Dizziness, headaches, nausea... help!

I’ve been dealing with constant dizziness the last few days, a dull headache, feeling pretty wiped out, and some nausea. So yeah, life is just great right now.

At first glance, maybe it's the flu? Or so it feels. But there's no fever, and the fatigue isn't really hitting that specific way it does when I actually have the flu... And then there's the vision thing, which isn't something I usually deal with—my focus on distant objects is totally off (I don't even wear glasses... or my prescription is basically zero, whatever). It also feels like everything on my left side is washed out, and I'm seeing these little sparks right in the center of my field of vision.

What am I looking at here? Vitamin deficiency? I eat plenty of fruit, mostly oranges.

Didn't you mention you were dealing with conjunctivitis? I'm not sure if it’s related to that, or maybe even some of the medication you were prescribed, but these symptoms definitely mean you should head back to the doctor. If I were you, I wouldn't put it off...

Nice of you to check in. Yeah, I’m still using those drops. It’s just some mild antibiotic, though I’ve only been doing one drop instead of the usual two. The conjunctivitis is pretty much gone anyway. Honestly, I don't really see how it would affect my vision—the drops stay on the surface of the cornea, not the retina—let alone my overall health...

Look, I honestly have no clue either, so you should probably go double-check that yourself.

I remember once being prescribed some Neosporin drops for conjunctivitis, and they aren't exactly harmless if you end up using them for too long. My doctor gave them to me for allergic conjunctivitis, thinking I’d just use the whole bottle up... then I actually read the fine print. It mentioned all these potential side effects if used over an extended period and insisted on mandatory follow-ups with an ophthalmologist... so I just tossed the bottle in the trash (my allergies aren't even that bad; it's just ragweed season, which usually lasts about a month for me).

Of course, that doesn't mean your situation is the same, but when it comes to your eyes and dizziness, you really shouldn't mess around...

It probably depends on where you live or what the weather is doing. Lately, we've been dealing with massive swings in air pressure, temperature, wind, and I don't even know what else, but plenty of people are complaining about the exact same symptoms you mentioned.
I get what you mean about the vision stuff because I'm going through it too. I honestly have no clue how to fix it. It’s weird—I can barely read the fine print in a newspaper, even though my eyesight is supposedly good and I don't even wear glasses.

Headaches, fatigue, and nausea can be anything or nothing at all.

Back in my day, doctors treated me for a common flu when I actually had Hepatitis B.

Without a full blood panel, liver function tests, and other diagnostic workups, we’re just guessing here.

frozencobra37 said:I’m having a really hard time focusing on anything far away even though my vision is usually perfect, plus everything on my left side looks totally washed out and I keep seeing these little sparks right in the middle of my field of vision.

I actually dealt with some super similar symptoms right before I got diagnosed with retinal detachment, and those sparks definitely feel like eye floaters to me.
You should probably go see an ophthalmologist to get your eyes checked out ASAP.

So, my head's basically exploding, seeing sparks everywhere, and everything gets blurry just a couple of feet in front of me. I get these halos around bright lights and my eyes ache whenever there's pressure...

That’s been my life for the last few days. There were moments so bad I wouldn't even recognize people until I was practically on top of them. Trying to read was impossible because half my field of vision was just covered in spots.

The weird thing is, everything feels totally fine right when I wake up and late at night before bed.

I finally dragged myself to my doctor yesterday, and she immediately referred me to the Missionaries of Charity. They told me they were full and I’d have to wait until next month. No way am I waiting three times longer than I've already been suffering. So, I headed over to the ER at the hospital instead, and honestly, hats off to those doctors. They were incredibly kind.

Diagnosis: high intraocular pressure. They used some old-school manual tools with needles—if anyone actually knows how those work, I'd love an explanation; I'm genuinely curious. They couldn't get a perfect reading, so they sent me for a more advanced scan. My left eye clocked in at 31mmHg, and the right was 44mmHg. How bad is that? I read somewhere that normal is 12-22mmHg, but what does this actually mean? I mean, I know some things in the body have high tolerances—like, you can take way more Vitamin C than recommended and it's usually fine, right?

They said the culprit is likely the drops I’ve been using for conjunctivitis, and I need to stop immediately. I have, so we'll see. Follow-up is this Monday.

The Beatles... you've got some damn luck that they caught your high eye pressure, specifically glaucoma, right when they did.
You're treating it with drops to bring those numbers down (Timolol and such). You read correctly—a normal reading is roughly between 18 and 20.

From here on out, for EVERY single medication you take for any ailment, you better read the entire instruction manual, because there are plenty of drugs that can
spike your eye pressure as a side effect. Take sedatives, for example; almost all of them do it.
There's open-angle glaucoma, which is easy enough to manage, but closed-angle is a stubborn beast.
Then you have acute cases (which might be what you're dealing with, though I can't say for sure), and chronic cases—like the hereditary version I deal with. There's also a type that doesn't cause any noticeable symptoms but sneakily destroys the nerve and shrinks your field of vision.
I assume they'll send you for more testing too.

High eye pressure PERMANENTLY destroys the optic nerve, and once that happens, there is NO fixing it. That’s why I'm telling you that you were incredibly lucky.

So, here's the deal: follow your ophthalmologist's instructions to the letter and accept the fact that you might have to use glaucoma drops forever. Next time you go in for a checkup, try asking them to explain YOUR specific type of glaucoma in more detail. Unfortunately, doctors who actually bother to talk to their patients are a rare breed.

What they're putting in your eyes is just an anesthetic, and then they use that machine to measure the pressure.

One more thing. You need to tell every doctor you see during any kind of treatment, like surgery, that you have glaucoma. For instance, atropine, which might be used for anesthesia during surgery or even just to dilate your eyes for a prescription exam, MUST NOT be given to someone with glaucoma.

It happened to me—I've had this for 15 years, and I made sure to mention it because I suspected I was at risk due to family history, so I've been getting regular checkups for years—I needed an urgent eye exam before a procedure. I went into an eye clinic, and the doctor measured my pressure, but when he went to apply the drops after the test, he accidentally gave me atropine. I walked out into the waiting room and everything looked gray. I grabbed a mirror and saw my pupils were massive. I rushed back in and... thank God I knew it wasn't supposed to be like that. This is why you need to read up and learn about this stuff so you can help yourself.👍

frozencobra37 said:They’re saying the reason things flared up is because of those eye drops I’ve been using for my conjunctivitis, and that I need to stop immediately... So, I quit, and now we just wait and see. I've got a follow-up appointment on Monday.

Didn't I tell you it was the drops? 🙂))

Well, I'm really glad you went to see the doctor. Things will probably settle back down once you stop using those drops...

rapidranger79 said:You read it right; a normal reading is usually around 18 to 20.

Read it 🙂
But I'm still stuck on what that 44mmHg actually means. Is it just slightly high, or am I looking at something critical?

There's acute glaucoma (which might be what you're dealing with, I guess), and then there's chronic—like the hereditary kind I have. There's also a version that doesn't even cause symptoms but quietly eats away at the nerve and shrinks your field of vision.

I was searching online yesterday and honestly, I just panicked... It’s annoying how every site says, "If eye pressure stays high for a long time, permanent damage can occur..." But they never specify how long "a long time" actually is. An hour? A day? A month?
Then I stumble onto the section about acute glaucoma, which lists my exact symptoms (though mine are milder) and claims you need emergency surgery within hours. Terrifying. Better not to read anything at all.
As for the chronic stuff, if I'm following correctly, it slowly eats the peripheral vision. I played around with testing it yesterday; my field of view is about 180 degrees.

What they drip into your eyes is an anesthetic, and then they use that device to measure the pressure.

Yeah, I figured out the drops part once things started getting numb, so that wasn't the issue. I just don't get how such a simple little mechanical tool can actually measure internal eye pressure...

One more thing. You should mention you have glaucoma to any doctor during any kind of treatment or surgery.

Well, nobody has actually told me I have glaucoma yet.
They checked me out, and this young doctor asked another one, "Do you think it's acute?" and the other lady just looked and said, "No, no signs of it." So... then later this older doctor showed up, maybe 35 or 40, and just told me to stop using these drops.

Anyway, it's weird... they told me my pressure was high, but then sent me home like it would just clear up on its own. I guess they don't think it's serious since they didn't prescribe anything for temporary relief.

Casey Palmer5 said:I told you it was about the drops, didn't I?🙂))

Yeah, you did.🙂 🙂

Anyway, thanks for looking into this and helping out.

Shoutout to rapidranger79 and everyone else.👍

frozencobra37 said:I read 🙂
But I still don't get what those 44mmHg actually mean. Is that just slightly high, or am I looking at something critical?

I was scouring the web yesterday and honestly, I just panicked... It really bugs me how every single site claims, "If eye pressure stays high for an extended period, permanent damage can occur..." But they never specify what "extended" actually means. Is it an hour? A day? A month?
Then I stumble onto a page about acute cases, where they list my symptoms—though mine are a bit milder—and it says, "Emergency surgery required within hours." Terrifying. Honestly, it's better to just stay off the internet.
As for chronic issues, if I’ve got this right, it slowly eats away at your peripheral vision. I did a little testing yesterday, and my field of vision is about 180 degrees.

Yeah, I realized things were going on once my eye started acting up, and it wasn't even bothering me then. What I don't get is how such a simple mechanical device can actually measure intraocular pressure...

Anyway, nobody has officially told me I have glaucoma yet.
During the exam, one young doctor whispered to another, "Do you think it's acute?" and the other looked over and said, "No, there aren't any signs." Then later, this older doctor—maybe mid-30s or 40s—just told me to stop using these drops.

By the way, it feels weird... they tell me my pressure is high, then just send me home to let it clear up on its own. I guess they don't think it's serious since they didn't even give me anything for temporary relief.

1. Normal pressure is between 16 and 20, ideally 18. Yours was 40, so do the math on how critical that spike is.
2. Based on the doctors' conversation, it sounds like you're "latent," meaning you're in that risk group for developing glaucoma, and those drops—which are contraindicated for people with actual glaucoma—are likely what caused that shock in your eye. Those drops shouldn't hurt a healthy eye. This is just my layman's take based on talking to others with the condition.
Like you saw, they suspected acute glaucoma, but clearly, they weren't seeing enough evidence.
Otherwise, that specific device is the only one (at least here in the States) that definitely gets an accurate reading. I used to try controlling it myself on other machines because I couldn't stand the discomfort from the anesthetic, but you basically just rest your chin on the holder and stare at some blue light (that's the simplified version😁). They only use a tiny bit of anesthetic for that. However, they say this particular device is the only 100% reliable way to measure it!

I don't know how they'll direct you next; that's up to the ophthalmologists. Just take charge of your own health and keep monitoring it. If they don't recommend more frequent checks (assuming things stabilize now), make sure you go at least once a year, and READ the instructions for every medication you're prescribed in the future.
Also, field of vision tests are done using a specialized drum or something similar, and you can't just do that yourself. If they don't schedule it for you (you never know with our healthcare system, it can be pretty unpredictable), ASK for it. You won't regret being proactive.
Glaucoma, as I mentioned, causes PERMANENT damage to the optic nerve. There's no fixing it; surgery for certain types only works to stop the progression of the damage already done. The end result can be blindness.
So, be careful. Even if these doctors haven't scheduled a follow-up, go to an eye specialist, show them all your paperwork, and demand that they re-measure your pressure.

Paperwork? Yeah, didn't even think about that... I don't have any records on hand. Maybe I should look into getting some.

I guess there might be something to how I reacted to those drops, though I doubt I'm in some high-risk category... who knows. No one in my family has eye issues, really, except for my grandmother who deals with high eye pressure—not glaucoma yet, but close enough. She also struggles with asthma and a bunch of other stuff because of it.

As for the warnings on the drops:
"Long-term use of this medication may lead to the development of glaucoma and optic nerve damage, reduced visual acuity, field vision disturbances, and the formation of posterior subcapsular cataracts." Not totally sure what that last part means, but yeah...

On the bright side, my vision is actually great today. I haven't used the drops since the night before last, so enough time has passed... The headaches are gone, no more dizziness, no 'vision disturbances,' just maybe a little bit of cloudiness left. All in all, I'm feeling pretty good. 🙂

Didn't you get any results, a formal opinion, or even just a quick message from your primary care doctor?

Maybe try asking about it on Monday when you head in for your follow-up appointment.

frozencobra37,
1.Didn't they give you any paperwork at the clinic where you went for that exam? Usually, when you hit an ER, they hand you a summary detailing your symptoms, what tests they ran, and their preliminary diagnosis, don't they?
2.As far as I know about medicine, glaucoma is just the term for high intraocular pressure—it doesn't actually have anything to do with your other health issues or your blood pressure. High eye pressure is strictly about the anatomy of the eye and how narrow those drainage channels are.
3.If rapidranger79 has high eye pressure, then it’s highly likely one of her children—your mom or dad, perhaps?—could be in that same boat too, since it's often a hereditary thing that shows up later in life. People in those families are typically advised to start monitoring their pressure once they hit 40.
And since you fall right into that "high-risk" category, why would you take this lightly? You really ought to go back for another measurement in a month, and for heaven's sake, pay close attention to the contraindications on your medication instructions.

frozencobra37 said:What’s the issue here? Is it vitamins? I eat plenty of fruit, especially oranges.

Yeah, you can forget about that.

shadowfalcon33, I honestly have no clue what you were trying to get at with that one 🙂
...

Yeah, it’s still pretty unclear... 😵

I just wanted to say that frozencobra37 can definitely rule out vitamins as the cause of those issues. It's likely something else entirely. Like you mentioned, they should probably check in with their doctor.

Pallas, that was from before I headed out for my checkup.

I didn't get any actual lab results back. All I’ve got is this piece of paper they told me to bring in on Monday. And since it's handwritten, it's basically illegible (pretty sure I'm gonna misread something):

01/23/04

V0D: 1,0 - 0,5 dsph = 1,0
V0S: 1,0 - 0,5 dsph = 1,0

. . . . . . . 5,0
T5,5 <
. . . . . . . 0

. . . . . . . 41
Temp < mmHg
. . . . . . . 33

Follow-up in 3 days

Well, if this is supposed to be the report for my doctor, then man...