Hi all, I am new here, and hoping for some info please. I am after some advice please. I have had double vision since Friday and its awful!! I realise there is nothing that can be done to stop it immediately but if steroids were used is there a time frame in which the steroids need to be used to be most effective, ie immediately, or does it not matter? I had double vision during my first relapse eight years ago and have not had it since and I have forgotten how awful it is. Is it possible to work with double vision ( I do clerical work) does anyone manage it? How long has it lasted for others? I had it for six months last time and can’t imagine living with this for that long again. MS sucks and I feel for everyone out there too. Thanks S
S Yes MS deffinatley does suck - most of the energy out of us 
I had double vision probs 10 years ago now, can’t remember exactly but it was horrendous and lasted 6 weeks had to declare my MS to DVLA at that point and inturn lost my licence for 6 months may as well have took my legs too as there not much use somedays!! I did get my licence back thank god but it is reviewed every 3 years. I don’t know how your going to go on with working with it I certainley couldn’t manage it. Hope it dosen’t last too long Sue xx
Hi,
I have double vision intermittantly, usually worse when stressed or tired. I wear an eye patch which allows me to function ‘normally’ - well I’m allowed to drive as long as I have the patch with me (part of my 3 yr license…). Also have had prisms fitted into my specs which seems to help a bit for reading but I find that only using one eye is easier. Re steroids - I’ve only had them once and that was when my sight in my left eye became very dark and blurred, I was told that, after a week, I should have come earlier but that trying steroids wouldn’t hurt & I did get some benefit. I would advise you to seek medical advice asap as I think using steroids earlier rather than later is best - although I know nothing about timeframes for this…
Hope that helps… Carrie
Oh, and welcome to the site!!!
Hi
I have had double vision on two occasions. The second time it lasted for a few months. I found wearing an eye patch very helpful or sometimes simply closing one eye. I could function fairly normaly like this although I was not driving.
Carol
Double vision is a very complex thing, and it can be part of several neurological conditions. It is usually because the muscles that focus the eyes are not working correctly
It can usually be fixed.
First thing is: does the second image (I prefer this term to double vision - but the correct word is diplopia, Google it) happen
across the board, close up, or at distance?
Next is: does it happen all the time, or only when you are tired?
And: do you normally wear glasses, and what sort?
Finally: how bad is it, and in what direction?
Bi-focals, and close up, usually needs a stick-on prism to effect a reasonable cure (or test) - my wife has just got one.
Most other conditions can be fixed by whole lens prisms (one lens only) - either in bi-focal form (I have one of these) or as single vision glasses. For clerical work only, I would expect that a pair of suitable reading glasses would get you by.
And, just in case you have not picked up the hint from Sue, I do hope that you have told the DVLaq and your insurance company about having MS. The Insurance Co do not need to know about the eyesight problem, and the DVLA will ask whatever questions they feel like asking at the time.
Geoff
Thank you so much for the replies. Sue, you made me smile( even though its not funny really) cause I can so relate to that, ms does suck the energy out of us ! Thanks for giving me your experience. Thanks Carrie, I have spoken to ms nurse but she said they need to check for infection (even though I feel fine infection wise it could be hiding apparently) before steroids would be offered so it will be at least a week after onset of symptoms at the earliest. I had steroids with my first attack of double vision but it was some time after the attack stared and they didn’t seem to help at all. Sorry you still get double vision . Hi Carol that’s reassuring, I hope it will settle and I can get on with life too. Thanks Geoff the second image is all the time and I can just about keep focus for typing on ipad close to me although it is an effort like I have to keep pulling eyes into focus. And i have to tilt my head. Everything further away Is totally doubled, so much so it’s very uncomfortable to look in front of me at all. Yes good point about telling dvla I wouldn’t dream of driving while this though, It’s hard enough to walk lol. I go to the hospital today so will see how I get on. Thank you so much for your experiences it helps so much to know I am not alone xx
Dear S
Double vision was my first sign that chaos lay in waiting for me.
It lasted some weeks and I thought it would never go. It did though, and while I was getting to grips with it (freaking my friends out with my independent eye movement) I took to wearing a black eye patch to cover one eye. This gives you straight vision as you are only looking through one eye.
Hoping this may help
Mark
I got referred to an ophthalmologist a few years ago when I was getting double vision. She gave me some eye exercises to build up the strength of my eye muscles and they sorted it out for me.
The two main ones I did would be easy for you to try. The first one involved a strip of card about 9 inches long with a line down the middle and a dot on it every inch & a half or so. I had to hold the card horizontally under my nose so that it pointed away fromme, parallel to the ground. I would have to look at the dot furthest away and try and make it so that I saw just one dot. When I’d done that I’d look away for a few seconds and then do the same thing with the next nearest dot, I’d have to repeat this for each dot until I couldn’t do it any more.
The other exercise was very similar. I’d hold my my arm straight out in front of me and point my finger up. I’d look at my finger and try to make it so I only saw one finger. Then I’d look away for a few seconds, bring my finger a bit closer to me and then repeat. I’d keep doing this, bringing my finger a bit closer each time.
I’d do these a few times a day. I was warned that I might find the double vision would get worse at first, but that was perfectly normal. It’s just like starting going to the gym for the first time - because the muscles have never been exercised like this before, they’ll naturally be very tired at first. But they’ll start to build up their strength, and then you should start to see an improvement. I only needed to do them for a week or so and I found that I didn’t get the double vision any more.
Dan
Fortunately for us, many times vision problems are often temporary and heal on their own. Steroids are sometimes prescribed for optic neuritis and nystagmus. Resting your eyes periodically throughout the day and/or wearing an eye patch can help reduce double vision, and also some drugs and special prisms have been reported to be successful in treating the visual deficits caused by nystagmus.
Wish you all well and stay optimistic!
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