I wear contacts, and my eye dr wants me to see a specialist because my vision is changing from one minute to the next.
I told him that I have lyme disease, and that I think that's what is causing it, but he doesn't believe me and wants me to go to a specialist.
He won't give me new contacts until I get this checked out.
Should I go to the specialist or wait to see what my LLMD says?
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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I would wait until you see your new LLMD.
Then, if your LLMD thinks you need to see specialist, get a referral for a LL eye specialist, or at least one whom your LLMD knows well enough and one who, at least, has a clue about lyme.
I think it is important to see a specialist if your eye doctor recommends that. However, I think you are wise enough to know it may do no good if that person is not Lyme Literate.
Not everything is lyme, of course but, for a lyme patient, I don't see how a doctor can offer good evaluation unless they are LL. Your instinct is good about that.
If your LLMD has no suggestions, you might contact your local lyme support group and see about eye specialists who have worked well for other lyme patients.
Vision: Natural Ways to Maintain Eye Health - By Jim English
Excerpt:
. . .
A number of nutrients have been extensively studied for their ability to treat a wide variety of vision-related conditions by preventing the damage caused by free radical activity and by enhancing the delivery of blood and oxygen to the retina to help repair tissues
. . . .
There is a special lens that helps those with dyslexia - it may also help with lights - and with a variety of color choices, depending on individual choice:
You might also want to look at the DVD/book called "YOGA FOR YOUR EYES" - I think you can find their own website with a google search. It is also at Amazon.
You can see a few video clips on You Tube, too.
You can also check out the original work by Bates: Better Eyesight Without Glasses. But I really like the DVD and the exercises are sort of fun.
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Posted by backintherain (Member # 14385) on :
Keebler has very good advice!
My local opthamologist happens to be lyme literate, so it was a great relief to see someone who is aware of the effects of Bb on the eyes. However, he still didn't have much to say about my loss of vision in one spot of one eye. Perhaps there was not much to be done about that.
good luck!
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
Without knowing more about your eye symptoms and very specific eye testing there is no way to know what is going on with your vision. Since your appointment is only a couple of weeks away you will probably be ok to wait for direction from the LLMD. Unless it is a medical emergency I doubt you could get in to see an eye specialist before your LLMD appointment anyway.
Regardless of the specific problems, Keebler is correct that the best supplements for the eyes are antioxidants. But they must be ones that can cross the blood-brain barrier. In specific things like vitamin e and pycnogenol(pine bark extract) could be helpful. There are a few others as well. I think someone posted a good eye article not too long ago. Might want to do a search here.
Good luck and let us know what your LLMD says.
Bea Seibert
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
kelly,
there is at least 1 of 2 exceptions to this, and this is one of them:
take a sheet of lined paper and then create lines going down every 1/8" to 1/4" . all those boxes and USE A RULER FOR A STRAIGHT LINE.
look at this daily and if the lines become crooked or you don't see them, get to an eye specialist immediately ... your RETINA might be displaced or it's called something like that; sorry neuro lyme fog today.
anyway if it is what i suggested above, WITHOUT IMMEDIATE GOING TO DR. WITHIN 24 HRS. YOU COULD LOSE EYE SIGHT IN THAT EYE !!
i'm sorry and don't mean to scare you; but this is the scary example you must be aware of ok.
if others can think of correct words/phrases; jump in please with them ok. thx good luck to you kelly Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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Betty has great advice and she knows a lot about eyes. I would have hoped your eye doctor would have been more specific if this were an emergency but Betty's experiment is a good warning not to take any chances with our vision.
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Bea also makes an excellent point - Pycnogenol is excellent and a great place to begin. You can do that now.
Also, be sure you are not consuming even a trace of aspartame or MSG. They can do some weird things to eyes and nerves.
Check labels on everything you take. If you don't know what a work means, do a search on google. MSG has many names. Breath mints, toothpastes . . . check everything.
Just in case you've not already done this, you might also check the manufacturer's label for any prescriptions you are taking as to if they affect vision in any way.
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And, inner ear disorders can also affect vision. But, again, those often go with lyme and if lyme is treated, improvement is usually seen.
While not every LLMD has the same approach and your treatment should be somewhat individualized, know that seeing an ILADS-educated or ILADS-member LLMD assures you that they have the same basic knowledge and understanding.
(If you are not sure if your doctor is affiliated with ILADS, be sure to find out before you go. Some very good doctors who are ILADS-educated just might not be members. What you want to be sure of is that you are not going to a doctor who follows the IDSA approach to lyme.)
These links may be helpful to look over before your appointment.
Nutritional Supplements in Disseminated Lyme Disease
J.J. Burrascano, Jr., MD (2008)
Four pages
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While not specifically about eyes, if you can get this book and look over it BEFORE your LLMD appointment, you will save a ton of time as you will be up to speed on many of the concepts and terms of treatment.
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This book, by an ILADS member LLMD, holds great information about treatments options and support measures:
I have a lot of vision problems too. Like you my sight kept changing (for about 4 years) and my eyes were so dry I had to stop wearing my contacts. In addition, my eyes were so blurry I was not able to read sometimes.
Before I was diagnosed I told my eye doctor I thought I had Lyme and that was the basis of my problems. She scoffed so I won't be going back to her. I need to find someone else.
Then when I went to my first LLMD appointment and told the doctor he said that was very probably my problem.
Posted by kellyjk4 (Member # 19731) on :
I'm so thankful for all of you - I've felt so alone for so long, and now I don't.
Thanks for helping me.
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
I went to a neuro-opthalmologist who did complete testing for my eyes and could not find abnormalities in his testing, even tho he had to anesthetize my eyes for me to look at light.
I think the LLMD is a good way to go.
Also, I started drinking mangosteen juice and that cleared up eye symptoms.
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good luck to you kelly ![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)
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