Eye Problems

[vantec]

Does anyone with ALS have blurry vision? I know it is common to have dry eyes, but what about having trouble focusing their eyes?

Conrad

[CindyM]

Hi Conrad - my eyesight is definately worse but this could be due to the fact that I am long overdue for a checkup. (I've worn eyeglasses since I was a little kid.) I have an appoointment scheduled next week so we will see then...I'll let you know if the Doc notices anyhting unusual. Cindy

[vantec]

Hi Conrad - my eyesight is definately worse but this could be due to the fact that I am long overdue for a checkup. (I've worn eyeglasses since I was a little kid.) I have an appoointment scheduled next week so we will see then...I'll let you know if the Doc notices anyhting unusual. Cindy

Hi Cindy,

Thanks for answering my question. My problem is that if I look at the computer for over 1 hour, and then when I look at the TV or outside, my vision is blurred. If I watch TV for a few hours, then I can't read a magazine very well. Does this happen to you?

Conrad

[CindyM]

If our muscles are weak then all sorts of things can go wrong. I'm a little fuzzy on my anatomy but don't we have small muscles in the eyes that help us focus? I suppose these muscles can get overtired and not funciton as well...just a thought.

Maybe if others have had this problem they will weigh in with solutions. Does it help to keep large text on the computer screen in the theory that if you give make it easier on your eyes they will not tire as quickly?

[quadbliss]

Hi Conrad,

I experience exactly what you describe. I have not found any solutions yet, nor spoken to a professional. :confused:

Mike

[lunarruna]

It certainly may be due to ALS, but I am not sure...one other thing is that blurred vision is a side-effect of many drugs PALS take, e.g., amitriptyline, scopalamine, robinul, and probably quite a few others, so just be sure and check through your drug regime for anything that may be causing it.
My husband has been having trouble getting his eyes open when he wakes up in the morning, for a few minutes, and also lots of burning and stinging when they water when he yawns for example....lately I've been worrying that the muscles of his eyes ae somehow affected. He says it is harder to blink now too, so they probably are affected.

Cheers, Beth (CALS to Shannon, dxed 8/04 at age 40)

[quadbliss]

Hi Beth,

I have also battled the painful eye thing, but I have made some progress on that front. I finally concluded that the problem was due to two issues. First, my eyes don't blink with normal efficiency. they blink much slower, and unless I force them, they don't close all the way. This results in dry eyes, which causes thicker tears. These tears dry on the eyelids and can block tear ducts. Second, because I don't take regular showers (washing with soap then flooding with water until soap and eye crusties are gone), the build up of dried tears is never completely removed.

To solve these problems we have added another ritual to our morning routine. Before I open my eyes in the morning, Jen wipes my lids with a warm, damp wash cloth. I then open them and she puts a drop of non-medicated, non-thickened, lubricating tears in each eye. I blink a few times and wait for them to dry on the edges of my lids. I can actually feel the old crystallized tears migrating across my eyes and accumulating around the edges. We repeat the wiping and drops several times during our morning routine until my eyelids no longer feel stiff, usually 5 to 10 times. It is not perfect, but results in a far less painful day.

Mike

[BWk]

Mike, Have you tried a humidifier at night?

[quadbliss]

No, but that was just recommended to me, and I intend to try it. Thanks.

Mike

[Rhonda]

My eye doctor plugged one tear duct in each eye and I use liquid gel drops at night before I go to bed. I had lasik surgery which does'nt help dry eyes and now with als is kinda a double wamy on the eyes. Rhonda

[janf]

It certainly may be due to ALS, but I am not sure...one other thing is that blurred vision is a side-effect of many drugs PALS take, e.g., amitriptyline, scopalamine, robinul, and probably quite a few others, so just be sure and check through your drug regime for anything that may be causing it.
My husband has been having trouble getting his eyes open when he wakes up in the morning, for a few minutes, and also lots of burning and stinging when they water when he yawns for example....lately I've been worrying that the muscles of his eyes ae somehow affected. He says it is harder to blink now too, so they probably are affected.

Cheers, Beth (CALS to Shannon, dxed 8/04 at age 40)
Thank you beth My eyes are on fire when i yawn and tear. paxil low dose has helped my yawning 80% thus no tearing. my eye also some times will stick when i talk sometimes electricity like feeling will run through them THEY ALSO GET BLURRY. janf

[vantec]

Hi Conrad,

I experience exactly what you describe. I have not found any solutions yet, nor spoken to a professional. :confused:

Mike

Hi Mike,

Well, that clinches it. I have been living the last 7 months with progressive weakness, muscle twitching all over my body, have muscle atrophy in my hands, neck, legs and buttocks. I've lost over 30 pounds, but I eat as much as I always have (although food doesn't taste as good as it use to), painful cramps if I sit down for more than 1/2 hour, or cross my legs, in my lower back, and I even have to be careful how I lay my arms down, or they will cramp, my voice is nasal, and I have troble sometimes swallowing, and the back of my throat feels very hard. I can still walk, but my legs feel like they weight 300 pounds, and I am unsteady, have lost my balance, and fell on my left arm, and cut it real bad. I feel trapped in my own body, and I know it is only going to get worse. Breathing is starting to get labored, and just in the last two weeks, my eye's are dry and can't focus well.

I am not on any drugs, and I have been to the ER 2 times, and I have seen my GP and two of the top Neurologists, and had blood and urine work, a EMG, and a CK test. All came back normal! My family doesn't believe I have any problem, nor do any of the doctors.

What can you do, when no one believes you have serious muscle disorder (most likely ALS), and suffer terribly? The cramps are very painful, and at least they can give you medication for that. I don't sleep well because of the pain, and so I get very tired during the day. I am at my wits end, and am thinking of just giving up, and lay in bed all day.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I feel like the only way a doctor will dx me, is when I can't walk anymore.

Conrad

[quadbliss]

Hi Conrad,

I don't know where you live, but I would say you need to seek out a facility that specializes in ALS so you can get a proper diagnosis. Personally, I don't think you should give up and lay in bed all day. After I got over the initial shock of the diagnoses, I began to live a more meaningful life. I set out on an inward journey that is leading me on a very fulfilling path. If you even have ALS, it doesn't have to be a purely negative experience.

Hang in there.

Mike

[levonne]

Does anyone with ALS have blurry vision? I know it is common to have dry eyes, but what about having trouble focusing their eyes?

Conrad
Hi Conrad, my stepmum who has MND had problems with her eyes, she had a check up2 weeks ago and needed some glasses, she was experiencing double vision, this happened when she was reading and watching the telly. Hope this helps
cheers
Yvonne NZ

[vantec]

Hi Conrad, my stepmum who has MND had problems with her eyes, she had a check up2 weeks ago and needed some glasses, she was experiencing double vision, this happened when she was reading and watching the telly. Hope this helps
cheers
Yvonne NZ

Hi Yvonne,

I'm sorry, what is MND? I hope this can help me. Thanks.

Conrad

[Al]

MND is motor neuron disease. Some countries such as New Zealand call ALS and other disorders under the same heading of MND. AL.

[emjoi]

[EDIT: What he said up there ^^^]
MND is ALS. "Motor Neuron Disease" is "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis"
You wacky Americans have a different name for everything.

[Al]

Actually I'm Canadian. AL.

[CindyM]

Hello everybody. I have a new symptom so I returned to this old thread to see if I am alone. I'm getting double vision from time to time. Anyone other than levonne Step Mum ever had double vision? Just curious...And maybe hoping that this is a symptom fo somethign other than ALS!;)