Hello all. Went to the Opticians yesterday due to the fact that I can’t wear my contacts anymore. I fancy some new lighter glasses and didn’t feel the ones I have are strong enough for me. Plus trouble with double vision, dry gritty eyes.
She confirmed me I have Diplopia (double vision) and could be to do with the ms. She prescribed some stronger lenses and talked about prisms. So is this something you just accept and get on with? been having this double vision for a few weeks and just got on with it. Anyone else get this?
First of all I’m not diagnosed with MS but one of my problems is double vision - also confirmed by optician. I don’t know if my experience is similar to yours but my vision varies from the horrible - where I really can’t drive, watch TV etc - to relatively mild. For me it’s definitely linked to tiredness / fatigue. I’ve opted to make do with my usual prescription for the time being in the hope that it resolves but in the meantime I have been referred to an optometrist and a letter sent to my GP querying systemic cause.
This was one of my first MS signs…I had prisms fitted and was legal to drive thanks to them, but then had to have two other pairs (stronger, then back to normal) over a three month period. Obviously in hindsight I know now this was a relapse. I now keep all my old glasses labelled with their strengths! I’ve had one further eyesight relapse and just pulled out the old glasses until I got back to normal. I’ve have standard lenses for about a year now and had prisms on and off for eight months. Awkward and expensive, but unfortunately I need to be able to drive so had no choice. I did find that my eyes were worse when I was tried or fatigued, but they are fine now. If I concentrated hard I could focus, so maybe they will give you exercises to help. Good luck x
Thank you Katalina for your reply. I hope things get sorted for you soon…the causes of your symptoms are different from mine though.
Hello Choccyyholic. I was diagnosed in august, waiting to see specialist neuro in york a week on monday to see what type of ms I have. So if this is a relapse, I just wait for it to pass…no medication? maybe I should let my gp know?
The Optician suggest I wait and see if the new prescription helps and if not try the prisms. My eyes are usually worse first thing on a morning when I get up. They do feel sore and painful when I’m tired. Thank you for the information, much appreciated. Noreen
If you think it might be a relapse, then it’s worth speaking to someone like your GP (ideally MS nurse, but I guess you might not have one yet). I never had steroids for my eyesight relapses as they both happened before I was diagnosed and it’s only in hindsight that I’ve realised that they were relapses. Steroids can be used to speed up recovery but they won’t affect the overall result - if it’s going to get better, it will with or without them. So really it’s a personal choice - if it’s manageable I would personally go without as steroids have their own side effects which aren’t pleasant! (I’ve only given in to them once due to arm pain and weakness with a relapse). I was told that if it’s a relapse, it appears fairly suddenly (over days) then hits a peak fairly quickly before starting to recede. Any symptoms still present after 12 or so months are most likely permanent damage, two years is pretty much definite. Although with MS there’s nothing definite really! So far my eyes have fully recovered - both times within 3 months but a significant improvement after a few weeks. Fingers crossed yours improve too. PS I can’t wear contacts anymore but I think that’s more to do with tiredness and fatigue that comes with having MS.
I’ll just wait till I see this new neuro and let him know. Hate taking medication My eyes are very dry…apparently I don’t make enough tears. The contacts kept falling out. Thanks again. Take care,
PS; you do have to wonder how long the lesions have been there and all the strange symptoms over the years don’t you?
I have dry eyes and both ‘snotears’ and ‘lacrilube’ are good - the latter for night time. A good tip for night time is to put in the snotears then the lacrilube - the latter seems to ‘seal in’ the snotears…
Hello Jen. No I can’t wear contact anymore. Gp given me Liquifilm drops on prescription which are helping…using them more since putting on central heating. Hate wearing glasses…make me feel all my 57 years Lol
I have dry eyes and use Snotears and lacrilube. I was advised, at night, to put the snotears in first then the lacrilube as the latter seals in the moisture.