Vision Symptoms- 1st Time
 

Hello everyone,

My name is Eddie and I was diagnosed with MG in 2009. I was positive for the blood test. I only had bulbar symptoms (speech and breathing issus) so it was very hard finding out the cause. I am a 26 year old man so I also didn't fit the typical age group. I have had the same neurologist through the entire process and I have been fortunate enough to not have to take medicine because of my mild symptoms. As of Thursday, I started noticing some vision problems. My central field of vision seemed to be oscillating or was a bit wavy. I noticed that when I would stare at certain patterns or even text, my eyes lose focus on these items and they seem to move. From what I understand this may be nystagmus, I'm not sure. I'm reaching out because I do have some minor blurred vision and my vision is somewhat wavy. I don't know if this is normal or not. I went to an eye doctor on Saturday and ordered glasses. He said I have an astigatism in both eyes, but even when I was fitted for the proper script I was still seeing this wavy almost double vision effect. I went to the ER today and they did a CT scan which was clean. I am going to call my doctor tomorrow. Is this a normal vision symptom? I'm kind of scared. My anxiety level has been at it's highest point and I keep having panic attacks about all of this stuff (it's hard to ignore this symptom when I need to read fine text). I don't know if the vision is anxiety related, but I know our mental health can impact MG.

(I also tried the test where you look up and kind of strain the eye in an upward gaze. My eyelids end up closing completely after 20 seconds as I try to keep them open. Once I relax I am able to open them back up a bit.)

Thank you for any advice you may have.

My vision goes totally blurry by the end of the day. It gets better when I rest.

Thank you for the response :). I'm not at the point where it's completely blurry by the end of the day. Blurred vision is a slight symptoms, but so is this wavy reading sensation when I read text. I'm really freaked out because it doesn't make sense.

I suggest you see a Neuro-Opto they are best with MG. Have you tried covering one eye to see if your vision improves? Doesn't matter which eye.
Mike

I tried that and both eyes are affected. Thank you for the advice Mike. That makes sense I will make an appt tomorrow. Will they be able to determine if this is a normal symptom of MG? Is this classified as a medical doctor, or a doctor that provides glasses? Looking up other Neurological Diseases I can't find anything that exactly matches what I am experiencing, which is puzzling. There is no pain in the eyes, and according to the doctor the retina looked good with zero inflammation.

Hi, Eddie. Welcome!

I agree that a neuro-ophthalmologist would be a good doctor to consult with. They are different than a regular ophthalmologist and do not normally prescribe glasses! Instead of a "generalist" eye doctor, they deal with any neurology-related causes of eye problems.

MG double vision is called "binocular" and will go away if you cover one eye. I think that's what Mike was referring to. Do the wavy lines you describe go away when you close one eye?

There are other causes for eye symptoms that don't have to do with the brain or the retina! ;) Endocrine (i.e., diabetes), circulatory (i.e., antiphospholipid antibody syndrome) or vitamin deficiencies (i.e., B12 and A) can also affect the eyes. A trip to your primary doctor might be helpful too.

What drugs are you on? Drugs can affect your body in ways you might not immediately be aware of.

I think the fear of the unknown can bug us more than the truth. ;) You know stress isn't good for MG! Panic attacks can be hard to deal with. Have you seen an expert on them to get ways in which to handle them? There are a LOT of coping skills for them. And not that it's great to be angry but anger and panic can't exist in the body at the same time. A little cold water on the wrists and neck can help, as can saying a mantra of reassuring things to yourself (sometimes over and over), talking to friends, leaving the environment where the panic attack began, etc.

I have MG and astigmatism. I also can't look at bright white and some colors for long. Some eye issues like that are completely normal.

I hope you'll talk to a couple more doctors about this to reassure you and figure out exactly what's going on.

Annie

Eddie, you'll find a neuro-opthalmologist generally practicing out of a teaching hospital. My hubby was diagnosed by one who is part of Will's Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. We got in with him because our bright young local opthalmologist knew immediately what we were dealing with.

You can post a new thread to ask the membership for recommendations - be sure to give the nearest city to you. Or you can call a regular opthalmology (MDs, not optometrists) practice in your area to ask for a name and number or a neuro-opthalmologist (might need an appointment with the regular opthalmologist first, if your insurance works that way).

Try not to get yourself too worked up - it may just be time to start some medication. You've been lucky so far to not need any at all. And yes, the neuro-opthalmologist can prescribe. He/she may also refer you to an MG specialist for a complete work-up (which we found gets you an appointment with the MG specialist faster), but it's nice to have your records with the neuro-opthalmologist, too, in case you need special assistance with glasses.

Hang in there!

Pyridostigmine (mestinon) helps me a lot. My eyes go blurry because the muscles that focus them get tired. It's not that they feel tired; they just don't work. It is annoying because I love to read late at night and I finally just have to stop. I read on my Kindle and put it to large print; I still can only read a little while.

Thank you Annie!

I have an appt. in a week and a half with a Neuro-Opthalmologist in West Palm Beach, FL. I will also follow up with my Neurologist this Thursday. I will keep everyone posted and let everyone know the results. Maybe it will answer someone elses concern in the future. Thanks again everyone.