posted
Hi, About 6 weeks ago I had a episode of DV that lasted for 4.5 hrs. My LLMD told me to go to the ER immediately after 10 mins. Long story short, after battling some odd protocol with my insurance company, they let me see an out-of network Opthomologist. She was terrific and was well aware of Lyme causing DV.
She wants me to go see a neuro now, she believes it is the LD causing the DV, not the Plaquinil. I already hada a CAT, it came back 'normal'.
Has anyone else gone through this and care to share their experiences, please? Thank you.
-------------------- When you reach your "wits-end" remember this: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 Posts: 397 | From Loudoun County Virginia | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
I don't know yet. Hopefully after the MRI, and between my llmd, opthomologist and neuro, they can do something. My eyesight in my left eye seems to be the main problem. It has gone down hill quickly in the last 6 weeks. But it comes and goes....weird.
-------------------- When you reach your "wits-end" remember this: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 Posts: 397 | From Loudoun County Virginia | Registered: Mar 2007
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adamm
Unregistered
posted
An MRI was ordered for me about a month into my illness. I was
undoubtedly suffering from encephalopathy, but they found
nothing in it.
You sould see if you can get a SPECT instead; any
pathology will be much more apparent in one of those.
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dmc
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5102
posted
hope the don't find lesions...then neuro will lable you MS. Just remember MS is a symptom...lyme can cause lesions, thus cause "MS".
I'm sure your llmd will not "lable" you that.
Posts: 2675 | From ct, usa | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
Diplopia (double vision) is very common in Lyme. You might want to find a "behavioral optometrist" or "neuro optometrist". They address diplopia with prism glasses and visual exercises, something most ophthmalogists & optometrists don't do.
Posts: 621 | From US | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
Visual is my middle name! (Well first name really, but give me a break)
Yes. Double vision has been here since the beginning.
Mine has improved slightly, but not to the extent that would make me happy.
I had an MRI prior to finding out that I had Lyme, because the duck thought my vision problems were due to Optic Neritius which can indicate MS.
My MRI was totally normal, even though I couldn't see well enough to sign my consent to treatment form at the diagnostic imaging center. So... the MRI didn't find what was causing my visual problems.
Yours may not either. Don't be surprised if you have a clear scan. If you do have a clear scan, then use that as information to put in the back of your mind when you start to question what is causing you to have such bad visual issues.
A clear MRI is a nice warm fuzzy that you don't have a MAJOR problem. (ie tumors etc.) So.. relax, and enjoy the noisey machine.
Are they doing to do a contrast scan? (They will inject a contrast material that shows the blood flow in your brain on the MRI) It's nice to have both a contrast and a non contrast scan for your medical file.
-------------------- 26 months of treatment. And counting....... Posts: 298 | From Northeast Kansas | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
I had double vision in august 2004 that lasted about 2-3 days. I had meningitis, high fever. The doctor thought it might be from the medications I was given, reglan and fenergan. A few days later I got a LP, then got worse and was hospitalized for 5 days with pluero-pericarditis and heart failure. I had had lyme in 95, and think this was a re-infection, but wasn't treated because they thought my positive tests were from the infection in 95 (even though I had tested negative from 95 up until 2004)
Then in Jan 05, I got another episode of double vision. this time I went to the ER and the doctor there was really excited and said it was "real double vision" which I am not sure what he meant. maybe he meant not caused by medication? he called in a neuro-opthamologist, who left his practice in the middle of his busy day to come and see my "real double vision" and he diagnosed it as 4th cranial nerve palsy. I started having severe headaches that lasted several months, and also had bell's palsy around that time.
since then I have had a few short episodes, mostly in the morning when i first wake up. i still have neuro exam showing mild 4th cranial nerve palsy, so it is probably permanent but not severe like it was at first.
Posts: 615 | From maryland | Registered: Oct 2007
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posted
Hi, 'vertical' double vision for me, almost since the beginning. Comes and goes, is somewhat fleeting. When I first started getting ill, I had tons of eye and face-related symptoms: twitching, wriggling, stabbing pain coming from the back to the front of the eye, incredible pressure above the eyes.
Now I have almost a constant left-eye twitch, and the vertical 2X from time to time (not as much as at first). I went to a few optho, including a neuro one who specializes in MS cases. Other than newly-horrible depth perception, there were never any 'findings'.
BUT - vertical double, loss of light/dark contrast, loss of accuity, and loss of color vividness/difference - 'grayed out' vision - are what I've got. Not that there's any problem!!!
Many, many of my other Lyme symptoms have improved; but so far (9 mos into abx), the brain & the eyes are not really a lot better. My LLMD has told me many times that often these are the slowest to come back. Meaning it encouragingly: he HAS seen them come back often.
MS investigations are negative & though I do have some big old lesions on the brain, they have been handicapped at around 1 % likely to turn out to be MS. So I think yeah, Lyme can really affect the eyesight, including causing double vision. And should improved with treatment.
Good Luck -
onthemend
Posts: 314 | From east coast | Registered: Oct 2007
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posted
If it makes you feel any better, I have Lyme for 12 years (just began treatment) and I have a slew of visual problems: side vision often appears double, decreased peripheral vision, lazy-eyes, extreme nearsightedness, bouts of severe blurred vision, nystagmus (jerky-eye movements), tiring of muscles around eyes, motion-sick just from looking at things... I lived in fear for a long time that these things meant MS, which my Mother had. It just goes to show you how much havoc Lyme can wreak.... Take care:)
Posts: 209 | From maryland | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
I have double vision (horiz) and I am sick of it. I've gone from being a very good driver to feeling like a little old lady on the road...at least on my bad days.
Is there any one thing besides antibio treatment to help?
LM
Posts: 212 | From Eastern CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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posted
I am sorry to hear your vision is funky. I've had a lot of vision symptoms including verticle double vision, after-images all the time, floaters, bright spots, and visual snow.
I saw two opthamologist. One told me that everything looked ok, but obviously something was going on. My neurologist sent me for MRI's and a second opinion with another neuro-othamologist. This doc told me I was just having migraines. Umm, these were not the typical visual side-effects of migraines.
Since the visual stuff started, the double vision has become more rare, and I have hope that the visual snow and afterimages will eventually go away with treatment. I'm only on day seven of treatment.
The MRI may not pick anything up, but it's good to have that stuff in your record, for future reference. Good luck!
-------------------- Mountaingirl
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson Posts: 138 | From West Virginia | Registered: Sep 2007
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hshbmom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9478
posted
I didn't realize double vision was an emergency.
Or is it only if it lasts more than 10 minutes?
My 11 and 14 year old lymies complained of double vision and blurry vision at times. I've had double vision in one eye recently, but it didn't last long...only a minute or two.
It was interesting...I thought, "So that's what they mean by double vision."
LLMD attributed it to treatment...I assume he meant a hers...a new symptom that appeared during treatment.
My vision has been slowly getting worse...don't know if it's my age or Lyme. I'm over 40. I'm ready for my 3rd prescription in 1 year. I haven't had it checked recently, but can tell it.
Anyone had a visual contrast study? I may not have the name right...
How do they do it? Who does it? What does it tell you?
Posts: 1672 | From AL/WV/OH | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
I have visual snow, floaters, sensitivity to light, and other weird eye disturbances due to borreliosis. I have been to 3 different eye doctors and not one of them said that they could find a thing wrong. The last eye doc even said that he could see my floaters.. lol ! His last words before I left his office were "I dont know what to tell ya bud" I have dealt with minor double vision now for several years due to lyme... I wish you luck... One day I had finally to come to terms that the doctors werent gonna figure it out.
[ 24. October 2007, 02:38 PM: Message edited by: wolfgangdl ]
Posts: 15 | From Tulsa | Registered: Oct 2007
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