Hello Jillm & Countrygirl, wondering whether either of you gets floaters in your vision as well as the lights? To me, floaters appear like little grey specks or wiggly translucent chains of cells. I ask because a few years ago around the end of peri I began to get floaters, together with what are known as flashes (not the dirty mac kind!) Had my eyes checked out several times at optician who then referred me to Ophthalmology, as the floaters rapidly became worse & now litter my vision. They are both thought to be caused by breakdown of collagen, you guessed it - as a result of declining sex hormone levels & are usually nothing to be worried about, but should be checked out.
So, wondered whether you think the light effects you see at night could be flashes?
I am a migraineur, like the 2 of you & the flashes/floaters are not like the visual disturbance of the migraine auras I get, which last around 10-15 minutes, whereas the flashes are gone in a second or so. One Ophthalmologist I saw told me the floaters can also be linked to migraine. Though my floaters are very noticeable, the flashes rarely occur now (6-7 years along from onset) but were almost a daily occurrence when the floaters first started. For me, the flashes are like fireworks in my vision. A sudden burst of light that lingers but only briefly, then dies away. Used to get them with eyes open or closed. Does this sound like yours?
I also have very dry eyes - been on artificial tears around 25 years & this was picked up on a few weeks ago at an appt for other things. Have just been given a diagnosis of suspected Sjogren's, pending Rheumatology referral. Anyway as you mentioned difficulty swallowing this rang a bell Jillm - I've also had this for a few years & the dryness of Sjogren's can be systemic - not just eyes - mouth, nose, lady parts, even skin. But as dryness is very much a part of menopause & everyone had been dismissive of the dry eye condition until these recent appts, I'd put the worsening of it down to that although another consultant had also suspected Sjogen's some years ago, my eyes being so dry & the Vagifem being inadequate for the lady bits even at max dose. Sjogren's affects ten times as many women as men, with onset usually between age 40-60. There's some thought that it's related to oestrogen-androgen imbalance - specifically androgen decline.
Just thought I should mention this. As I said though, dryness can just be due to menopause, & floaters & flashes likewise related to collagen decline.
