This morning I went blind... anyone else experienced this?

[FleurDeMai]

I know that fainting and dizziness are not too uncommon during pregnancy. However, what happened this morning wasn't exactly that.

We were preparing breakfast and I had been standing for a while, making pancakes. The apartment is cold and I seem to have issues with my circulations (frozen hands/feet, painful nipples due to the low temperature) so i know it had nothing to do with the heat. Anyway, I felt fine. I wasn't too hungry or thirsty. And suddenly, my vision was gone. I was solid on my feet, but couldn't see. No headache. No disorientation (I easily found the freezer and got the ice cubes out even though I couldn't even see the tray... how? Must've been a reflex). No nausea or loss of hearing (the only time I did faint, ten years ago those had been the first symptoms). I sat down on the floor, OH brought me a glass of cold water, and my vision slowly came back. Two or three minutes later it was as if nothing had happened. Through the whole thing I felt physically fine, I was just terrified.

The only other times when something similar happens, it is when I am too hot, and then it is my hearing that is the first one gone. Or when I get up too quickly. But this morning I was already standing up, had been for a while!

I don't want to worry too much. I was told that the only way it could harm baby is if I fall on my belly. But I'd like to know if I am not alone, and if there is anything you ladies have done to prevent it.

 

[PandaMao]

That sounds absolutely terrifying. I would talk to your doctor about this. I've never heard of that being a pregnancy symptom. It's possible of course since everyone's body reacts differently to pregnancy, but there might be some other cause. Hopefully it doesn't happen again.

 

[Peggy O]

I would get checked as soon as you can, vision changes may be a sign of pre-eclampsia (which I had) I saw huge vision blocking spots, but it may manifest differently for different people.

 

[laceyrainbow]

Could be pre-eclampsia. Vision loss/distortion is quite a big sign of it. Speak to your doctor or midwife asap x

 

[FleurDeMai]

I thought pre eclampsia only appeared after 20 weeks? I am at 13 weeks.
I'll mention it to my midwife as soon as possible though.

 

[Loui1001]

Definitely mention if to your doctor or midwife. A few weeks ago when I was writing clinic notes at work my vision went patchy, I could see part of what I'd written but not whole words if that makes sense? I'd had a hectic morning and was rushing about like mad so I was careful to slow a bit and I was fine after having something to eat. My midwife told me to contact immediately if it happened again x

 

[Kittycat155]

Low blood sugar or high blood pressure come to mind. FX it is nothing serious.

 

[laceyrainbow]

Yeah, a diagnosis wouldn't happen until after 20 weeks but the symptom you're describing can be caused by high blood pressure. & pre-eclampsia is high blood pressure and protein in your urine which can obviously happen at any time during pregnancy. You just wouldn't receive a medical diagnosis for actual pre-eclampsia until 20+ weeks, so either way, you don't want it to be left to develop. If that makes sense?x

 

[steph.]

My sister had the exact same thing. It happened several times during her pregnancy. She would lose her vision for a few minutes for no apparent reason then it would come back. It wasnt pre-eclampsia in her case. They referred her to a neurologist and she had a CT scan to exclude brain tumour. That came back normal. I cant remember the exact reason they gave her in the end, but told her it was due to pregnancy and would go away once baby was out. Her son is 15 months now and she hasnt had another episode since the birth. Its worth getting checked out but thought id share a reasuring story xxx

 

[FleurDeMai]

Turns out it is not likely at all that it is pre eclampsia. I've got low blood pressure and the midwife told me that if it happens again, just sit down, have a glass of juice in case it has to do with my sugar, and mention it to my next appointment. There is not much to do about it apparently... At least it isn't direcly harmful to my baby, who has a healthy heartbeat!

 

[Peggy O]

That's great! So happy it's nothing worrisome. Pre E sucks and I'm glad it's not sounding like that.

 

[WantsALittle1]

I went blind for 10-15 minutes at 25 weeks during my last pregnancy. I feared that I was having a stroke so we went straight to the ER. BP and urine protein were fine but bloodwork came back abnormal as my magnesium was really low.

The ER doctor asked when I'd last eaten, and I told him it had been a couple hours before the blindness that I ate and he said to eat small amounts more frequently. He also gave me two bags of IV magnesium to treat the deficiency. The final diagnosis was silent migraine brought about by either low blood pressure or low blood sugar.

In my case I was standing up off the floor and got dizzy, falling back onto the floor. At that point a black dot appeared in my visual field. Over the next 5 minutes this dot grew until I was completely blind. The total blindness lasted for about 5 minutes and then my vision slowly came back, from the outside of the field inward, if I remember correctly.