.

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