Over the last year, I have been seeing yellow spots. At first I was not sure. I mentioned it to the eye doctor last time I was there. I told them I was unsure though. I thought maybe i had looked a light, maybe what I was seeing was normal. He said it was not my eyes.
It isn’t normal, it has been slowly getting worse. I mentioned it to Jessie about a month ago, told her I really need to cut back on grease in foods. Not that I think this has a lot to do with what I’m eating.
Several years ago Ii had a couple of TIA’s. I went to the emergency room and they felt it was not in the brain but something behind they eyes. Since it had cleared up, they sent me home and told me to see my eye doctor.
They did an MRI and as usual found nothing definite. I got my medical records just before coming to the Philippines. I never even looked at it until the other day. The MRI showed Ii was missing a blood vessel to one of my eyes. I think to the retina. They said this is could have been congenital or acquired. I have been told that a few times, once about my spacial recognition. My stomach and now the blood vessels in my eyes.
These yellow spots are very much like the TIAs i had. Those were without color and lasted much longer and actually blocked my vision I probably wouldn’t have noticed them if it had not been for those TIAs which were just dark spots. They were a little bigger and blocked my vision. These yellow spots do not block my vision and go away almost as soon as I notice them. The MRI indicated a probably normal finding.
I’ll likely never know for sure if this is a part of vasculitis and lupus and speculation will be of no value that I can see. I’m not in the best place to be if there is a vision robbing emergency. But if it happens, this is where I will be.
I’ve been having much more problems with my blood sugar in the last month. I didn’t buy the non fat milk Ii need until last week and I have really paid the price for it. I don’t intend to make that mistake again. At least I hope it is not necessary. I’m looking forward to an easier month next month financially. If it is not easier, I may be in trouble.
Whatever happens, I intend to enjoy myself as much as possible.
Tagged with: Health • Lupus • TIA • Vasculitis
Filed under: Health • Lupus • Vasculitis
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Thirties is where the down hill slide starts for most of us, big slide for me, bigger than 40 to 50.
I had 20/20 until lupus but the docs say lupus had nothing to do with it. They are wrong.
You need to go see an ophthalmologist. Vision is not something I would put off too many things can be fixed. Its probably nothing but it would be shame to have something permanently damage your eyes that could have been prevented.
I, too, see yellow spots. I have macular degeneration. They are worse when I remove my glasses. I have an appt. with the retina specialist on Feb. 25.
Hi Paula,
Sorry to here about the macular degeneration. They have it under control? I hope the prognosis isn’t bleak.
Sometimes these yellow spots are normal. I’ve been having less trouble with them.
With that diagnosis I’m sure you are acutely aware of what you see. I would be. Is it a new diagnosis? If so, I’m sure its scary.
Please, let us know now the 25th goes!
Hi Russ, you mentioned you have diabetes? are your blood sugar levels well controlled? Were you ever told when you got diagnosed that diabetes can eventually lead to blindness? among other things it can also lead to heart and kidney failure, and smoking is definitely contra-indicated. You see, diabetes affects the vascular system big time, that is, the arteries, veins and capillaries – the plumbing system as an analogy. Constantly high sugar levels in the blood “burns off” the veins and arteries, thereby reducing blood supply to areas of the body. That is why diabetics sometimes get what is medically termed “diabetic neuropathy” leading to limb amputations. Are you sure you donot have diabetic retinopaty? You should ask your doctor to check you for this. You’ll need a vascular specialist or a diabetic specialist. Do you monitor your blood pressure as well? do you know that one of the Phil. most widely used vegetable, the “ampalaya” (Jess should know this) is a known hypoglycaemic? they are called “bitter melon” here in Oz, and some vitamin manufacturers are selling them in capsule forms for diabetics. I thought “heck, I’ll eat bitter melon any time in any form”. I don’t think you’ll like it, it is quite bitter. I tried to feed it to my kids and they told me where to take it. I think you really have to start eating it when you are still learning to eat. But see how you go, you might end up liking it. Are you insulin dependent or not? Hope you’ll be okay.
It’s pretty well controlled. Not insulin dependent but I’ve almost been there. Doctor once told me to come in to start it but I managed to get her to give me two more weeks. Since coming to the Philippines, I’ve dropped one actos, one of my diabetec meds. The walking has helped a lot but doing it every day causes problemw with the sun form my mild lupus. I’m pretty sure I’ve developed or maybe always had Scleroderma.
I think I’ve always had it but without the collagen buildup and scaring of the skin until I moved to the tropics. :) I’ve had some things come up on my skin, on one finger its like a a row of calluses, on the other finger it looks like a scar. They both come and go. Scars don’t usually do that and it came out of no place.
Lupus and vasculitis got pretty threatening and bad in th early to mid 90s’ I was on as much as 90Mg of prednsione a day. That brought the diabetes out but once I got off the Prednisone my diabetes went completely away for a few years. Then I got back on Prednisone again, 30 Mg for too long and that brought it back and this time it stayed.
My cardiologist explained that diabetes was like two diseases, the sugar and the vascular damage.
I know its unlikely I’ll see 60, the odds are stacked against me but I’m trying.
Its been a year now since I saw an optomologist and I told him about the yellow spots He said my eyes were fine. I had some TIA’s with my eyes but no reason was found for it. It also happened in both eyes at the same time. I’m convinced it was called by vasospasm. I know that’s rare in men but so is lupus and I have rayanaud and at one time it was pretty severe. Once my hand turned black, very black but for a short time.
I am developing nuropathy. I have numbness in my legs in places. :( Not too much on my body is working as it should. :( I destroyed my health during my college years. Working three jobs, owned a home, married and had a baby while going to a very difficult liberal arts college and graduated with a 3.15. It was too much. I’ve had health problems my whole life though, my body just ain’t right.
My immune system just ain’t right. Severe bursitis at 15, or shoulder pain, low blood sugar at 14, strep throat over and over and over and nearly lost my legs to infection at 12. Lupus was diagnosed when I was about 33.
I have severe chest pains at times. They will go away for years and then come back. Cardiologist said its not my heart, then a couple of months ago I read about CREAST associated with Scleroderma. Gerd is the least of my problems. :) Buty yes its there, I test positive, but barely so for anti-dna and anti-nuclear antibodies too.
About 7 years ago, one doctor told me I had about five years left and the medicine was the reason why. I just gave up for a while. Here I was trying so hard too do everything the doctors told me and this doctor told me it was killing me.
I got where I wouldn’t plan anything, seemed like no point in making any plans. Another doctor, wrongly told me I had cardiomyopathy at the same time. Things looked pretty bleak.
Now, I wont buy into it any more. I may die tomorrow but I’m going to go out living. As far as I can tell though, I’m pretty stable.
I haven’t had any blood work done since I got here. Doctor wants to give me a physical and I can’t afford that. Guess I need to find another one or maybe try him one more time and get him to do less at one time rather than everything in three days.
Can I go to a hospital and ask them to run blood test? Will they do that? I need cholesterol checked pretty badly. My blood sugar is doing well. I’m getting 130 to 150 while fasting. I rarely see it go over 200. I’m thinking about starting the actos again but I kept having low blood sugar. I walk about a 1 to 1.5 miles every other day
When is smoking not contra-indicated? Is one or two cigars a week, on the weekends only really going to hurt me? I know its not good for me but I’m probably more likely to get run over by one of these wild driving bus drivers while on my walk. :) I joke but it almost happened once, well, he just got a lot closer to me than needed at a faster speed than needed. I wonder why the Phil government puts up with that. Not the speed but the speed for those extremely short distances, it just makes no sense. Here in Bogo they, recently changed the route, making the buses turn so often they can’t really get any speed up through most of the city. There is one bus from Cebu to Bogo City that we don’t get on because the driver is so crazy.
The doctors here seem to practice a lot less preventative medicine than they do in the states but in the states doctors are so afraid of being sued that they may do things that are not really necessary. I’m not sure. I need to go see an optomologist. I got eye glasses last month. They did a glaucoma test but they didn’t numb my eyes. The pressures came up over 20 which they told me was above normal. But then they tried to refer me to an ophthalmologist. Since I’ve had no such issue in the past, they didn’t put drops in my eyes first, I had serious doubts about it being anything real. I wont ignore it though, I’ll get it checked out soon.
I have to make my required three day exit soon though and have some other urgent situations that need to be addressed and require money so I have no choice but to put some things off.
Well, I’ve gone on long enough. as you can see, i have some concerns, lots of things I want to do that I may not have time to do them.
Did you find the pictures? Click on Photography at the top of the page? They earlier pictures will have more pictures of Bogo but nearly all of them were taken in Bogo unless they say otherwise.
Hi Russ, hope you’re feeling fine now. I’m pretty sure you can go to any doctor and request for a blood test. while I was there last year, my nephew got sick (he was boarding in Cebu), but my brother waited till we got to Catmon because that was where their famiy doctor was. Over there they were able to do blood tests and got the result within 2 hours. I can’t remember whether he had x-rays? I disagreed with his diagnosis of UTI for my nephew, but what the heck, doctors here in Oz misdiagnosed patients all the time too. The main thing is the blood tests were done and we got the result same day and I think that only cost my brother just under Php300. He was a really good doctor though, in that he had compassion for his patients, apparently he lets some of his patients put his fee on credit. I just can’t recall his name, but if you are interested I’ll ask my brother. Yes I’ve found the photos, haven’t had a chance to browse through each one.
If you get a chance ask him. I have a good doctor but he’s all the way in Cebu City at Chung Hau, if I spelled that right. He’s a bit more expensive because of the private hospital.
One problem I’m having it getting my Rx for Xanax and Desonate refilled here. I can’t find anyone that carries it. Hopefully Chung Hue hospital does. Any ideas?
I’m also having a real problem with detergents here. Unless its the water itself. Any time I stay out and thus fully dressed for a long time I have burning at my waste and behind the knees. Now behind the knees I attribute to lymph glands and lupus, am I wrong to do that? Behind my knees, under my chin, under arms have always been rash points for me, some were really nasty when I was young. Any idea on detergents that might help? I’ve changed to Amway after some others suggested it. Seemed to help the first batch but not now. Going to start asking for a third rinse of my clothes. I used Arm and Hammer in the states but that’s just too expensive to ship here. A big box would be so heavy.
I’m about to write an article on face blindness that might be of interest of you. Seems I have that too. Likely due to lupus.
Hi Russ, I don’t know what happened to my reply?! the computer deleted half of it? Anyway, now I’ll have to re-write the whole thing! I will phone my brother later on. I will get back to you. You could try and get your maid to wash your clothes in mild shampoo. Unless you’re tilling the fields, she’d really only need to wash your clothes to get rid of sweat and dust. You could also bath in rain water, it’s neutral ph. re-xanax, do you use it for sleep? It’s for anxiety but also good as sedative. But if you have been on it for a long time, chances are your body has got used to it and it doesn’t work as well as it used to. Re-desonate, you can have it filled on line for US$20 for 3 tubes plus cost of postage. I won’t bother with Amway, it’s over-rated. Have you actually been tried on Beta-interferon? If you have Lupus, your body is attacking you inside out, and being in the tropics is the worst place you can possibly be, of course the trade off is quality of life. Just maybe try avoiding the sun at all cost, be like the Filipina ladies and seek shelter from the sun at all times, even if it means you carrying an umbrella!. Hope these helps.
I’m guessing you copy and pasted those side effects and warnings? I’m also guessing you pasted it on top of what you wrote. I’ve done that many times.
I hate it when I loose what I wrote, it never comes out as good the second time.
Its probably natural PH in Bogo City, not so sure in Cebu City. :D I’m going to get them to wash it twice, without soap the second time and see if that helps. If not, then I will try the shampoo. Though I have problems with shampoo too. LOL I usually use baby shampoo for that reason. It must be unscented and that can be really hard to find here!
Thanks for those tips though, maybe one of them will work. I didn’t have the problem at first. I thought I was allergic to the beer. :) I bought four cases, three months ago. I still have two cases left. I’ve had those for three months, actually I still have part of the third case. I don’t drink that much. Afraid too. I do like San Miguel better than most beer. So it wasn’t the beer. Then I thought it might be the sugar free candy. Now I think its just detergent. The Amway helped, the points that felt like bugs biting me stopped when I changed to that but I’m still having problems.
And yes, lupus is no doubt related to it. took me a long time to realize that the doctors were concerned about skin symptoms because it was a good indication of what might be going on inside too. That is scary to me. I don’t like to think about it. :) :P
Can you recommend any place for online? I’m fearful of those places as you never know what you’re going to get but the price is right. Where onlne? Anything you can recommend?
No, I have not been on interferon. Prednisone, NSAIDs, Imuran, Methotrexate. Maybe I should research it. I can probably get it here without the aid of doctor. I see people here taking Methotrexate without being followed by a doctor and still drinking too. That is extremely dangerous but they take only 2.5 a week and that’s not even a therapeutic dose so perhaps its not a big deal.
Yes, I was very worried about coming here and waking the sleeping wolf and I think it is likely I have done that to some extent. I always wear sunscreen when I go out but probably not enough. I wear a cap but Ii need to get a bigger brimmed one and I suppose I should get under the umbrella more. I tend to go out mostly in late afternoon.
When I go to Cebu, by bus, this “scar” on my finger gets much more pronounced. Its reacting to the sun it seems. I should probably just do my walks at night but then I have to take a cold shower. :( So I go out about 4 to 4:30pm. I try to mitigate things. On the other side of the coin, I’ve lived the last 20 years afraid to live, I’m done with that. I’m going to have as much fun as I can with the limited funds I have and I can’t do it inside.
There is that quality thing going on and my weight is a bigger issue than my lupus, that’s going to kill me if I don’t get it off. Not very many fat 60 year olds. :(
The Prednisone has done such damage to my muscles that increasing my mitchondia to improve metabolism is not good and then I have more sugar in my blood than my body can use so it never goes to the fat. Think I sad all this before. I may have waited too late. Pain is also an issue, my hips do hurt a lot. I cut back on NSAIDS to improve blood pressure but the pain is getting bad so I’ll probably go back up on it. I probably need to exercise hours per day to have any chance. Then I’m out in the sun for hours. Jessie has been pointing to a treadmill. I had one in the states, used it some, not enough. Pretty boring! :)
Maybe I should join a gym full of pretty Filipina. :) That might help me get there. :)
I’m very interested in this doctor, if you can get more information that would be great. I’ll have to find out where these towns your speaking of are but that wont be hard.
Hi Russ, spoke to my brother tonight, the Doc’s name is Dr. Horado. Apparently he used to practice in the US, but chose to come back to the PI, I don’t blame him. Unfortunately, my brother could not give me a phone no. or address, I guess because he knows how to get there. I told my brother why I needed to know where Dr. Horado’s clinic. He said if you go to Poblacion Catmon and ask where to find him, there’d be plenty of people to give you directions. Apparently he doesn’t charge for consults, he has his own lab, including an x-ray and he makes his money this way. So I guess for Lupus you want white cell and electrocytes counts (among other things) that should be simple enough. Beats having to travel all the way to Cebu and battle the horrendous traffic in Mandaue. Same reason why I don’t want to go back to my dentist there, though he is extremely good. One of my uncles is a former lawyer and (now retired) judge. He now lives in Bogo, not sure where because we did not get a chance to visit him last year. But I intend to this year. If you have any legal quiz, (but maybe not immigration issues) he might be able to help you. My brother knows where he lives. Must be in a beachfront somewhere, because apparently his house has views to the sea all over. I’m still looking for a dentist between Bogo and Danao. I think that will be as far as I’m prepared to go. If no one can help I might just have to wait till I have more time to stay in PI and keep him. He has the lightest of hands. Keep well…
Desonate side effects
Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Stop using Desonate and call your doctor at once if you have severe irritation of any treated skin, or if you show signs of absorbing Desonate through your skin, such as:
blurred vision, or seeing halos around lights; mood changes;sleep problems (insomnia);weight gain, puffiness in your face; or muscle weakness, feeling tired. Less serious side effects may include: mild skin itching, redness, burning, or peeling;dryness or scaly skin; thinning or softening of your skin; skin rash or irritation around your mouth; swollen hair follicles; changes in color of treated skin; blisters, pimples, or crusting of treated skin; or
stretch marks.
I think they give these warnings because it can make your diabetes worse, steroids can even induce it. I don’t see how such small amounts could be so bad.
I’ve been using a gel, a new delivery system and maybe because of my diabetes as it cost $225.00 a tube in the US! It really helps me with some problems I was having, some for years.
I have issue where my skin just opens up for no reason. :( My lupus rash hasn’t been seen in many years, at least not pronounced. My lupus doctor said it was gone but I had dermatitis now. Seems like lupus could cause that to me. Inflammation of the skin.
I’m going to reply to this message here:
http://rustyferguson.com/health/
Try to get this back to conversations on seeing yellow spots.
Rusty, Life is sooo short! Try to relax and quit worrying about your health so much! Take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy all the wonders of this beautiful earth.
Hey there, it sounds like you got some longterm heavy metal toxicity going on there.
The yellow spots, the stomach problems, trouble with blood sugar means your liver can’t produce glycogen because it is handling other toxins…heavy metals (found readily in the Phillipines and Asia in general) as well as heavy Rx, rashes espeically in creases of skin, and face blindness, neuropathy, immune system isues, hands peeling and so forth. What you need is a 24-hour urine collection to test for the culprit(s) and appropriate chelation. Have you ever heard of Wilson’s Disease? Gee, I hope you’re still alive and kicking when you read this. Stay away from metals.
I think the problem is I have so many little things going on that it could be anything. I fit into anything.
I’ve had these problems since high school. My skin turned yellow all the way back then and I did have abnormal liver test in my 30′s. Sometimes I wonder if someone tried to poison me but then that sounds paranoid. I’m normal enough to know it sounds paranoid and probably a crazy idea. :) There was one person in my history though…..
I’ve had 20/10 vision most of my life until recently (upper 40′s). Now I need glasses just to read. it is very tough to deal with especially when it comes almost overnight!
I did too Friday, but not for the last 10 years.
I see yellow spots too, but only when my body has inflammation of some sort. I had severe reactive arthritis when I was 10, it made me handicapped I could not walk for 5 months.
So all I can remember , before it happened that it had signs that I ignored.
Such as seeing these yellow spots. I saw them for a couple of years and then right before I got really sick, one time my vision went away for a couple of seconds, but instead of turning black, everything turned yellow. But again I ignored it and three weeks later, I was screaming of pain.
I found your blog because I started to see them again, I have the flu so I bet I have inflammation again. I know what I am supposed to do, but It is hard to keep doing these things. I should be drinking a lot of nettle tea. It is a blood cleaner. I try , but then sometimes I have a glass of wine just reward myself, and as we know alcohol leads to more inflammation. Just try to drink a lot, preferable herbal teas. Clean your body.
I go now and do the same. Good luck.
I found it . It is Uveitis . I guess I was not that far from the truth.