Why Can't I keep my focus on any one object?

[santana8]

I have not been able to keep focus visually on  any one object with losing focus, since the attack! Kind of like being able to stare at the eye doctors nose and not move my focus off the nose. I cannot do this no matter how hard I try. I get the object in sight and almost immediately after I fix focus on it I can't hold it, and  I have to retry only to lose it again.

I have seen many opthalmologist , my neuro and a neuro-opthalmologist, and when I ask them this question they don't seem to know why this is happening.  They say I don't have nastagmus, so why do I feel like I have no control over keeping one object in focus?

I have about 10 white matter lesions in the brain scattered around, mostly in the Corpus Collosum, Parietal, and occitable lobes. I also have an inferior harmoneous quadrantopsia visual field defect. My VEP a year and a half ago was abnormal, showing slowing.

Does anyone know if this sounds like a problem from the lesions or the visual field defect or maybe something else? I feel like if I could get my focus back steady then I wouldn't have such a hard time navigating around in stores and hard to see in places( lights ect..). Any thoughts on this?

~Santana~

[santana8]

This disorentation in my vision was sevier at the onset two years ago, but has slowly improved. At first during the first month I had problems even putting on my clothes. I couldn't figure out which way they went on, like I would hold my pants up and was totally lost about which way the garment went on my body. I also could not figure out which way to get to my bedroom in my own house. I would take off and be going toward My boys rooms which is on the opposite end of the house. Just totally disorented. And right-left confusion. I found some info on this and I think it is called Gerstmann's syndrome, and is from lesions in the parietal lobes.

I am now comfortable in my home. I have put in 25 watt bulbs anywhere that I am going to be spending a lot of time. This makes it easier for me to see and cuts down on the flickering and glare.But in the store, I am assuming because it is a large crowed area with a lot of movement, I still struggle with this disorentation. It takes a great deal of concentration just to navigate through a store, and by the time I am out of there, I am emotionally drained from concentrating that hard on finding my way around.

I am going to ask my neuro to do an MRI of the C-spine and maybe the whole spine prior to when I go in for my next brain MRI which is due now. Can they do them all in the same day? Thankfully, my insurance pays for all of my scans, so I don't see why he would have a problem with it. I guess the reason he hasn't done this already is because I don't have obvious limb symptoms. But the transient tingleing along with the back of the neck pain/stiffness and the Multitude of visual difficulty I have had I think It needs to be checked. All of my doctors have told me that my visual problems are not related to my eyes. They are completly normal and I have 20/25 VA. They all say that the problem is in the brain.

I did have The VNG and it came back completely normal. So the problem is not in my vestibular system or inner ears. Eventhough I have had no new lesions on brain MRI in two years, I still worry that they may be on my C-spine or somewhere else on my spine. If so this would point to MS, especially if they are new. So I do feel he needs to check.

~Santana~

[cjacks]

S

It seems that this was discussed a month or two ago , can't remember who...    

I also have just about what you are talking about ..     I have had problems with gaze , looking up left , or just horizontal . No one saw anything . They were thinking migraine ??    Finally because of my balance and dizziness I had a VNG  low and behold I have nystagmus. My report said ' abnormality in the CNS ( Parietal ) and vestibular systems.  Talking to the docs ,  this is were I have many of my lesions .(For me this has something to do with saccades...  being able to scan field of vision .. maybe  )  My doc does see the nystagmus now.

When I was being tested I could not hold my gaze.  I hadn't noticed it before , now I do all the time .  I also have this thing where vertical lines shimmer.  And my eyes quiver when tired , also maybe some double vision , I see a shadow image around everything .

I also have a stiff neck , going on five months.

This is all why I'm not on much , I have a hard time reading the screen , especially if there are more than a couple of sentences in a paragraph.  But mostly its  the haze...and my eyes hurt.

You should have a full MRI  and also ask about a VNG.

Take care , I hope you find answers

Jo

[doublevision1]

Transient tingling in arms and legs can be caused by c-spine lesions.  Between that and your stiff neck, that should warrant including c-spine in a new MRI.  I agree with you, that in fact getting the whole spine done is a good idea.  Why not be as thorough as possible?  I hope your neuro listens to you and agrees.

db

[sllowe]

Hi Santana,

I had this eye problem too, but can't recall what the doc said, thinking he didn't say much about it.  Mine was more-so w/the main attack.  Also, I could not get my actions, and reactions to correlate properly with my eyes.  Like you said, no shaking like nystagmus, but it's very difficult to function like this.

It took a long while to recover for me.  Still have it on and off from time to time but not near as bad as during those months of the attack.

In the meantime, what was helpful to me was to just do things much slower.  It didn't make it go away, was just easier for the body to keep up with the eyes.  Maybe this will help you too.

Hope it resolves for you soon -
-SL

[santana8]

My first MRI was done in september 2006, and was done without contrast (first neuro). Second MRI was done two months later in november 2006 with and without contrast including the brain stem( second neuro, and still my doctor). Next, May 2007 w/without, brain only.Next november 2007, w/without, brain only  Next one due now.

My neuro has not suggested the cervical spine be imaged  or any part of my spine. I am not sure why though, because I have told him about the neck pain/stiffness and also the transient numbness and tingleing in caves and fore arms. Maybe because I don't have limb symptoms other than this transient tingleing.

I am going to ask him to do at least the cervical spine and maybe the whole spine!   I didn't know that the brainstem was imaged better with the cervical spine MRI until I read Quix's comment on this!  

~Santana~

[doublevision1]

Yes I understand what you mean, I have felt the same way with my double vision; very disoriented esp when I force left gaze which is my biggest problem, although much better than a few months ago.

Is there any reason you can't get your c-spine imaged?  It was on my brain/c-spine MRI that my brainstem lesion was revealed.  During my first major flare last fall, I too had major stiffness in my neck that felt like what I imagine whiplash to be like.  I'm not sure whether that symptom is attributed to my brainstem lesion or one on my c-spine. It subsided with IV steroids.  This was all around the time I was diagnosed.  

Can you request a follow up MRI?  It seems with all of your continuing symptoms that this is warranted.  When was your brain MRI done?

db

[santana8]

My neuro included the brainstem in one of my four MRI's with and without contrast. He said the only thing he saw was some arthritic/degenerative stuff. But I remember that Quix had said in another post that the brainstem is best viewed when the cervical spine is imaged too!   I have had a lot of stiffness and pain right at the back of my neck through out this whole thing, but worse about two to three months after the onset. I could hardly turn my head. Felt like whip lash. It was constant for about two months and now comes and goes.

I have had no imaging of any part of my spine, only the brainstem with the Brain MRI. I have always felt like something was hurt in the back of my neck close to the skull since the attack.  The doctors say that my eye movements are within normal limits, but I know that they are not right.

For example, I have felt a paralysis when attempting up gaze, and if I force it I get really dizzy and disorented and feel like I am going to fall. My eyes feel like I don't  have good control over them, especially on attempted fixation. Kind of like my vision is disorented.

I do have lesions in the pariental lobes, which I think has a lot to do with orentation. These symptoms have improved since the onset but are still there to a point. It feels like being drunk in my vision only! Not in my head or body! Does that make any sense at all?

~Santana~

[doublevision1]

Do you know if any of your lesions are on your brainstem?  If so perhaps it is affecting the cranial nerves involved in eye movement.  I believe this is referred to as the efferent ocular system.  

This is where I have a large lesion, causing the incoordination of my eye movements resulting in double vision.  I don't know whether such lesions also cause inability to focus but perhaps is something worth inquiring about.

db