Double Vision

[Dorothea]

Has anyone had problems with double vision? I've had four episodes in the last month. It lasts between ten to twenty minutes. It feels strange, luckily it has not happened while driving! Please let me know if anyone has had this same issue. Also I started taking Methotrexate(15 mg.) on November 27. (once a week) My double vision started on November 12th.

[annekat]

I have had some double vision. If I close one eye it goes away and I see normally out of either eye alone. It seems to happen when I'm tired or have had too much coffee. It doesn't just last for 20 minutes and then stop. It feels like the eye muscles have gotten weak, the ones that allow the two eyes to work together. Sometimes if I try hard I can bring the two images back together. It happens more with distant images than up close, for example, it never happens with the computer screen. I know I'm way overdue for a eye exam and prescription change for my glasses, regardless of having Wegs. But I know I should have it checked out and just haven't gotten around to it. It's been going on for at least a year and I've gotten used to it. I have been taking methotrexate for about a year and a half but don't know whether there could be any connection.

[Dorothea]

annekat, thanks for responding so quick to my question. How much methotrexate do you take? and do you have any side affects from it?

[annekat]

I am on 15mg/wk, not a very high dose. I was on 10mg. for a few months and had a flare, so it was raised. I just have a little nausea and fatigue, not much really, I split the dose and take 4 pills at night before bed and 2 the next day. If I get up in the middle of the night, I feel a little woozy. Before the MTX I was on CTX for about 8 months. I'm now on 8-10mg. prednisone a day, trying to taper down to 5mg.

[SpaceflightAddict]

I had some episodes of double vision just before my diagnosis, and for about two weeks after.

It was caused by the damage and related swelling in the left side of my face, and as the swelling went down, my double vision went away.

Looking through your posts, it looks to me like you have sinus issues on the left side. Have you had any appointments with an ENT to take a look up your nose? Once all the funky stuff was cleared from my sinuses, and I was irrigating them regularly, my vision issues cleared up.

How are your sinuses acting now? Are you having any nosebleeds or trouble breathing through your nose?

[annekat]

Andy, I know your reply was for Dorothea, but I'm taking note of your suggestion... I get lazy about the sinus rinses and tend to do them only once a day, though multiple times in that session. Perhaps there is still stuff in there that could cause problems with my vision, which had never occurred to me. I haven't been to my ENT in a long time, but if I did, I imagine he'd be in there in a flash, pulling stuff out....

[SpaceflightAddict]

Andy, I know your reply was for Dorothea, but I'm taking note of your suggestion... I get lazy about the sinus rinses and tend to do them only once a day, though multiple times in that session. Perhaps there is still stuff in there that could cause problems with my vision, which had never occurred to me. I haven't been to my ENT in a long time, but if I did, I imagine he'd be in there in a flash, pulling stuff out....

I got negligent in my rinsing regiment for one day a few weeks ago... I went out of town for one day, and forgot my supplies. The next day I paid for that mistake in PAIN, and when I finally got home and did my rinse, some nice crusties came out the size of which I had not seen in over a month.

I think the dry air this winter is not helping any, but as long as I keep up on my nasal hygiene, the problems stay away.

[SpaceflightAddict]

One other thing came to mind while I was thinking about double vision...

When I was in the hospital and they were giving me opiate pain killers (oxycodone) double vision seemed happened to me a lot more than it did when not on them.

I stopped taking those as soon as I was discharged from the hospital, and the rate of occurrence seemed to go down overnight.

[crackers]

I had an episode of double vision 3 or 4 years ago which lasts for about 3 weeks.i saw the consultant at the eye hospital and he ran numerous tests but could not find any abnormalities.he told me he had seen a few Weggies with double vision and in his experience it would go as quickly as it came and sure enough he was right.he said it reoccur at some point but up to now it hasn't.
john.

[annekat]

I do feel that caffeine consumption may exacerbate my double vision. And I mainly mean coffee. I must have my large morning cup, but I feel that if I limit my intake later in the day, it helps the problem. I'm not sure about this, just a vague observation, could be something else entirely. Andy, interesting about the oxycodone. It shows that some drugs or other could be a cause. And caffeine is a drug.