letters and words disappear while reading

[momlw]

My nine year old son has said while reading letters and words are disappearing. This was brought to my attention because he was having trouble reading aloud in class and sent to the nurse. He says this has been happening everytime he reads since the beginning of Dec. 07.  He is the top student in his class in all subjects- very bright. Some history on my son: when he was 3-4 we thought he might be having seizures due to staring spells(his eeg was fine) and the staring spells went away, last spring he started having daily mild headaches(brought to eye doctor and said his eyes were fine-5/07) and in 7/07 had a disturbing episode of numb left side with slurred speach for several minutes followed by a severe migraine(cat scan & mri fine and neurology dr. said migraines) he also has a benign heart murmer. He has not had to many headaches this year nor has he had another migraine- only the one. The pediatrician said the problems with vision while reading are from migraines but this is happening everytime he reads and I am worried. Any advice on what I should do or thoughts on what it possibly sounds like would be greatly appreciated.Thank you

[Philly215215]

It's dyslexia. I am dyslexic and that happens to me all the time. I would address it as quickly as you can and keep it in check it will make his life a lot better and the lot easier. I suggest getting him tested. I hope this helped
Marc

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

I am concerned about your son. The disappearance of letters could actually be due to blind spots developed in his vision. They normally do not affect general vision. But while reading, the words disappear at a particular distance from the eyes.

The blind spots are due to areas of the retina which have no sensory cells.

I would recommend that you take your son to an ophthalmologist and perhaps get the retinal functions checked.

If the disappearance of the words is a consistent feature, it may not be due to migraine.

Regards

[aeonverus]

I just found this today as well. Im male, 23, and when i read sometimes the words will vanish before my eyes and ill have to go back and reread. which i was an avid reader in highschool so i learned to skim a bit so i could miss those words. When i was younger i did have migraines so bad i would hallucinate and it would be sooo painful. Then again ive also had a few head injuries none of which had any follow up due to neglet from parents. I have also lost my sense of smell, atleast the majority of it. if the smell is strong or up against my nose i can smell it better.

[Jarred1986]

Hi, just wondering if anyone has answers about this. I have something similar. Only started about a year ago, but where i could normally read a word by looking at it and being able to see it in one go, I now have to look at sections of the word, roughly 3 letters at a time. Ive been playing around and monitoring what i can and cant see and if i concentrate on letters of the word I have trouble seeing, eventually i can momentarilly see it but i disappears again. Ive been practicing with number plates, staring at the centre and trying to make out the letters. the best thing I can liken it to is trying to read in a foggy environment, in the sense that as the fog moves certain things im looking at disappear and then come back into view. (My vision is not foggy, Just an analogy to describe detail coming and going). I have ADD and have been on medication most of my life. I have been to optometrists who have dont a few tests. They are being directed by an Ophthalmologist. Ive had retinal scans, eye pressure, OCT, field tests and a cat scan. Everything checks out and is healthy. Any help or direction would be great.

[Lemne]

Hi Jarred1986.  I have exactly the same symptoms as you.  Did you ever find out what was causing it?

[Bleachblondebird]

This is exactly what’s been happening to me. It’s been worse lately and I’m worried. Did you ever find anything out?

[frustratedly]

I've been dealing with this for over a decade now. same issue about not being able to see whole words and letters fading and reappearing momentarily. ophthalmologist says eyes are fine and it's convergence insufficiency and prescribed eye exercises but they never worked, although I notice it may be fatigue-related as it worsens during certain times of day. hope to hear if anyone has solved this.

[0SuperKate0]

I just found this post today on my lunch (4/27/15) and I guess I am trying to figure out if I have the same thing. I'm almost 30 (28 years old) and this has been happening to me for years now; as long as I can remember. I am not sure what the cause of it is, but I'd like to find out. The only difference is I do not get migraines or seizures. But this has made school supremely difficult for me. I feel like this is going to hold me back in my life and career. I started college (again) and I can already tell it is effecting me. I should also say that I have ADD and have had it since I was in grade school. Since I graduated high school, I have been able to control it without having to take prescriptions. I would like to figure out if there is a way to control this as well without having to take pills. What do you suggest? Any help would be greatly appreciated.