How can I restore my vision in my right eye at 33?

Hello doctor,

I am a 33-year-old male with a history of anxiety disorders. Over the past three years, I have experienced visual auras without migraines, affecting both eyes, which disappear within 10 to 20 minutes. These auras are different from the major visual aura described above, as they start small and develop into multicolored semicircles that grow and fade. I also experience Deja Vu or Deja Rêve episodes, typically when under extreme stress, which I understand may be related to local epilepsy.

I experienced a visual aura (without migraines) that affected only my right eye. I lost vision in the lower part of my right eye, which became blurry and turned completely black after exposure to artificial light. The vision loss lasted several hours but gradually receded, leaving two areas in the lower part of my right eye that remained sensitive to light for several weeks.

Although these sensitive areas became less noticeable over time, they have not fully recovered. Months later, I still experience negative spots in my vision, particularly when blinking or looking at a white background—these spots are most noticeable in my right eye.

Background information:

I have had both an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and EEG (electroencephalogram), both of which came back negative. Comprehensive eye exams were also negative.

At the time of the major visual aura, I was taking a supplement called Boron. I stopped taking this supplement and began taking magnesium daily.

Questions:

1. What can be done to restore my vision to its state before the major visual aura?

2. Are there any treatments or medications that may help with this condition?

3. I have consulted neurologists. but I feel they may not fully understand the persistent visual aura and the Deja Vu/Deja Rêve episodes. Are there specialists or other approaches I should consider?

Please help.

Thank you.

Hello doctor,

Thanks for responding.

Please find below my answers to your questions:

1. When did you experience the loss of vision in the lower part of your right eye?

Answer: Two months back, at night, while I was using my personal computer with a wide, bright monitor (I have since reduced the brightness).

2. Was the onset sudden, or did it develop slowly?

Answer: It was sudden, like an immediate flash affecting the lower part of my right eye's vision.

3. At that time, did you experience all black vision, blurred vision, flashes of light, or something else in the lower part of your right eye?

Answer: Initially, my vision was blurred, and as I continued to look at the monitor, it progressively became very dark and eventually went completely black.

4. After the sensitivity to light receded, what vision abnormality did you experience? Did you have two black spots, areas of light, pain in the right eye, or something else? Also, how does your vision react in well-lit areas?

Answer: I will try to describe it in terms of shapes. Imagine a large black rectangle covering the entire lower part of my right eye’s vision. This rectangle slowly dissipated over several hours, like a river washing it away, with small streams of my vision returning and erasing the black area.

The following day, after about eight hours of sleep, I opened my right eye and noticed two sensitive spots. These spots were not black, but were more blurry than usual and sensitive to light. When exposed to light (either natural or artificial), these spots became more noticeable. One spot is oval-shaped, located on the left lower side of my vision (covering about 10 % of my field of view), and the other is small and rectangular at the bottom of my vision (covering about 15 %). The spots do not overlap (I have attached a visual representation of the evolution of my aura).

Over the course of several weeks, I noticed some improvement in these two spots—less blurriness and sensitivity to light—but that improvement has since plateaued. For the past month, there has been no further change, and I can still see the spots if I blink rapidly or enter a well-lit area.

I never experienced pain in my eye or brain. These two spots are fixed in relation to my vision, meaning they move with my right eye without any lag.

An interesting observation is that when my vision was black (in the hours following the aura) if I looked upward with my right eye while closing my left, I could see less than 50 % of my upper vision. This was because I could see more of the lower visual field and less of the upper visual field.

5. Regarding the persistent black areas in your right lower eye field: Could this be a visual aura or scotoma?

Answer: The black area did not persist as described above. I consulted several ophthalmologists who took measurements and photographs of my retinas, and they found everything to be normal.

6. Do the persistent black areas remain fixed in the vision field, or do they float or change position?

Answer: The areas are fixed in relation to my internal vision. They do not move around or float, and they do not shift with velocity like floaters.

7. Are the visual auras you have described over the past three years associated with headaches, intermittently or always without headaches?

Answer: The visual auras have always occurred without headaches.

8. How frequently do you experience these visual auras? Approximately how many times per month?

Answer: I experience at least one visual aura per month, and I have had them while sleeping and dreaming as well.

9. Are déjà vu and déjà rêvé linked with anxiety, as you mentioned?

Answer: Déjà vu and déjà rêvé are less frequent than my visual auras, but they tend to occur on the same day as the visual aura or the day before.

10. Are you taking any medications other than magnesium? If so, please list their names, dosages, and frequency.

Answer: I took Lamotrigine (25 mg) for a few weeks last year but stopped due to the numbing sensation it caused. I have not taken any other medications since, but I am considering returning to Lamotrigine, as I have read that it may help people with persistent visual aura.

11. How long have you been taking magnesium, and have you noticed any differences?

Answer: I have been taking magnesium for about a month, so it may be too soon to tell if it has reduced the frequency of my visual auras. However, I have experienced two visual auras since starting the magnesium, and they did not have lasting effects on my vision.

Additional information: I have also been struggling with poor sleep for several months. I often wake up around three or four AM during my sleep cycle, but I force myself to go back to sleep to avoid feeling tired throughout the day.

Kindly assist.

Thank you.