Been living in denial about vision impairment, how to get invesgigations/documentation? — Scope | Disability forum
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Been living in denial about vision impairment, how to get invesgigations/documentation?

Actual_binbag
Actual_binbag Community member Posts: 2 Listener
May be a strange situation, I'm honestly unsure about the extent of my vision loss from a technical perspective and how much is documented as I have avoided tests and doctors for quite some time out of fear.

As far as I can tell (I was too young to remember, I know from medical records I saw years ago) I have always had some visual limitations, with my left eye being significantly impaired. When I was 16 I lost the vision in my left eye quite suddenly. I went to the emergency eye unit and saw them for some time for some monitoring, and it seems my optic nerve cannot conduct signals. I've had some other neurological issues with my hands but we ruled out MS at the time. I found this all incredibly stressful and have not had any tests in the 5 years since.

I am very nervous about the condition of my other eye, I feel it is worse than it was then but I cannot say for sure as I've not been checking it. In low light when others can see clearly I do not see anything, and my field of view compared to others seems to be around 30-40%. The vision is poor but I get by with magnifying aids and navigating by touch when need be. I'm struggling with everyday tasks and I want to seek support, but I don't know how documented my vision problems are, or how significant they are as they stand. I'm scared of knowing the extent of my vision loss or the prospect of losing my sight altogether and don't know where to start with getting my vision tested and getting records of it. Has anyone got any ideas on how to navigate this? All I really know about navigating the world being visually impared are things I've had to figure out for myself.

Comments

  • janer1967
    janer1967 Community member Posts: 21,964 Disability Gamechanger
    Hu there 

    I too have vision impairment in the past 2 years I have lost sight totally in one eye and impaired in other 

    I have regular appointment at hospital opthalmology they are trying to preserve the vision I have 

    They have been great and I also get help from social services sensory team to help me adjust and help with aids and gadgets to help 

    As above see your gp to set things in motion 
  • Naz18
    Naz18 Community Volunteer Adviser Posts: 18 Connected
    Hello, I was just wandering how you were getting on and whether you received the help and support that you needed? 
    Community Volunteer Adviser with professional knowledge of Sensory Visual Impairment, Specific Learning Difficulties with Vision, Neurological conditions and dyslexia.

    Please note: if I use the online community outside of its hours of administration, I am doing so in a personal capacity only.

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