Hi Bloggers,
Horror of horrors, I was just going out jogging just a couple of months ago and I noticed that I was having some difficulty focussing. Anyway, I carried on, but while I was jogging it developed into proper double vision. Obviously, I was worried, but I thought a good night's sleep might sort things. But, alas, it was not to be, it was even worse in the morning and got progressively worse during the day, such that I was seeing two cups and two hands, and a path became one going off to the left and the other going off to the right. I was completely flipping. What the hell had happened?
So I spent a lot of time googling, and worst case scenarios were brain tumour and stroke. So you can understand my anguish. Luckily, I managed to get to see my ophthalmologist, Magrabi in my case. Of course, I needed an MRI scan to confirm it, but they said it was probably not one of those two above because you would almost certainly have other symptoms like headaches and nausea, etc. Although that was reassuring at one level, it didn't change the fact that I was completely debilitated by the double vision. You can't believe how confusing the world is, particularly in a crowd of people, when you've got mega double vision.
Was it going to get better or was I going to be like this for the rest of my life? How was it going to affect my work and social life, etc? All these kind of questions were running through my head. Anyway, what the doctors said was that it was a pinched or inflamed nerve that controls the movement of the eyes. The precise name of the ailment is called Sixth Nerve Palsy, resulting in Diplopia and Strabismus. Strabismus basically means being crossed eyed. And indeed that's how it looked. They said it would heal naturally, but I didn't completely believe them, because there was no change for about a month.
Fortunately, then I noticed that some of my benchmark double images had begun to move a bit closer, and that gave me cause for genuine optimism. Even better, I'm pleased to say that things have improved quite rapidly since then to the point where I'm almost back to normal. I'm sure the special B12 vitamins they gave me helped too.
I'm writing mainly for those who have this condition and have stumbled across my blog through googling. Don't panic, stay calm. It will get better slowly, even if nothing seems to happen the first month or so. What I did was to take several benchmark positions or objects and monitor regularly. Eye exercises, by the way, won't make any difference because it's the nerve not the muscle that is damaged. In fact, if anything they seemed to make it worse temporarily. I also recommend wearing some kind of eye patch or cover on your lenses if you wear glasses to blot out the worst excesses of the side you're bad on.
If you have this problem, please do feel free to contact me and I'll share everything I know.
Sight is our most precious asset. Good luck
Horror of horrors, I was just going out jogging just a couple of months ago and I noticed that I was having some difficulty focussing. Anyway, I carried on, but while I was jogging it developed into proper double vision. Obviously, I was worried, but I thought a good night's sleep might sort things. But, alas, it was not to be, it was even worse in the morning and got progressively worse during the day, such that I was seeing two cups and two hands, and a path became one going off to the left and the other going off to the right. I was completely flipping. What the hell had happened?
So I spent a lot of time googling, and worst case scenarios were brain tumour and stroke. So you can understand my anguish. Luckily, I managed to get to see my ophthalmologist, Magrabi in my case. Of course, I needed an MRI scan to confirm it, but they said it was probably not one of those two above because you would almost certainly have other symptoms like headaches and nausea, etc. Although that was reassuring at one level, it didn't change the fact that I was completely debilitated by the double vision. You can't believe how confusing the world is, particularly in a crowd of people, when you've got mega double vision.
Was it going to get better or was I going to be like this for the rest of my life? How was it going to affect my work and social life, etc? All these kind of questions were running through my head. Anyway, what the doctors said was that it was a pinched or inflamed nerve that controls the movement of the eyes. The precise name of the ailment is called Sixth Nerve Palsy, resulting in Diplopia and Strabismus. Strabismus basically means being crossed eyed. And indeed that's how it looked. They said it would heal naturally, but I didn't completely believe them, because there was no change for about a month.
Fortunately, then I noticed that some of my benchmark double images had begun to move a bit closer, and that gave me cause for genuine optimism. Even better, I'm pleased to say that things have improved quite rapidly since then to the point where I'm almost back to normal. I'm sure the special B12 vitamins they gave me helped too.
I'm writing mainly for those who have this condition and have stumbled across my blog through googling. Don't panic, stay calm. It will get better slowly, even if nothing seems to happen the first month or so. What I did was to take several benchmark positions or objects and monitor regularly. Eye exercises, by the way, won't make any difference because it's the nerve not the muscle that is damaged. In fact, if anything they seemed to make it worse temporarily. I also recommend wearing some kind of eye patch or cover on your lenses if you wear glasses to blot out the worst excesses of the side you're bad on.
If you have this problem, please do feel free to contact me and I'll share everything I know.
Sight is our most precious asset. Good luck
