changes in vision while on adderall

[jason37064]

I will definitely check in with my optometrist. Or I might take a lower dosage.

[beltoller]

Does the blurriness occur ( or increase ) when your looking at objects close-up as opposed to medium or long range; e.g. reading?

I've noticed this as well. Effect increases if there is any loss of sleep.

Might want to try, (what is it in carrots; betacarotene?) supplements at the healthstore - I'm assuming they have something like that.

[La Sleepy]

I definitely have experienced the vision trouble. I don't want to go into it all in a post, but my contacts and my reading glasses TOGETHER for anything....near or far, are often needed. Then sometimes this will wear off and I can see well with just my glasses or contacts. It's a lot of things at once....some other meds that also cause blurry vision, dry eyes, and the fact that, for me, adderall causes more trouble with my abiliity to go from close to far sight. Someone earlier found the word for that. I'm not sure what to do about it.

[beltoller]

Your gonna have to talk with the doc about that...vision problems can be a symptom of something rather dreadful going on somewhere. Unless you're keen on entertaining the idea of what it would be like to suffer a stroke, go ahead and make an appointment.

[salleh]

Stumbled across this thread and glad I did, I kept meaning to ask about it ...but kept forgetting ....

I notice rather severe blurring late at night after a long day ....sometimes I can't even read the computer screen .....a bit scary .....


looks like I should save my pennies and get an exam soon ....it's been at least 4 years.....and being a glasses wearer, I tend to be very protective of my eyes....

[tipoo]

I had something similar on ritalin, and it turned out I just needed glasses. Without the ritalin I guess I just didn't notice the gradual change in vision.

[Dubwise]

My right has been bothering me. I haven't had my glasses prescription checked in about two years though. I think that the right lens is out of whack (diff prescriptions for each eye). I actually have an appointment tomorrow.

Symptoms I have been getting is blurry vision in one eye, enlarged pupil in the same eye and a general puffiness in that eye as well. I really hope it is Just my glasses and not something more serious.

[Man w/ADD]

Originally Posted by Dubwise

My right has been bothering me. I haven't had my glasses prescription checked in about two years though. I think that the right lens is out of whack (diff prescriptions for each eye). I actually have an appointment tomorrow.

Symptoms I have been getting is blurry vision in one eye, enlarged pupil in the same eye and a general puffiness in that eye as well. I really hope it is Just my glasses and not something more serious.

Good idea to have it looked at promptly. Taking any medication by mouth should not cause only ONE eye to have problems. The medication is in your blood stream and taken to all parts of yourbody somewhat equally. I think your eye problems are very likely caused by something other than adderall.

[DarkCode]

Just some basic things on the eye from memory (correct me if I'm wrong)...

Activation of the ciliary muscle's parasympathetic M3 muscarinic and sympathetic beta-2 receptors causes changes in the shape of the aqueous humor which in turn changes the shape of the lens. This results in different amounts of refraction because it takes more of a flat shape when observing near objects, and a more oblong oval shape while observing far objects (roughly).

Furthermore, the effects on intraocular pressure causes changes in visual acuity. Same effect in that the shape of the eyeball is in someway altered which affects focus.

You can read more into the fight or flight response as well, because it results in the ability to see objects at distance. Thus, when on large doses the expectation is either great vision for far objects, or blurry.

You can do a simple physics calculations to determine the optimal focal length and such for your eyes when on different doses by holding objects in front of your eye and observing when it goes out of focus. Can be helpful in determining (for fun, because in reality the effects here are expectantly minimal) what way your vision is shifting.

Of course the alternative is that some effect is going on around the optic chiasm or somewhere along the optic signal pathway in the brain due to the dopaminergic stimulation. But that's a whole 'nother consideration that I don't have time to get into.

[Man w/ADD]

Originally Posted by DarkCode

Just some basic things on the eye from memory (correct me if I'm wrong)...

Activation of the ciliary muscle's parasympathetic M3 muscarinic and sympathetic beta-2 receptors causes changes in the shape of the aqueous humor which in turn changes the shape of the lens. This results in different amounts of refraction because it takes more of a flat shape when observing near objects, and a more oblong oval shape while observing far objects (roughly).

Furthermore, the effects on intraocular pressure causes changes in visual acuity. Same effect in that the shape of the eyeball is in someway altered which affects focus.

You can read more into the fight or flight response as well, because it results in the ability to see objects at distance. Thus, when on large doses the expectation is either great vision for far objects, or blurry.

You can do a simple physics calculations to determine the optimal focal length and such for your eyes when on different doses by holding objects in front of your eye and observing when it goes out of focus. Can be helpful in determining (for fun, because in reality the effects here are expectantly minimal) what way your vision is shifting.

Of course the alternative is that some effect is going on around the optic chiasm or somewhere along the optic signal pathway in the brain due to the dopaminergic stimulation. But that's a whole 'nother consideration that I don't have time to get into.

I am going to correct a few things for you.

Aqueous humor is the water like substance in your eye between your cornea(clear front to your eye) and the your iris(colored part). Your ciliary muscle sits just posterior to your iris. Connected to the ciliary muscle are zonules(think of them as tether wires) that also connect to the elastic capsule of the cyrstaline lens. The contraction and relaxation of the ciliary muscle controls the shape of the lens that allows you to see at either distance(20ft or 6m and farther) or near(any where closure than 20ft/6m). The anterior chamber depth, where aqueous humor is located, does change when looking at different distances but it has nothing to do with changing the shape of the aqueous humor.

The change in the pressure in your eye would have nothing to do with how well you see at any distance under normal circumstances. If your pressure gets really high, say above 55 mmHg or so, you will get corneal swelling as the aqueous humor is forced into the cornea but all distances will be affected, and it will be constant blur.

You are correct about the simple calculation for determining the focusing power of your eye. But your logic is backwards. Using the formula 1/f=P where f=focal distance you can tell how much focusing power your eye has at any given time. Unfortunately that would not do you any good to find the optimal focal distance except for your far point(the most distant point that you can see clearly with your eye relaxed). Using the formula would be a waste of time. Simply measuring with a ruler where it gets blurry would be sufficient.

If any thing was happening at the optic chiasm they would experience only a partial visual field problem. Think about having to pie charts in front of you and split them in half vertically(12:00-6:00). If the problem is at the chiasm you will have mirror images of where the blur is. Half of all the nerves in each eye switch at the chiasm, half from the right eye go to the left side of the brain and vise versa for the left eye.

Sorry if I bored anyone but eyes are my passion.

[sarahsweets]

Originally Posted by Man w/ADD

I am going to correct a few things for you.

Aqueous humor is the water like substance in your eye between your cornea(clear front to your eye) and the your iris(colored part). Your ciliary muscle sits just posterior to your iris. Connected to the ciliary muscle are zonules(think of them as tether wires) that also connect to the elastic capsule of the cyrstaline lens. The contraction and relaxation of the ciliary muscle controls the shape of the lens that allows you to see at either distance(20ft or 6m and farther) or near(any where closure than 20ft/6m). The anterior chamber depth, where aqueous humor is located, does change when looking at different distances but it has nothing to do with changing the shape of the aqueous humor.

The change in the pressure in your eye would have nothing to do with how well you see at any distance under normal circumstances. If your pressure gets really high, say above 55 mmHg or so, you will get corneal swelling as the aqueous humor is forced into the cornea but all distances will be affected, and it will be constant blur.

You are correct about the simple calculation for determining the focusing power of your eye. But your logic is backwards. Using the formula 1/f=P where f=focal distance you can tell how much focusing power your eye has at any given time. Unfortunately that would not do you any good to find the optimal focal distance except for your far point(the most distant point that you can see clearly with your eye relaxed). Using the formula would be a waste of time. Simply measuring with a ruler where it gets blurry would be sufficient.

If any thing was happening at the optic chiasm they would experience only a partial visual field problem. Think about having to pie charts in front of you and split them in half vertically(12:00-6:00). If the problem is at the chiasm you will have mirror images of where the blur is. Half of all the nerves in each eye switch at the chiasm, half from the right eye go to the left side of the brain and vise versa for the left eye.

Sorry if I bored anyone but eyes are my passion.

I wish I understood what you said but it sure sounded good!

[Dubwise]

At my appointment today my eye doctor found my prescription was wrong. The lens for my left eye was not strong enough. He was not able to say definitively what has been causing my lack of focus, blurriness, puffiness and enlarged pupil in my right eye. But he did suggest that its possible that because the left one was so out of line with where it should be that my right eye may be getting overworked to compensate and this is causing the effects I am experiencing.