I lost part of my eyesight in medical school – here is how it made me a better doctor
A doctor who started going blind while in medical school says her career-ending condition has actually made her a better doctor. She has learned ‘how important it is to stand up for your own health.’
Dr. Tara Narula, a cardiologist in New York City, lost some of her vision during medical school
New York City cardiologist Dr. Tara Narula was sitting in a lecture hall during her second year of medical school in the early 2000s when she noticed colored lights flashing in the corners of her right eye.
Her symptoms lasted for several months until she went home for the holidays. She visited an ophthalmologist who found no problems except for a small hemorrhage in the back of her right eye — that’s when blood vessels in the eye break, causing bleeding.
However, when a neuro-ophthalmologist ordered a test that required Dr. Narula, now in her 40s, to press a button every time she saw a flash of light, “there were a whole series of flashing lights that I had missed.”
Shortly afterwards, she was diagnosed with an inferior arcuate defect, which causes blurriness and spots in direct vision and has caused her to permanently lose vision in the lower part of her right eye.
“When I received this news early in my medical career, I was shocked and feared the worst,” wrote Dr. Narula, associate professor of cardiology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in New York, for TODAYwhere she also contributes.
Her condition has remained stable since the original diagnosis, and she now says her experience has made her a more empathetic doctor and better able to connect with and treat her patients.
Doctors are unsure what caused Dr.’s vision loss. Narula, although they have suggested that her eye became deformed due to myopia
Doctors weren’t sure what was causing the vision loss, although they pointed to multiple sclerosis (MS) as a possibility. But after a series of MRIs, doctors ruled that out.
They also suggested it could have been a minor, unnoticed stroke or an accidental elbow bump in the eye during a night out.
“Being told something was wrong was hard enough, but the hardest part was not getting a real diagnosis or answer to what happened to me,” Dr. Narula said.
She added: ‘Plus, not knowing if it could happen again or if my vision would continue to deteriorate was one of the hardest things I had to deal with.
‘It’s a challenge to live in that gray area, where there are answers, but not a complete picture.’
Although Dr. Narula returned to medical school at the University of Southern California, the stress made it difficult for her to concentrate – until her mother gave her valuable advice.
“She said if I spent too much time worrying about what might happen, I wouldn’t enjoy the life that was happening,” the doctor helped.
The last specialist she saw believes that her severe form of myopia – difficulty seeing objects far away – could have caused her eye to form incorrectly, leading to her partial loss of vision.
Inferior arcuate defect is a form of glaucoma, a group of eye diseases that affects 3 million Americans.
Although Dr. Narula was initially frustrated by the unknown circumstances surrounding her condition, she says her experience has made her a better doctor.
Dr. Narula, a medical contributor to TODAY, said her vision has remained stable since she was diagnosed, although she undergoes regular scans
“Every time I do my annual visual field test, I still worry. Every day I have a flash of realization that I could be a patient again,” said Dr. Narula.
“Having lived through my own journey always reminds me that behind every patient’s medical record number, image, and file is a human being who is scared and struggling to find hope and a new normal.”
As part of her empathetic approach, she noted that every time a patient needs a test or scan, she makes sure to respond as quickly as possible so that the patient gets answers quickly.
“I know how frustrating and scary it is to not have a definitive diagnosis or not know what will happen,” she said. ‘As a patient I have learned how important it is to stand up for your health.’
Dr. Narula recently shared her tips for patients navigating their own health journey.
First, she recommends keeping an open mind and seeking multiple opinions, especially when dealing with a condition that’s difficult to diagnose.
She also said it’s important to find a doctor you feel comfortable with, someone who will listen to your concerns and make you feel “heard.”
She also suggested keeping a diary of symptoms and test results to bring to appointments.
“I also encourage patients to request copies of all their tests, including MRIs, CT scans, blood tests, etc.,” she said.
‘This way, they have all the relevant information about their health and can share it with healthcare providers, instead of waiting for a doctor’s office to send the results.’
And for women, who are rejected by doctors much more often than men, Dr. Narula said they “need to learn to express what they feel.”
‘Women know their bodies and know when something is wrong. I advise my female patients to trust their instincts when something doesn’t feel right, and not let others downplay it,” said Dr. Narula.
‘Standing up for health often starts with believing in your own experience.’
An important aspect of coping with any health problem is finding a support network that can help you “handle the heavy emotions that come with a condition that is difficult to diagnose.”
She recommends asking a friend or family member to accompany you to doctor appointments.
Dr. Narula added, “It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the healthcare system and wonder how you’ll ever manage a health challenge.
‘But the advice my mother gave me when I was in medical school still applies: “If you put one foot in front of the other and don’t look too far ahead, you will notice that months have passed. Take it one day at a time.” .”‘