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This post is an update to the last post I made on this forum in June 2018, explaining why I was quitting the forum. It is, believe it or not, an abbreviated version of everything that has happened to me since then.
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Almost one year ago, I had to quit this forum and significantly curtail my screen time due to increased pain sensitivity in my eyes. Whereas before I was able to spend 1-2 hours on the computer at a time, when I quit I could only spend a few minutes on the computer. Shortly after I quit the forum I started to close my eyes all day, every day out of fear that my pain would increase if I didn’t close my eyes. However, despite the fact that my eyes were closed most of the day, my day-to-day pain still increased.
One July afternoon, I started feeling a burning sensation in my body (I'd compare this sensation to a minor sunburn on the surface of the skin). During the following week, the burning sensation got worse while my eye pain went away entirely. I talked to several neurologists about my symptoms (which also included occasional chest, stomach, and bladder pain), and they diagnosed me with “central pain syndrome”, a disorder where the brain “creates” pain signals where there shouldn’t be any.
I was convinced that my eye pain was being manifested as body pain (a condition known as “referred pain”), so I took more precautions to close my eyes to avoid this pain. However, as I mentioned before, the burning sensations and pain were still increasing.
In December 2018, I ended up having to go to an inpatient psychiatric facility on the recommendation of my psychiatrist, due to increasing thoughts of suicide. And though I was prescribed some anti-depressants that also helped with the body pain, the relief they provided was just temporary. My pain continued to increase after I was released from the inpatient facility.
The turning point for me was when I saw a neuro-ophthalmologist in late February 2019. I spent a long time giving my history, and he performed both neurological and ophthalmological exams on me. He told me that he didn’t think that my body pain was originating from my eyes; he believed that my body pain was being generated by my brain separately.
Although I had seen three prior neurologists who said essentially the same thing, it was the neuro-ophthalmologist who changed my world. Within four days of seeing him, I went from closing my eyes 80% of the day to not closing them at all. My pain decreased significantly and I started doing things to make me independent again: things like reading, driving, and using a computer. I’m slowly getting back my life.
So what was this pain caused by? Anxiety, mainly. The pain only lessened once I was able to both mentally and physically relax, and not think about closing my eyes to prevent the pain from getting worse. I would’ve never thought the brain was capable of such treachery.
The lesson here is that there are other things besides your eyes which cause pain. Multiple neurologists and mental health professionals confirmed to me that both depression and anxiety can exacerbate pain. If you’re highly depressed or anxious, seek help. Not just for your mental health (which is hugely important and underrated, IMO), but potentially for pain as well.
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Almost one year ago, I had to quit this forum and significantly curtail my screen time due to increased pain sensitivity in my eyes. Whereas before I was able to spend 1-2 hours on the computer at a time, when I quit I could only spend a few minutes on the computer. Shortly after I quit the forum I started to close my eyes all day, every day out of fear that my pain would increase if I didn’t close my eyes. However, despite the fact that my eyes were closed most of the day, my day-to-day pain still increased.
One July afternoon, I started feeling a burning sensation in my body (I'd compare this sensation to a minor sunburn on the surface of the skin). During the following week, the burning sensation got worse while my eye pain went away entirely. I talked to several neurologists about my symptoms (which also included occasional chest, stomach, and bladder pain), and they diagnosed me with “central pain syndrome”, a disorder where the brain “creates” pain signals where there shouldn’t be any.
I was convinced that my eye pain was being manifested as body pain (a condition known as “referred pain”), so I took more precautions to close my eyes to avoid this pain. However, as I mentioned before, the burning sensations and pain were still increasing.
In December 2018, I ended up having to go to an inpatient psychiatric facility on the recommendation of my psychiatrist, due to increasing thoughts of suicide. And though I was prescribed some anti-depressants that also helped with the body pain, the relief they provided was just temporary. My pain continued to increase after I was released from the inpatient facility.
The turning point for me was when I saw a neuro-ophthalmologist in late February 2019. I spent a long time giving my history, and he performed both neurological and ophthalmological exams on me. He told me that he didn’t think that my body pain was originating from my eyes; he believed that my body pain was being generated by my brain separately.
Although I had seen three prior neurologists who said essentially the same thing, it was the neuro-ophthalmologist who changed my world. Within four days of seeing him, I went from closing my eyes 80% of the day to not closing them at all. My pain decreased significantly and I started doing things to make me independent again: things like reading, driving, and using a computer. I’m slowly getting back my life.
So what was this pain caused by? Anxiety, mainly. The pain only lessened once I was able to both mentally and physically relax, and not think about closing my eyes to prevent the pain from getting worse. I would’ve never thought the brain was capable of such treachery.
The lesson here is that there are other things besides your eyes which cause pain. Multiple neurologists and mental health professionals confirmed to me that both depression and anxiety can exacerbate pain. If you’re highly depressed or anxious, seek help. Not just for your mental health (which is hugely important and underrated, IMO), but potentially for pain as well.