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My father had an ischemic stroke 4 months ago and it caused vision loss in his right eye.


Once discharged from the hospital, we took him to the optometrist regarding that vision loss. The doctor said there was a ruptured vessel causing some bleeding. During a follow-up 2 weeks later, the doctor said it was looking much better and the bleeding was slowing down.


In the last two or three days now, my father's eye was red. And today, he approached me saying he is feeling pain in that eye.


I tried calling the optometrist, but he is not in today. His family doctor is also closed today.


I am reaching out here to see if anyone has any experience with this or any suggestions at all.


Thanks!

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Take your Dad to a hospital emergency room right now.
They will call in their opthalmologist on call. This could be an emergency problem, and cannot await an appointment.
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LadyMel, you need to get your dad to an ER at a teaching hospital NOW.

Especially since, per your other posts, dad has not been taking his prescribed post stroke meds.
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I trust that you are taking your dad to see an Opthamologist, not an Optometrist.

An Opthamologist is an MD. There are those who specialize in stroke patients.

Do you have a teaching hospital near you with a Opthamology residency program? Call their ER and find out if they have an Opthamologist on call today.

Here is some information:

https://www.saebo.com/blog/eye-exercises-after-a-stroke/?utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=&utm_source=adwords&utm_campaign=&hsa_kw=&hsa_acc=4975431640&hsa_ad=566607947916&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=dsa-43245954176&hsa_grp=131867426578&hsa_mt=&hsa_cam=15477005236&hsa_ver=3&gclid=CjwKCAjw0N6hBhAUEiwAXab-Tf5F7TSPLBTpCvipGfELgVFo29WIZXSHChj1HfRsce_Zmesici1TJhoCy2IQAvD_BwE
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LadyMel Apr 2023
Hi, thanks for your reply.

Actually, the one we saw was an optometrist. He has put in a request to send my dad to a specialist at a local hospital to figure out how to help him with the vision loss but we've been waiting more than a month now.
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ER now - Alva beat me to it.
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Ruptured vessels can look horrendous! But can improve & restore well I believe.

My LO was referred to an eye specialist after stroke due to reported vision loss. I believe this specialist was an Opthamologist. No problem with the eye found, however the damage to the visual processing part of the brain found.

While gains in mobility have been made since then, unfortunately, vision has not improved.

Strokes do vary in severity. I hope there is improvement for your Dad with his vision & also delerium.
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LadyMel, thanks for the update and good luck to your dad!
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Lady Mel, thanks for your update below. I have been thinking about you all day. So sorry this is happening. I had a vitreous "separation" years ago, coincidentally at the same time my partner had his lst retinal detachment. It changed my vision in that eye permanently which they said isn't always the case, but it formed scar tissue. They said they would not do surgery on it unless I lost vision in my "good eye" because it may not be successful and could make things worse. Eyes are so scary. I am so glad you saw someone without waiting. The medications will help to keep the pressure down; I just hope there's not more bleeding.
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LadyMel Apr 2023
Aw thanks for thinking of us!

Dad was very uncomfortable with that eye pain. It was a shock to me that he even approached me to complain about pain, he has never expressed pain/discomfort to me before, so I knew something was wrong.

I feel terrible for the man. He has a lot of health issues. He developed delirium when he had his stroke back in January and still today, he's struggling with confusion, so sometimes he doesn't understand that he needs to take his medications which is very scary. He has gone days without his blood thinners and many other pills for heart disease, lung disease, hypertension and his recent stroke.

I hope things don't get worse. He looks much older than his age and he just doesn't feel like dad anymore.

I am doing the best I can for him!
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You want to make sure the ER is one that has an Opthamologist on call.
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LadyMel, any updates on dad's eye?
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LadyMel Apr 2023
Hi there! Yes, I have an update.

I took my father to his optometrist, they realized his eye pressure was very high (37) in that one eye, and 18 in the other eye. They almost immediately sent us to a hospital to see an ophthalmologist. They were able to see that my father had a vitreous hemorrhage. There is a big blood clot on his eye vessel, which of course the doctor is afraid that the clot will break off and spread to the brain.

He needs to go back in less than two weeks for a follow-up. If the problem looks any worse, they will need to do an injection as well as a laser procedure.

Dad has been referred to a stroke prevention clinic.
He still has pain in that eye and it still gets red sometimes. He is now taking eye drops twice a day to keep the eye pressure as low as possible.

I am just really curious to know if this blood clot was there when he had his stroke in January, or if it's new. Considering the fact that my dad has been refusing his medication for a while, I don't know if this clot was there beforehand or if it's new.
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Eyes health is crucial enough that it is now time to be seen by an opthamologist URGENTLY or EMERGENTLY today. I don't know your medical system. Some ERs will call in the Ophamologist on duty to check; some will send to their "group". Please call first to see what they suggest, but if they don't have a clue, I feel he should, with this history, be seen today. I am thinking he may be on blood thinners. There are multiple symptoms here of a bleed, especially the pain, if pressure like.

This is a better safe than sorry situation in my opinion as an old retired RN. I will be thinking of you and I hope you will update us.
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LadyMel Apr 2023
Hi! Thank you so much for the information.

I took my dad to the hospital after being referred by his optometrist. They found a blood clot on the vessel of that eye, they said there was a vitreous hemorrhage.
They wanted to send him to a stroke prevention clinic as well due to the fear of that clot breaking off and spreading to the brain.

His eye pressure was quite high and he's taking eye drops twice a day now. His eye looks much better, there's no more redness and he doesn't complain much about pain.

He is scheduled to return in less than two weeks for a follow-up!

thanks again :)
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