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382218 tn?1341181487

yet another odd sensation that is hard to describe

This is a new one for me and I'm wondering if any of you have experienced this weird sensation?  Today I was bent over at the waist while picking up some laundry.  As I straightened up and turned around all in one swift motion, I suddenly had a sensation I can only describe as being like Alice in Wonderland.  For a split second it seemed like the room had doubled in size and was curving around me, and I felt off balance.  I recovered immediately.  This was preceded by eye pain in my R eye (it was the L eye I had ON in back in Dec), which started earlier in the day.  This was not nearly as bad as the episode of ON, and no foggy vision.  It was an achy, burning sensation where I perceive my eyeball meets the socket, in the inner corner of my eye.  There's still a sensation of tenderness but better than this afternoon.  I have no idea if the eye pain and the other thing are connected.

The only similar sensation I've had a few times is one which, following a sudden movement, like turning around or standing up  abruptly, will seem like the floor is coming up from underneath me.  Again, it lasts like a millisecond.

I did some googling for a clue as to what might have occurred today, and I came across a symptom common in migraine which is called metamorphopsia.  I'd never heard of this before, and have no idea if this is what I had.  It seems its associated with certain types of migraines, which I'm not sure I've ever had.

I had already called my ophthalmologist's office today about the eye pain, before the weird sensation happenend.   They can see me tomorrow morning so I'm hoping they can shed some light on this for me.  The good news is that my eye is feeling less uncomfortable this evening and I've had no more of that other weird stuff.  Taking it all in stride.  Whatever it is, it's nowhere near as bad as the excruciating ON was.

I have not been on much lately but have noticed lots of new members.  So FYI, I have RRMS, dx 2007, and on Copaxone since 2008.

If anyone has else has felt like Alice in Wonderland with the weird sensations and/or if you know what might be the cause, I'd love to hear from you.
7 Responses
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728562 tn?1231298088
funny bc I have had what I also called 'alice in wonderland feeling' but only when my eyes are closed and I am laying in the dark at night.  I get the sensation that I am very small or very large.

It makes no sense and I haven';t told anyone bc I am afraid they will think I am nuts.
Helpful - 0
382218 tn?1341181487
Thank you for your replies.  I saw my orthoptist yesterday; not a physician but she works under the supervision of my opthalmologist.  She did a thorough eye exam; checked my optic nerve, eye pressure, visual field, etc etc etc and could see nothing out of the ordinary.  She though it was possible that the Alice in Wonderland thing and the eye pain could have been related, and said it could possible have been migraine as some of you had suggested.  By the time I saw her I had had no further Alice moments, and my eye pain was greatly reduced to a sense of only of mild pressure plus an awareness of the sensation of blinking, as opposed to the normal sensation when blinking which is no sensation at all.  Meaning that normally when you blink you don't even think about it or consider how it feels.  Anyway, however I describe it, it is so much better than Tuesday.  

I hated leaving work mid-day, esp after having missed so much time these past couple of years.  But I never get any flack for it, and for that I am really grateful.

I will add this little episode to my list of things to discuss with my neuro next month.  I hope he considers it to be unrelated or at least not significant in terms of any further evidence of my so-called 'very active' disease course.

Thanks again for your input!
Helpful - 0
152264 tn?1280354657
DB: I have heard of the weird spatial distortions with migraine (tunnel vision, tilting or expanding room, etc.), but since yours was only a momentary thing, it would not seem likely to be migraine.

I have had low-level dizziness since the late 1980s and worse since 1999, though still relatively mild. For me, motion in two planes (?) at once, such as turning while simultaneously rising (similar to what you did), makes me dizzier than other movements--presumably because it stimulates the (damaged) vestibular system more strongly than either turning or rising by itself.

I did have one time years ago when I was in a restroom stall, straightened up after finishing my business--i.e., raised my head--and suddenly I felt TOTALLY disoriented, like I didn't know which way was up, didn't have a clue what was outside the stall--like I was "lost in space" inside the stall for quite a few seconds. I attributed it to having had a sudden shock of fear five or ten minutes earlier (when I unexpectedly saw someone walk into the office who I feared was going to make a scene with another person).

However, for a few weeks or so afterward, I would often get that same momentary sensation of total disorientation, my head feeling "lost in space" (just for a couple of seconds), usually when I'd lean over a certain way.

Maybe your vestibular system (and mine) is whacked out in such a way that when it's overstimulated for a moment (by a certain combination of movements and/or stress), you get disproportionately dizzy/disoriented. Maybe your sense that the room was large and curving was simply a consequence of your spatial-orientation system going crazy for a moment.

Udkas: I, too, HATE peeling potatoes at the sink! It's something about the combination of looking down (which by itself is a bit problematical for me) and the "bouncing" motion of the peeling. I hate any kind of bouncing motions, or the vibrations from heavy equipment working nearby, even when my haircutter raises or lowers the chair, which gives a little "whoomph!" in my head.

DB, what did your ophthalmologist say?

Nancy
Helpful - 0
739070 tn?1338603402
I have had the sensation you describe several times. I was told it was atypical migraine symptoms. Still is unsettling when it happens. Let us know what the doc's interpretation of your symptoms is. Sorry poor sentence structure.. too much pain med. Guess I'll retreat back to the couch. Don't need to strain my brain or what's left of it:-)

Take care!
Ren
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi there I looked up metamorphopsia and the description doesn't fit what I experience.  I am certain mine is just vertigo, I just get the sensation like the floor is moving, but I don't get the room distorting or anything like that, although sometimes I feel like the floor is moving up to meet me.

Dennis, I gave up worrying if people think I am crazy a long time ago, I know I am not!

The eye specialist that I see said when peoples eyes are damaged sometimes they eye tries to make sense of what it is seeing and spots and blobs can look like faces etc. and he was telling me many elderly are too afraid to him about their visual disturbances for fear of people thinking they are mad.  He told me this after I told him about the visual aura I was experiencing which turned out to be migraine.

Again good luck with it all and enlighten us with the info when you find out.

Cheers,
Udkas.
Helpful - 0
645800 tn?1466860955
I get something similar every once in a while. All of a sudden I will feel like the floor of a room is 3 miles below me. No headache, ey pain, or anything else is going on at the time. Some times it happens when I stand up and other times it will occur as I'm walking normally. I have no idea of what is going on and haven't mentioned it to any of my doctors as I think they would think I'm crazy.

Dennis


Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi there,

I guess only a Dr would be able to advice you if it is related to your MS or if it is just migraine that also could be related to your MS anyway.

I get vertigo and what you are describing sounds like a form of vertigo. Vertigo as you know can occur with MS and with migraine headache.  Especially with the ground coming up to meet you etc.  I feel like i am in a boat and the floor is moving, seems to worsen if I put my head down and then look up (like peeling spuds at the sink).. I feel off balance when this happens.

I also get migraine headaches which my neuro reckons is related to lesion in brainstem/cervical? and they give me some weird eye stuff as well, I had a feeling of pressure behind my eyeball, I felt like my eye was going to pop out of it's socket, I went to the eye specialist recently to get it evaluated and he said that yes I have had ON but this is from migraine.  Any new symptom is worth checking out.

Keep us posted with what info you find out.

Cheers,
Udkas.
Helpful - 0
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