Anyone have experience with Double Vision?

[Tina]

I've had blurred and double-vision since Saturday morning. Today I saw an opthamologist who diagnosed me with Bilateral Sixth Cranial Nerve Palsy (double vision/diplopia). He immediately sent me for an MRI, which unfortunately didn't happen. I have mild claustrophobia and though it would be fine. No dice. We tried 3 times and every time the technician slid me into the chamber, I freaked out in less than 5 seconds (why do they make those things so tight and imposing?). So I'll need to reschedule that once I get a new prescription from my doctor that includes anesthesia. I also go tomorrow to an internal medicine doctor for a full workup. At this point, I don't know anything about what's going on, what caused it, or what will happen other than what I've Googled.

So I'm looking for feedback from anyone who has dealt with this. What was your experience? What was your cause? What was your remedy? How long was your recovery and have you fully recovered? Any words of wisdom or support are welcome.

The worst part of all (aside from not having normal vision!) is I've been planning my Disney vacation for many months and I'm scheduled to leave next Friday. I'm hoping I at least have some sort of modified glasses or a patch or something so I can still manage. My sister and I were planning to drive (14 hours!) and now we're not sure if we'll be able to do that.

Luckily, I'm able to work from home and not have to deal with trying to get to work like this. And also, I'm lucky my sister is able to drive me to all my appointments.

 

[gator75]

I don't personally have experience with it, but my older sister does hers is caused by an autoimmune disease. what they have done up till now is put primims in her glasses she says that it helps some. its worse when she'e tired or under stress. they just as recently as juuly of this year did a surgery to strengthen the muscles in her eye. I'm not sure if it has helped with the double vision or not. if you'd like i can talk to her and you can pm me. hope you feel better soon

 

[scbelleatheart]

The good news is you are right in top of it. Do not let them tell you to wait and see if it clears up itself. The cause for mine was a bad cold. I broke blood vessels in my eyes from coughing and the dr said wait, it will clear up. Problem was my blood was too thick so it didn't clear up. By the time I saw a specialist it was too late. Surgery fixed one eye and saved the other from removal but I only have 50% vision in it.
Be proactive. Don't give in to suggestions that it will fix itself.
It's not that bad but you have a chance to catch it early. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[Tink415]

Over 20 years ago I developed double vision when looking at distant objects...many years of reading and computer work, no taking enough breaks, contributed to it. I received vision therapy which helped tremendously. It only happens now when I'm tired; I know how to stop it, it usually means its time to go to sleep and give my eyes a rest. Good luck.

 

[FireDancer]

I have found the solution to double vision has always been to sober up. YMMV.

 

[Tina]

Thank you for your responses. I can see that everyone has very different experiences. I'm hoping that mine is quickly resolved. I did find a possible MRI alternative last night - open MRI. I'm calling my doctor this morning as soon as they open to see if I can do this instead of the traditional narrow tube MRI.

 

[Tina]

I have found the solution to double vision has always been to sober up. YMMV.

I might find this funny, if I didn't have to cover one eye to even read these boards, walk across the room without tripping, etc. Pray nothing ever happens to your vision, because I can guarantee, you won't be making jokes.

 

[Magpie]

Try and see the humor in it - even to the point of making drinking jokes - because, trust me, it makes things easier! If you can't cry, then laugh. I make jokes all the time. My migraines have been particularly hilarious.

I have chronic double vision, because my eyes don't work well together. It can't be treated, but luckily it's not as severe as yours. I have prisms in my glasses that help a teeny bit - they allow me to focus up close without doubling. I'm grateful for them, as now I can read without the words sliding around the page.

DO NOT DRIVE! Not unless you've cleared it with a doctor and are 100 percent confident. Double vision is a b*tch for seeing street signs, and you really don't want to misjudge the position of your car in relation to the other cars on the street! Don't even attempt it unless your vision is 100 percent.

Right now, close one eye. Stick a Kleenex behind your glasses lens if you can't manage to keep it closed. Your other eye will take over in a couple of minutes and you'll feel a whole lot better. Really, binocular vision is overrated. You can get by without depth perception much more easily than you imagine. Just be careful when you reach for that glass of milk. Because nothing's funnier to the kids than seeing Mommy throwing milk everywhere. Unless it's seeing Mommy dress up like a pirate...

Good luck, and I hope your doctor can get things sorted out for you soon!

 

[Tina]

I'm learning all about depth-perception today. I walked right into a rack of chips at the grocery store. Luckily, my sister caught them before they went over. I also walked into several people who I had no idea I was walking so close to. Its so hard!

I don't currently have any glasses, so nothing to stick a Kleenex behind, other than sunglasses. I find myself holding one eye closed all the time. Eventually, that starts to cramp, believe it or not.

I think the hardest part of all of this is trying to organize doctors and get seen. What a nightmare. No one understands emergency.

 

[Magpie]

I'm learning all about depth-perception today. I walked right into a rack of chips at the grocery store. Luckily, my sister caught them before they went over. I also walked into several people who I had no idea I was walking so close to. Its so hard!

I don't currently have any glasses, so nothing to stick a Kleenex behind, other than sunglasses. I find myself holding one eye closed all the time. Eventually, that starts to cramp, believe it or not.

I think the hardest part of all of this is trying to organize doctors and get seen. What a nightmare. No one understands emergency.

Yeah, I do believe you about the cramping! You can pick up an eye patch at any drug store - it'll help. You can then have both eyes open, but you'll only see out of one.

And trust me, it'll get easier!

 

[bevgray]

Do you have any other symptoms such as tingling/numbness in your feet or hands? Difficulty swallowing? If is just the double-vision, stick with the eye-doctor. If you have any other odd/painful/distressing symptoms, make sure you tell your doctor. Due to the sudden onset, this could be a symptom of an autoimmune disease such as Guilliane-Barre (not trying to scare you but autoimmunes can develop very rapidly and you need to be on top of it).

 

[LuvOrlando]

So sad to hear about your vision, that must be awful.

I've had many MRI's and can tell you that each facility is drastically different. Some have open MRI's and some do not. The open ones take just a little bit longer, they will tell you it's about an hour but it isn't, I think they make less money on them so the centers will usually try to dissuade you from going with them but if you stand your ground it is worth it. Regular MRI machines look like coffins but the Open ones look more like a giant Lifesaver, check out what's available with a Google Search for Open MRI then go to images, the ones I had looked like the photo from WesthillsopenMRI. If I were you I'd call around to a few different centers and inquire about whether or not they have open machines available. I can tell you that the difference between the 2 is night and day.

There are alternatives out there for you, what you are going through is enough of a stress, your test should be as comfortable as possible.