Has any long hauler been diagnosed with thinning optic nerve/glaucoma?

Posted by ronag @ronag, May 3, 2023

I had covid in April 2022. Many symptoms have lingered since then, most notably post exertional malaise, shortness of breath, coughing, GI problems, autoimmune disease, and brain fog. I was at the ophthalmologist last week and while my eye pressure was normal, the doctor noticed a thinning of the optic nerve. He doesn't think it's related to long covid but I'm wondering if this is just another problem caused by this plague. Apparently a thinning optic nerve is a manifestation of glaucoma. Has anyone else been told their optic nerve is thinning?

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ephrum | @ephrum | May 22, 2023

Thanks so much for this info. My vision has gotten terrible. I've had long covid for 9 months. In the morning, my eyes do not coordinate. I see double and my vision is blurry. I have an appointment with an opthamologist next week. I will share this info.

silverfish0409 | @silverfish0409 | May 31, 2023

In reply to @colleenyoung "You may also be interested in these related discussions: - Anyone experiencing dry eyes and vision..." + (show)

I have had covid twice, I now have glaucoma dry eyes ,my eyes are sensitive to light my teeth are sensitive my vision is blurred I had double vision at my last eye exam, everyday when I wake up my symptoms are different.

anbe22 | @anneb22 | Jun 20, 2023

I just stumbled across a bunch of ophthalmology Long Covid research articles. These are all references for the following paragraph within a much broader article on Long Covid.
(Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations).

“In the eyes, corneal small nerve fibre loss and increased dendritic cell density have been found in long COVID87,88, as well as significantly altered pupillary light responses89 and impaired retinal microcirculation90. SARS-CoV-2 can infect and replicate in retinal59 and brain91organoids. Other manifestations of long COVID include retinal haemorrhages, cotton wool spots and retinal vein occlusion92.“

Bitirgen, G. et al. Corneal confocal microscopy identifies corneal nerve fibre loss and increased dendritic cells in patients with long COVID. Br. J. Ophthalmol.https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2021-319450 (2021).

Barros, A. et al. Small fiber neuropathy in the cornea of Covid-19 patients associated with the generation of ocular surface disease. Ocul. Surf. 23, 40–48 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jtos.2021.10.010

Bitirgen, G. et al. Abnormal quantitative pupillary light responses following COVID-19. Int. Ophthalmol.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-022-02275-9 (2022).

Mardin, C. Y. et al. Possible impact of functional active GPCR-autoantibodies on retinal microcirculation in long-COVID. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 63, 3315–F0124 (2022).
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?&title=Possible%20impact%20of%20functional%20active%20GPCR-autoantibodies%20on%20retinal%20microcirculation%20in%20long-COVID&journal=Invest.%20Ophthalmol.%20Vis.%20Sci.&volume=63&pages=3315-F0124&publication_year=2022&author=Mardin%2CCY
Zhang, B.-Z. et al. SARS-CoV-2 infects human neural progenitor cells and brain organoids. Cell Res. 30, 928–931 (2020).
https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fs41422-020-0390-x
Sen, S. et al. Retinal manifestations in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and pathogenetic implications: a systematic review. Int. Ophthalmol. 42, 323–336 (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10792-021-01996-7