Opthalmologist Update

Hi guys

I have been to see an opthalmologist this week and it seems I have a few issues regarding my eye functioning. It was no surprise really since I have always felt that my eye movements have been wrong ever since that life changing morning I woke up to spinning vertigo. My eye sight and eye health are great which is always nice to know but there are slight abnormalities in  the way my eyes work together and move.

I should say that my eyes have always been in good health with no abnormalities present until I was hit with Vertigo back in 2007.

Below is the basics of what I was told by my opthalmologist this week:

1. I definitely have slight nystagmus when looking hard left and hard right. This is no surprise to me since I have been told this many time before. This started after the very first attack of vertigo back in 2007 and is still present to this day. It is not at all noticeable when looking at me.

2.My eyes now apparently want to wander outwards away from each other. This is a fairly common issue for people. It is not noticeable when looking at me.

3.The way my eyes zoom in and out is now slightly abnormal. This has been obvious to me all these years. When I use to do vestibular rehab and had to follow my finger in and out my vision was and is very slow to zoom from a close object to a distant object. It just does not feel quick and easy anymore.

4.This one concerns me a little. I know have a slight abnormality in the way my eyes move up and down.

5.This has nothing to do with the dizziness but I also have a recurrent corneal erosion (they should just call it agony) and have been advised to use Lacri lube in my eye before bed every night indefinitely.

So there you have it 4 different issues effecting my eye functioning at all times. Simply put my eyes cannot keep a steady gaze to far right or far left. They want to drift apart. They are not efficient at zooming in and out and the up and down movement of my eyes have some sort of issue going on. Basically my eyes don't work efficiently in any direction it seems. Fabulous.

No bloody wonder I cannot track movement without feeling like I'm falling and the world bounces and sways. No wonder I get headaches and strained eyes. No wonder I always feel like I am having to work at looking out at the world rather than it feeling easy and natural. No wonder I can't maintain a steady gaze.

I was not told if my eyes are causing the vertigo nor was I told that my suspected vestibular migraine was causing the weird eye issues. It seems to me that the vestibular attack I had all them years ago has done something to my eye functioning.I have always felt this. Might I still have a vestibular problem that is the root cause of my eye problems? or might it be that my eyes are now the root cause for my vertigo? I still don't know unfortunately but I do know they have certainly got to be playing a major role in this madness.

I had a thorough eye examination and there was a lot of writing and notes which are now passed on to another consultant but I was not told much except for the above. I do remember being told that unsteadiness in the dark tends to be inner ear related (I am very unsteady in the dark). I wish I had asked more questions or listened harder looking back but don't we all.

Anyway I have another appointment with them in 2 months to firstly get a small eye cyst removed and then to look further into my eye functioning issues and the dizziness.

So guys if you are dealing with vertigo and chronic dizziness I suggest you go see an eye specialist (not optician). An opthalmologist. I wish I had done this years ago because my eyes have felt wrong all these years.You would think that out of all the doctors and consultants I have seen one would have advised me to get my eyes examined by a specialist considering how vital a role the eyes are to the vestibular system and the fact that consultants in the past have diagnosed me with slight nystagmus (a binocular vision diorder).

One more thing. I have been using gabapentin these last 3 years for my suspected migraine associated vertigo. I mentioned in an earlier post that I had read somewhere that Gabapentin is used to help calm nystagmus. The opthalmologist confirmed this so it makes me wonder even more that the reason I have been having more tolerable moment these past few years is because the medication is treating my nystagmus and maybe not suspected migraine. I don't know I am lost. I really am.

My eyes and ears are the bane of my life.

I 'll be back

Swimmyhead