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Medical Forum / General / Vision / May 2007How soon after giving birth should my vision stabilize?
Hi, I had my second baby seven weeks ago, and noticed my vision has worsened since the delivery. I had something similar with the first baby, and it got better after a while, but this time it's worse than the first time. I was wondering how soon I can expect my vision to be stable enough so that I can get it checked. Thanks for your help! Congrats for the new baby, Hope everyone is doing well. Get your vision checked now so your doc can give you an idea. You don't need to wait til your vision stabilizes. Going in now will give the doc a better way to determine why and how your vision gets bad at child birth. Research indicates that vision stabilizes about two months after nursing is ended, however your individual experience may be different. It takes some time for the hormones related to pregnancy and lactation to return to pre-pregnancy levels. Glenn Hagele Executive Director USAEyes.org Patient Advocacy Surgeon Certification "Consider and Choose With Confidence" Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org http://www.USAEyes.org Lasik Bulletin Board http://www.USAEyes.org/Ask-Lasik-Expert/ I am not a doctor. Copyright 2007 All Rights Reserved On May 1, 8:25 pm, Glenn - USAEyes.org <glenn.hageleSTOPS...@USAEyes.org> wrote: > Research indicates that vision stabilizes about two months after > nursing is ended, however your individual experience may be different. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Copyright 2007 > All Rights Reserved Thanks for that. It sounds like it's related to the hormones then, rather than the greater blood volume in pregnancy, or the pushing at birth (these are some possible causes I've heard other mothers speculate about). Fluctuation in visual acuity related to pregnancy and lactation is primarily due to changes in hormones. The vision fluctuations can occur early in pregnancy, long before dramatic changes in blood volume or the physical process of childbirth, and continue while nursing. Glenn Hagele Executive Director USAEyes.org Patient Advocacy Surgeon Certification "Consider and Choose With Confidence" Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org http://www.USAEyes.org Lasik Bulletin Board http://www.USAEyes.org/Ask-Lasik-Expert/ I am not a doctor. Copyright 2007 All Rights Reserved On May 2, 12:44 pm, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward <penel...@rescueteam.com> wrote: > Thanks for that. It sounds like it's related to the hormones then, > rather than the greater blood volume in pregnancy, or the pushing at > birth (these are some possible causes I've heard other mothers > speculate about. No offense to Glenn here, but relying on an internet diagnosis is not exactly smart. Go see your doctor. >No offense to Glenn here, but relying on an internet diagnosis is not >exactly smart. Go see your doctor. No offense taken, and you are exactly correct. Glenn Hagele Executive Director USAEyes.org Patient Advocacy Surgeon Certification "Consider and Choose With Confidence" Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org http://www.USAEyes.org Lasik Bulletin Board http://www.USAEyes.org/Ask-Lasik-Expert/ I am not a doctor. Copyright 2007 All Rights Reserved On May 2, 3:05 pm, Glenn - USAEyes.org <glenn.hageleSTOPS...@USAEyes.org> wrote: > >No offense to Glenn here, but relying on an internet diagnosis is not > >exactly smart. Go see your doctor. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Copyright 2007 > All Rights Reserved Sorry, I didn't realise you weren't a doctor. I was hoping to hear from a doctor about this phenomenon of vision worsening as a result of pregnancy. I was interested in your question--I had not heard that others experienced vision worsening due to pregnancy. I noticed it too--my myopia had been fairly stable, but then worsened after my 2 pregnancies at 31 and 33. I thought it was because I was inside the house all the time, focusing my attention at close range on the new baby---and all the fatigue--not sleeping much at night and being exhausted from childbirth. I think I could have prevented the permanent worsening by going outside more, getting more exercise, eating better and getting better rest. I think I was a bit anemic, too. C > Sorry, I didn't realise you weren't a doctor. I was hoping to hear > from a doctor about this phenomenon of vision worsening as a result of > pregnancy. As a doctor, I had several reactions. My first was "it doesn't happen much." Second, in your case it did happen once and nothing was found wrong, so it's reasonable to be conservative if it happens again with the second pregnancy. From your description, we don't know the exact nature of your change in vision. Was it a change in the actual refraction? If so was there gestational diabetes? Of course there are changes in pregnancy, but in my experience the changes relate to hydration, tear quality, skin changes that reveal themselves in poor contact lens fit, contact lens intolerance, red eyes and uncomfortable wearers. Those problems are common, especially with rigid contacts, and when everybody wore rigid contacts 40 years ago, the reputation was established so now "everybody knows" that vision "changes radically" in pregnancy. NOT. Refractive change, requiring a change in glasses prescription, just doesn't happen often as a result of pregnancy. When it does, evidently it's pretty subtle. We do see radical (and temporary) refractive changes in diabetes. We see changes in those who are growing more nearsighted, independent of pregnancy. And there's no question that refractive change _could_ occur from hormone-mediated changes in serum osmolarity. But it would be unlikely that any ocular structures were harmed in the process. JMHO. -MT, OD > > Sorry, I didn't realise you weren't a doctor. I was hoping to hear > > from a doctor about this phenomenon of vision worsening as a result of [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > -MT, OD Interesting. I did have gestational diabetes in both pregnancies. I went to an ophthalmologist at a walk-in clinic today for an eye checkup, and she wouldn't see me yet, saying I should come back no earlier than three months after giving birth in order for the vision to stabilise. She implied it was common knowledge that eye exams before three months postpartum are unreliable. > to stabilise. She implied it was common knowledge that eye exams > before three months postpartum are unreliable. With gestational diabetes, I agree. -MT On May 3, 11:27 am, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward <penel...@rescueteam.com> wrote: > Sorry, I didn't realise you weren't a doctor. I was hoping to hear > from a doctor about this phenomenon of vision worsening as a result of > pregnancy. You still don't get it, do you? Even the best doctor on the planet CANNOT diagnose you over the internet. > On May 3, 11:27 am, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > You still don't get it, do you? Even the best doctor on the planet > CANNOT diagnose you over the internet. Thanks. I should have phrased my question differently, perhaps. I merely wanted to know if this was a known phenomenon, I was not looking for an internet diagnosis. On May 12, 11:49 pm, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward <penel...@rescueteam.com> wrote: > > You still don't get it, do you? Even the best doctor on the planet > > CANNOT diagnose you over the internet. > > Thanks. I should have phrased my question differently, perhaps. I > merely wanted to know if this was a known phenomenon, I was not > looking for an internet diagnosis. Perhaps, but I also don't mean to come on heavy here either. I just don't want to see anyone get hurt by relying on what someone "diagnoses" on the web without being actually examined. On May 12, 11:49 pm, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward <penel...@rescueteam.com> wrote: > > On May 3, 11:27 am, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > merely wanted to know if this was a known phenomenon, I was not > looking for an internet diagnosis. It is certainly a known phenomenon in a minority of pregnancies. Commonly, tear film and hydration changes occur making contact lens wear in pregnancy different from contact lens wear otherwise. This is totally reversible and in my experience occurs within several weeks of delivery. Occasionally (<10%) significant refractive changes occur as a result of pregnancy. I generally believe the genesis of these changes to be underlying gestational diabetes although that's a difficult thing to prove. Usually the pregnant mother becomes more myopic, as would occur in an uncontrolled diabetic. I think waiting several months after delivery is a little on the conservative side. If I examine a pregnant woman and find a significant refractive change I usually tell them to come back for a re-refraction 3-4 weeks postpartum. In my experience what you commonly find is that the mother has returned to their prior refractive state. On May 1, 2:51 pm, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward <penel...@rescueteam.com> wrote: > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Thanks for your help! It might be best to get it checked now in order to find out what is causing this worsening. |
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