Mom saw eye doctor this week-long her vision has become really poor. They said it isn't her eyes at all. It's her brain's inability to process what the eyes are seeing. She is on risperidone and it has very common visual side effects- some that she is having. Anyone with any info on this and how to manage it? She has a farm, animals and is very active. Vision is so crucial to quality of life!
If the vision loss is due to her medication that is a pretty alarming side effect with a huge impact on her quality of life and I would be asking the prescribing doctor for changes.
https://www.visionaware.org/info/for-seniors/health-and-aging/vision-loss-and-the-challenges-of-aging/alzheimer%27s-disease/how-alzheimer%E2%80%99s-disease-affects-vision-and-perception/12345
Very disappointing as that gentleman won’t be able get a license ever again. I’m not a doctor & this is just my $0.02.
Ask about switching from the current medication to something else.
As his brain was deteriorating it was affecting how he saw things.
Let me use as an example, Have you ever looked for something really hard and found it was sitting right under your nose? In many ways that is how my husband's brain worked. He either couldn't "see" an object because his brain didn't recognize it, or he didn't know what the object was even though he could "see" it so the object was dismissed in his mind. I hope this makes some sense.
He would also complain that his eyes were giving him trouble yet there were times he couldn't see something sitting close by but could recognize a vehicle traveling down the road in front of our house. Oddly, our house sits a couple hundred feet from the road :/
There can be other reasons causing someone with dementia to be unable to follow instructions (doctor, eye exams, dentist, etc.) For our mother, it is mostly a hearing issue (she has dementia too, several possibly 6+ years now.) Often if we can pantomime what to do or give a visual direction, she can do it. The macular degeneration was unfortunate for mom, but the initial incident was long before the dementia crept in. We are keeping her treatments for that going to preserve her remaining eyesight. I know she can see me from across the room! If I stop to talk with someone, I'll see her waving her arms at me!
I looked up that drug - I would ditch that asap myself, dementia or not!
So, anyway, always get a second opinion.
But, as I noted in my post, even the ophthalmologists can make boo-boos. In mom's case, it could have cost her all the vision in that eye. The damage that was done can't be undone. What vision was lost is permanent. We keep the treatments going, thorough tests/treatment every 4 months, to help protect the other eye.
Being unfamiliar with risperidone, I did a lookup. I would ask her docs about trying to get her off this medication - the huge list of side-effects, including impact on vision, was scary! Once off this med, reassess her vision, assuming any changes/impacts from the medication are not permanent. If her vision improves, stay away from that med.
Despite going to ophthalmologists vs optometrists most of her adult life, mom was let down by one. She cut a trip to FL short due to vision issues. She went for an exam and this doc told her she was fine. She wasn't and knew it. She called to ask for another appt. She was told by the person on the phone that she was fine and couldn't get appt with this doc - she told them she didn't WANT that doc. The one she did get to see at the second appt examined her and said 'Oh my, follow me', and took her to a retina specialist they have on site. Long story short, she had macular degeneration. She has been getting treatments ever since. That first one, because it wasn't identified soon enough, has lost vision (impacts central vision), but now, despite dementia and living in MC, I insist we continue treatments. Her hearing is really bad (none on the right side, limited even with hearing aid on the left.) If she were to lose her eyesight, what would be left for her?
Sounds like your mother is still very active with the farm. If there is any way to protect her eyesight, go for it!
I found speaking with pharmacists was the most helpful. They are more aware of side effects than doctors.
Always trust your gut over what any "Professional" dogmatically tells you.
Take Care hope her vision clears up soon
Get a second eye opinion. Some of the computerized equipment they have these days is so great it can do an Rx without the "which is better a or b" routine...but of course they may agree with the first person.
I know there is someone in the Cleveland area, an eye person, who was doing a study or had concluded the importance of dealing with cataracts in people with dementia. Though I know you don't mention that as a problem.
Is she having some sort of hallucination? Would it be a possible onset of Lewy Body? Just wondering...
i still work ... im almost 80 ... and so cant figure out if what i call a grey veil ... is caused by glare at work or home or sunshine or ??? but it isnt continual.
it can happen at work or outside or just right now as i sit here.
and a weird feeling of feeling like its difficult to see and that i have to concentrate accompanies it.
my eye doc ... an opthamologist ... says no problem but since its happened for several years and is annoying i finally went to a neurologist who had an mri done that shows nothing except mild central and cortical volume loss and low-grade leukoaraiosis ... which may mean binswangers disease ...loss of white matter ...someday.
so i guess what im saying is not to give up but an answer unfortunately may not be an answer after all.
Also, I’m incredibly grateful that this community exists and I have a place to share thoughts and feelings. So thank you all!
There now is a treatment for glaucoma--a laser treatment to the white of the eye. It keeps the eye from producing too much fluid so drops are no longer needed. My friend, for whom I am POA, had each eye done and now no more drops are needed. He couldn't remember to do them and is now in a memory care apartment and has perfect vision--doesn't even need glasses at age 93. It is a relatively new procedure that the eye doctor was just learning about 3 years ago.