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Eastendgirl

Double Vision

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Stressed
Eastendgirl

I've had previous episodes of Optic Neuritis and loss of colour vision, both went back to normal eventually. But I've now had double vision for the past 17 months and have had to use a prism on my glasses to enable me to get around and continue driving. The eye clinic have been great but they seemed to think that the problem would have cleared up after a few months... this hasn't happened and because it isn't stable, they are reluctant to recommend I get the prism incorporated into my glasses in case it changes again.

 

Has anyone else experienced this problem and if so, how long did it last/or is it a permanent issue I just have to get used to?

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Procrastinating
Stumbler

Hi, I had double vision quite a few years ago. I too had a temporary prism fitted to my glasses, which made the world look right again.

 

But, I visited that Optometrist (I think that was her title?) every two months. And every two months, the strength of the prism was reduced, thereby training my eyes back to where they should be.

 

Prisms are now a distant memory for me.

 

I hope they can "train" your eyes back to normal.

 

:moonieman:

  • Like 1

John aka Stumbler (as I do fall over!)

Illegitimi non carborundum

 

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming... "Wow! What a ride!"

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Downwards

Hi eastendgirl and stumbler,

 

I also have had double vision for 2 or 3 years now..maybe longer (I have trouble telling distances in time) when I read your posts last week..I was really excited to read about the 'prisms' altho' I am under an consultant eye specialist at the hospital I'm not due to see him til October so as I was due a regular eye test at the Opticians on Saturday I thought wow I'm going to see about the possibility of getting these prisms incorporated into my reading glasses..when I mentioned it to the Optician she asked me how I coped with my double vision I said I close one eye to see things clearly (ish) she said..just carry on doing that!! : (( ah well I'll mention it to the consultant in October...fingers crossed eh.

 

fran x

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Sluggish
Marina

I've had a prism for the past 11 years, which was prescribed by an orthoptist as I'm slow to focus and had intermittent blurry vision and slight double vision, all of which she put down to a problem "in my brain" or, in other words, MS. I've just had an eye test at the optician's and the optometrist said she was removing the prism as, for some odd reason, my distance (not reading) vision has improved a lot and she felt I no longer had double vision. I'm a tad cautious about it, as I didn't have the prism for double vision alone. I'll see how I go along...

 

To aid any confusion over who's who when it comes to vision:

- Optometrist = the person (at an optician's) who does eye tests.

- Ophthalmologist = eye specialist.

- Orthoptist = "squint doctor", specialises in eye muscles and so on.

 

As far as I know, an orthoptist is usually the best person to asses things like double vision, nystagmus etc. In my case, the ophthalmologist referred me to the orthoptist. Normally (I think), an ophthalmologist would be the one to diagnose ON, following tests via a (consultant?) optometrist. A consultant optometrist would carry out tests such as VERs. It was the ophthalmologist who also referred me to a consultant optometrist for VERs and other vision tests.

 

Nevertheless, it was the optometrist at the optician's who first saw my ON, on two separate occasions, but it didn't come up in the VER I had a short while after. The ophthalmologist later said I probably had ON despite the VER not showing it.

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Marina

(belated DX in June '05, SPMS)

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Downwards

My mind is boggled now lol..just checked and it's an Ophthalmologist I see at the hospital..I'll run it past him anyway..if all else fails I'm sure he'll point me in the right direction.

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Sluggish
Marina

An ophthalmologist should indeed point you in the right direction, Fran. He’s at the top of the “hierarchy” of eye doctors and so will be able to refer you, if he thinks it necessary, to either an optometrist (in a hospital not at an optician’s) or to an orthoptist.

 

What is an Ophthalmologist?

https://www.rcophth.ac.uk/about/what-is-ophthalmology/what-is-an-ophthalmologist/

 

Orthoptist

https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/allied-health-professionals/orthoptist

  • Like 2

Marina

(belated DX in June '05, SPMS)

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Stressed
Eastendgirl

Update to original post:

 

My double vision had been stable for nearly a year, so I took the decision to have the prism incorporated into my glasses. That was back in April this year. Everything was fine... (I could almost forget about it while I had my glasses on - not being aware of a temporary stick on prism)... until it wasn't... Recently I've been having intermittent break through double vision even with the incorporated prism. I'm hoping it's just a temporary glitch brought on by extreme stress; but wondering if I should go back to the eye clinic to get it checked out. Can't afford another pair of glasses again yet, so would have to go back to stick on prism. 

Am wondering if I just see how it goes before leaping in feet first. 

 

Any thoughts? 

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Procrastinating
Stumbler

I would go back to the eye clinic. Yes, your double vision could be getting worse, or, it might be getting slightly better.

Never accept double vision as a fait accompli or a done deal. A prism, even if stick on, can alleviate the immediate problem. But, if the strength of that prism was decreased slightly every couple of months, you can train the eyes back to where they should be.

 

:moonieman:


John aka Stumbler (as I do fall over!)

Illegitimi non carborundum

 

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming... "Wow! What a ride!"

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Stressed
Eastendgirl

We already tried decreasing the prism strength last year. It wasn't successful. When the clinic decided the vision was stable, they suggested the prism was incorporated into the lenses. I've now had double vision for 2 years 8 months.
I've not been given any reason to think that the double vision is going to resolve itself after all this time, that I have to learn to live with it. 

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Sluggish
Marina

When the orthoptist suggested I have a prism (see my post #4 above), she did warn me that it might not help 100% and that there might be times when I might still get some double vision. That has proved to be true in my case, and maybe in yours too?

 

According to the MS Trust:

Quote

If you have long lasting double vision, botulinum toxin or surgery can be used to adjust the muscles that control vision to restore the symmetry of your eye position.

MS_RGB_col_300px.png
WWW.MSTRUST.ORG.UK

Double vision (also known as diplopia) can occur in multiple sclerosis when the nerve pathways that control eye movements are damaged. The vision in each eye is usually normal but the nerve damage m
Read more  

 

Might this be something to consider?

 


Marina

(belated DX in June '05, SPMS)

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