please help, bad accomodative spasm

[xmanmoonix]

Hi,

I am 22 years old, I have been diagnosed with accomodative spasm with ( - 12) befor cyclogel and (- 4) after,

my doctor (neuro-ophthalmologist) prescriped cyclogel as long term treatment, and then atropine, the problem is that i got systemic side effects from both ( dizziness, unsteadiness, and hallusination ) so I stop using any of them.

my doctor run out of options, what can I do , or where can I go !! please help., am having very diffecult time .


anothher Q, is what will  happen if I just used the ( - 12) ?

thank you,

[JohnHaganMD]

Most of the information in the above paragraph is incorrect and anyone with accommodative spasm that wants to learn more should read section at emedicine, use the search feature to read some of the other conversations or at least read Wikipedia.com section

JCH MD

[Maria111110]

In January 2013, I got very strong case of accommodative spasm. I was freaking out. I have never experienced that before, and I thought I was losing my vision. I saw a couple of doctors who couldn't tell what was wrong with me. I was so scared, and my accommodative spasm was getting worse and worse. I lost my appetite, my quality of life dramatically decreased, and I could hardly even walk. I decided to call my opthamologist in Russia as I had recently moved to the U.S. Based on my symptoms, she quickly concluded and told me that I have an accommodative spasm. She said that stress from transitioning to a different country could have caused it. She also said that I should calm down, sleep in, and it will go away eventually. Accommodative spasm is very common condition in Russia. They treat it with drops called Neosynephrine 2.5%.
But my anxiety was so bad that I couldn't stop the nervousness. After 4 month of my suffering, I decided to see a psychologist who prescribed me clonazepam (anxiety medication). Literally in few days my accommodative spasm started to go away, and I was able to come back to my normal activities. I would recommend not taking this medication for a long time even if they tell you so. One month is enough! I also recommend to see a neuro-opthalmologist. This is a doctor that treats accommodative spasm. Another thing that helped me was a new eyeglasses. A few month later, I was able to go to Russia and visit my doctor who adjusted my glasses prescription for a stronger one. Basically, you can only correct accommodative spasm with stronger eyeglasses especially for reading and wait. It will go away eventually. It can take from 2 days to 2 years.

[venjer]

go to a doctor who can examine your vision acuity with 2% Cyclogyl (a brand by alcon, cyclonpentolate is the generic name) and that has an Auto-Refractor Machine also known as Objective Refraction.

(1) have them examine your eyes with Auto-Refraction (machine -this take 15 seconds) when you arrive before the cycloplegia effect

don't forget to take the print of your RX from the machine

(2) instill one drop of 2% Cyclogyl in each eye, and maintain your eyes shut until the next instillation

(3) maintain your eyes shut for 10 minutes (set an alarm clock)

(4) instill 2% Cyclogyl

(5) maintain your eyes shut for 10 minutes (set an alarm clock)

(6) instill 2% Cyclogyl for the third time

(7) maintain your eyes shut for 40 minutes (set an alarm clock), 30 minutes could also work but wait 40 min if possible

(8) have them  examine your eyes with Auto-Refractor machine (it take 15 seconds)

don't forget to take the print of your RX from the machine

and you're done !

(9) Ask to measure your dual PD , they should give you 2 PDs number, one for each eye. That mean, you ask them to measure the PD for each eye separately. PD for each eye should be in the range of 24-35
* if they give u a single PD in the range of 50-70 ask for dual aka 2 PDs

**(10) cycloplegia subjective refraction-IS NOT RELEVANT TO OUR GOAL. they would probably insist you perform subjective refraction as well - this is when doctor switch different lens power and ask you how well you can see



**From our point of view, the problem with subjective refraction is that the more you use your eyes, and the more effort impose on the focus muscles, the more it set off and reduce the Cycloplegia effect.  What happen is that the relatively long process of the subjective refraction, combined with the effort imposed on your ciliary muscles reduce the Cycloplegia effect, and therefore distort the refraction result.

Many doctors do not fully understand this point and its importance, in particular with patients with muscles problems like you, me and others.

[rotastrain]

Please go to a neuro ophthalmologist

U all have exophoria along with accompdative spasm


The person who is having rotating images u r in need of treatment from a neuro ophthalmologist.

My brother is having this disease and the painful journey is going on for last 3 years bit he Is recovering.

[nathandewinter]

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Eye-Care/Severe-spasm-of-accommodation---Neurologist-or-Ophtalmologist-/show/699827

look for my post here above,i think atropine would be a way to relieve the spasms. discuss it with your physician

[Paintingmyownpic]

My daughter is having diplopia, blurry vision and accomodative spasms.. aka conversion disorder.  She is a Junior in High school... with a 3.8 GPA.  There is a lot of history of emotional trauma with her father who is also a physician who abandoned her and is very spiteful toward her.  My heart is BREAKING!  She has been through SO much.  Since 2006 there has been a MAJOR illness each year.  she has been in psychotherapy for 6-7 years.  She takes one step forward and three steps back.  NOW SHE HAS THIS.   As a single mom with two special needs kids (one MR and Autistic and his twin Aspergers), I know how to handle quite a bit, but I am lost.  I dont know how to help her with this one.  There is no behavior modification I can do.  We have done all of the tests, MRI, CTA, Spinal Tap blood work up-up the kazoo.  Some of her hormones are out of whack like Testosterone, MCH, Prolactin, sodium, calcium... but all the docs have said they are not high enough to really do anything.  I REALLY need some help.  We have seen two neuro-ophthalmologists, 2 neurologists, psychologists, optometrist, and of course pediatricians.    What do I do?  Today the Neuro-op put her on Xanax.   She is a Junior in HS, and I dont want to see my baby disabled.   She is so beautiful, so bright, and so giving... WHAT DO I DO?  Please dont tell me to talk with her father, he is a very deranged man who can only help his patients and doesnt have three seconds for his children I have tried for YEARS and yes recently as well.  I appreciate any help you can offer.  We are in South east Tennessee.    Thank you and God Bless you!

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[venjer]

It has been EXTREMELY painful process and images kept rotating, sometime I would see only with my right eye while my left eye vision is extremely foggy/hazy to the extent that it can't see, and other time I would be able to see only with my left eye and not be able to see with right eye, as well as other weird visual stuff, which are the result of the muscles rotating and moving involuntary

[venjer]

hi this phenomena you're describing is very rare, and you're the first patient I came across with such a wide gap between what is considered Cycloplegic Refraction number and the regular prescription number, so hopefully thanks to this community by forcing hands, we could go to the root of that.

I'm a patient that suffers from a similar condition

No Doctor could have helped me (Ophthalmologist, Optometrist, etc)!

The problem is that each professional focuses on a narrow area of expertise, so no professional is able to SEE the big picture. They failed to understand that everything is intra-related and affect one another. The result is that the Left hand doesn't know what the Right hand is doing....

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

I suggest you ask your neuro-ophthalmologist to refer you to the closest world class tertiary eye center. You can use the search feature and pull up the top 10 eye centers in the USA.

JCH MD