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Visual Snow On TV Show “The Doctors” [Transcript]

Recently Sierra Domb (Visual Snow Initiative Founder) and Dr. Peter Goadsby appeared on U.S television to discuss Visual Snow and raise awareness. On this talk show they were joined by Doctors: Travis Lane Stork (occupational emergency physician), Andrew Ordon ( occupational plastic surgeon), and Sonia Batra ( occupational dermatologist).

It’s a typically short and simplified presentation of Visual Snow on the show’s part with some questionable elements, but for what it’s worth I’ve written out the transcript for those interested and unable to access the video. Those in the U.S or Canada can presumably access the video normally via this link.

Dr. Travis Stork: It might seem like ages ago but before we had high-definition TV, the static on the screens was a real bummer. Now imagine seeing that static every moment of your life, even when you weren’t watching TV. Have a look…

Narrator: Picture seeing tiny snow-like dots every time you open your eyes. That’s the reality for those with a rare condition called visual snow. Experts say the condition is quite under-recognised, leaving people suffering without any answers. Often confused with other eye disorders, researchers say visual snow is actually caused by a neurological condition in the brain. Cells in the brain may be overly responsive to visual stimuli, causing extreme sensitivity to light and impaired night vision. So how is a person diagnosed? What are the symptoms? And could people be receiving ineffective treatments because of a missed diagnosis?

Dr. Travis Stork: Joining us now is Sierra, who suffers from visual snow, along with neurologist Dr. Peter Goadsby who’s joining us via Skype. And Sierra I’m so glad you’re here because this something a lot of people are naive to, they don’t even understand that this exists. When did you know something was wrong, and can you describe what it was like?

Sierra Domb: I first knew something was wrong, when I was in college, actually. And I was looking at my professor by the whiteboard. And I started seeing an overlay in both eyes of what looked like TV static. It was like I had a literal snowstorm in my eyes that I couldn’t escape.

Dr. Travis Stork: And if your vision, your actual vision…

Sierra Domb: My Vision itself…

Dr. Travis Stork: In terms of your eyes was normal…

Sierra Domb: My eyes structurally were completely fine, which was baffling to me.

Dr. Andrew Ordon: Could you tell us how you finally came upon the diagnosis?

Sierra Domb: I did find out what visual snow was on the internet and from there I found out about Dr. Goadsby, who is with us right now and he formally diagnosed me.

Dr. Travis Stork: And let’s bring Dr. Goasby into the conversation, because a lot of people don’t know about this, a lot of doctors do not know about this. So can you explain how this isn’t an eye issue and how as a neurologist this is something that you work with?

Dr. Peter Goadsby: What we’ve found is that if you take an image of the brain, the vision part of the brain, using something called fucntional imaging, then a small part of the vision bit of the brain is overly active in people who have visual snow, compared to those who don’t. So it’s clearly a brain problem, which is right in the valley of work of neurologists.

Dr. Sonia Batra: So is this a fairly rare condition, or do you think it’s just misdiagnosed because it’s just so hard to come here when the visual tests are all normal?

Dr. Peter Goadsby: It’s difficult to diagnose if you’ve never heard of it, so one of the problems is there’s a substantial group, about a third, who’ve had it as long as they can remember, so they think it’s normal, they in fact don’t say anything for quite a long period of time. There’s so many levels of challenge, I wonder how rare it is – it’s certainly under-recognised.

Dr. Sonia Batra: Tell us about your work gaining, kind of, to bring attention to this?

Sierra Domb: Right, well it became evident to me after my search that there is currently not a cure for visual snow, so I am suffering just as much today as the day that I first started seeing visual snow. But I’ve learned to adapt and the only thing that’s changed, really is my outlook and my perspective. So I try to become my own advocate, because I realised there wasn’t a lot of awareness about this condition, and there were others like me, so I wanted to help people and hopefully raise awareness for visual snow. And that prompted me to start a charity: Visual Snow Initiative.

Dr. Travis Stork: And I think today as you mentioned more people than ever before will know what visual snow is here. Thank you for sharing your story with us, and Dr. Goadsby, thank you as well for sharing your expertise. We’re going to have more information about visual snow on our website: thedoctorstv.com.

DISCLAIMER: This website contains the opinions and ideas of its authors. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material. Readers should consult their doctor before implementing any suggestions. The authors specifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of reading this material.

2 thoughts on “Visual Snow On TV Show “The Doctors” [Transcript]”

  1. Hi there. I just came across your website and found it very informative. I started having symptoms of VS a year ago. However it’s increased in severity by 60% in the past 24 hours. So much so that I’m barely able to read the keyboard to type. My family doesn’t understand what this is like and Im having trouble dealing with this. How much worse can it get? Thanks so much. I’m feeling quite alone in this.

    1. Hi Kristina, thanks for sharing. I am sorry to hear about your symptoms causing you difficulty.

      In my experience if symptoms get significantly worse it is usually temporary, I have had a really noticably bad reaction to cleaning chemicals once or twice for example, but other things such as anxiety, stress, or changes to medication or diet might also have some effect. In my opinion it is possible you could be having a reaction to something like this. According to surveys and what is believed to be known about Visual Snow, it does not generally get worse over time.

      If you are feeling worried about it the best thing in my opinion would be to get support from family and friends. You say they do not understand but be honest with them, show images from my post on “Visual Snow and other symptoms”, or videos on youtube. The Visual Snow Initiative has easy to understand explainer videos, and you can also show a first person view video from a YouTube channel called “bad reception”. In addition you can speak to others with Visual Snow on Facebook support groups, speak to me, or speak to a medical professional with your concerns.

      You are not alone, I will reply to your email as well

      Neil

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