Double vision??

[Alleyt]

Hello,
I am a 48 year old female and have been having vision problems for the last 5 months. I do have narrow angle closure,but not sure that this is related to. I notice that when I look down I kind of get double vision, almost like my eyes do not want to focus, but it will only last a few seconds and it will straighten up. It seems to get better through out the day and it doesn't happen every time I look down, but it happens enough. I have also tried closing each eye to see if one eye is worse and I think it's primarily my right eye. I also get a slight headache in back upper right hand side of my head, it's not a bad headache, just kind of a dull pain. I do feel pressure when I look up and eye pain around and above my eyebrows.I also notice if I get stressed or panicking over it it makes it worse. I have been to the ophthalmologist and they gave me lotomax, but I haven't tried it as I have a fear that it will cause me to go into a narrow angled closure attack. The eye doctor said that I may want to have blood work done to see if I may have an auto immune disease.
Does anyone else have symtoms like these? I'm a worry wart and as I said I get panic attacks.


Thanks,

[wendya432]

I Have 12 of the 13 and 5 of the less common.  Still no diagnosis!!    

I"m not sure about the double vision, as I'm not diagnosed yet.  But, I've had double vision a few times, and the looking down DV has stuck around.  Sometimes when I'm overtired I get it even looking straight ahead.  

[rendean]

I had 11 of the primary 13 and 3 of the less common but not "enough of the right lesion type and location" before my brilliant and old school neuro diagnosed me after 5 others failed , mostly on the lesion count.

Ren

[doublevision1]

You beat me Kyle.  I had six.  

[kwarendorf]

PS, by the time I was diagnosed I was exhibiting 8 of the top 13 :-) Go big or go home, I always say!

Kyle

[kwarendorf]

My understanding is not based on anything other than anecdotal reporting and my own personal experience. I In my case the vision issues (nystagmus) did not start until well after I needed to take a nap if I went to the kitchen for a glass of water, or fell on my kiester because I didn't have the strength to pick my feet up and tripped over them.

You are correct, my Canadian friend. Per the Natl; MS Soc. vision issues are officially a primary symptom :-) Here's their list.

Primary Symptoms

Fatigue
Numbness
Walking (Gait), Balance, & Coordination Problems
Bladder Dysfunction
Bowel Dysfunction
Vision Problems
Dizziness and Vertigo
Sexual Dysfunction
Pain
Cognitive Dysfunction
Emotional Changes
Depression
Spasticity

Less Common Symptoms
These symptoms also occur in MS, but much less frequently.

Speech Disorders
Swallowing Problems
Headache
Hearing Loss
Seizures
Tremor
Respiration / Breathing Problems
Itching

[doublevision1]

I agree with your ophtha to get blood work done.  It may reveal something connected to your symptoms, or at least rule some things out so that you could move on to other diagnostic tests.  Vision symptoms can mean so many different things, some more serious, some less serious, and you really need to work with your docs to figure it out.  Good luck and keep us updated if you like, and continue to post your questions as they may arise.

Sidebar to Kyle: you mentioned visual symptoms in MS tending to be more secondary symptoms than primary.  My understanding of my diplopia, nystagmus and optic neuritis was that all of these are primary MS symptoms directly caused by lesions which damage, say, the 6th cranial nerve, optic nerve, etc.  hence disrupting normal nerve signals.  What is your understanding that these would be secondary MS symptoms?  Just curious, and still learning!

[LilMinnie]

Hi and welcome!

My vision went bad suddenly. I had already been seeing a neurologis , who referred me to an Ophthalmologist. The Ophthalmologist, after I had been examined for close to four hours, recommended for my neurologist to evaluate me for Multiple Sclerosis and Myasthenia Gravis after finding I have convergence insufficiency X (T) and refractive diplopia.

So, this doesn't necessarily mean anything bad is wrong, yet it is a good idea to get checked out by a neurologist.

Best of luck,
Hugs, Minnie

[kwarendorf]

Hi Alley - Welcome to our little group.

If this is your only symptom, it doesn;t scream MS to me. Many of us, my self included, do have some vison related sypmtoms. These vision related sypmtoms tend to be secondar rather than primary symptoms.

My vision issues sound vaguely similar to what you are experiencing. I have Nystagmus, involuntary, rapid eye movement. There is nothing wrong with my eyes, or optic nerve. The signals sent from my brain to the muscles that control my eye moevement are garbled. So for the first few minutes of every day I have double vision. My eyes don;t know where to focus, so they dart back and forth looking for the right place. It clears after a few minutes. It also pops up on humid days if I overexert.

All this said, my nystagmus wasmaybe #5 on my list of presenting symptoms.

Are you planning to see a neurologist?

Kyle