Dizziness with Eye Movement

[MissNeverWell]

Does anyone have trouble with eye tracking and dizziness in the eye when looking to the far right or left? I'm having particular difficulty with my right eye, particularly the sclera (white of the eye). The muscles feel pulled, which gives a slightly out of focus feeling, and soreness, scratchiness and sometimes ache. I have been diagnosed with dry eyes in the past.

A few years ago, I had some kind of medical episode after taking a photo of a sunset - flashing lights, floaters and indescribable symptoms that made my eye feel abnormal. It was eventually chalked up to a vitreous detachment. The acute symptoms died down but I continue to have floaters intermittently. Then they started in my left eye. The eye doctor said it was related to age.

Lately, whenever I turn my right eye to the side and back when I'm combing my hair, I get dizzy in that eye. It also feels like the right side of that eye is hard to steer/focus, like a steering wheel that is off (it's the best way I can describe it). Just wondering if fibromyalgia can affect the nerve endings in the muscles of the eye and cause trouble focusing.

 

[BlueBells]

Hi @MissNeverWell

Honestly, I'd get that checked as soon as you possibly can, either doctor or optometrist, and if it relates to the other, they will advise you.

Sight is something where it's way better to be on a wild goose chase than overlook something that may be more serious.

My cataracts are gradually moving to operation stage, but not there yet. I get some odd things, but not what you describe though.

Let's know how you get on.

Take care, hugs

 

[sunkacola]

I agree with BlueBells that you need to get this checked out by an ophthalmologist, (not optometrist, as they primarily prescribe glasses and would likely only refer you to the specialist), as soon as possible. This is not something that people report as a symptom of fibromyalgia, and it could be serious. Actually, to my thinking, anything that is affecting your eyes is potentially serious, as eyes are so delicate and so important. Go see someone and let us know how it goes.

 

[MissNeverWell]

Update: Further complications with the eyes resulted in going to a church friend's family doctor, who made an appointment for both of us. Just my luck - the same clinic where I declined the Meet and Greet family doctor because she did not demonstrate any interest in working with me on environmental illness. However, at least it was a different doctor.

So, my eyes: it scared the living daylights out of me when I was wearing my sunglasses and walking to church, during which time I could not focus on objects or printed signs (these were a new prescription). When I closed either eye, I was able to see the object/print clearly, when I kept both open, it became out of focus/blurred. I thought it might be the sunglasses, so when I got to church, I put on my regular glasses and the same thing happened, particularly if I had to look to the right or left. I found it a strange coincidence that this gone hand in hand with the pain in the back of my head, particularly the occipital bone, and dizziness when I moved my eye to the right and back while brushing my hair. Although, I did have some trouble with these non-polarized, darker sunglasses to begin with.

Long story short, after a cursory read of the eye chart, the doctor determined that my vision was fairly good (although I couldn't make out the letters on the second and third lines), asked if the cataract was ripe enough for surgery (it was not that advanced and I could see fully with my prescription glasses according to my other optometrist) and that the pain in my head was probably the neck muscles or fibromyalgia, she was sure there was no tumour or I would have felt it by now, and a CT scan was not really necessary. When I mentioned I needed the ADP form signed for the hearing aids, she did not offer to sign it, just ignored my statement ( should have been more assertive and ask her if she would fill it out for me, but although my friend was with me, I still felt intimidated and invalidated. I even had a USB (I should have just written the questions and relevant information), and she asked if that was the results of the tests, and I said no, so she couldn't be bothered to take and read it. She wanted notes/reports from my previous optometrist but it would have been difficult and expensive to get them, and I just spent $4.500 on hearing aids. She said otherwise, we'll have to start over again. She did refer me to the optometrist next door, however, and the called me today, but it would cost an additional $200+ because my last eye exam was less than 18 months.

In the meantime, I asked the receptionist if I could change my mind and accept the Meet and Greet doctor as my new GP. So she left the message for her, and I have another meet and greet in a few weeks (she could have got me in earlier but the few available slots conflicted with my schedule). Update - I just got a call from the receptionist to inform me that the doctor I saw yesterday referred me to another eye clinic so I won't have to pay a fee, very nice of her.

Oh, I am so stressed out, scared, and now have come down with sore throat and a bit of a cough (probably picked it up from another resident), and the cold weather combined with no hoodie didn't help on our walk up to the clinic yesterday.

Sorry for the vent, but when it comes to eyes I experience extreme anxiety, which doesn't help the symptoms. I had a lie down when I came home and went to bed early last night and did some eye exercises this morning.

I hope you are all doing as well as can be expected, or, ideally, better.

 

[BlueBells]

@MissNeverWell

I understand regarding eyesight. My cataracts are not operable yet, but they are working on it. I also have a fear with eyesight, I don't know how I'd cope with severely impaired sight.

Wishing you all the best for a good outcome Hugs

 

[MissNeverWell]

@MissNeverWell

I understand regarding eyesight. My cataracts are not operable yet, but they are working on it. I also have a fear with eyesight, I don't know how I'd cope with severely impaired sight.

Wishing you all the best for a good outcome Hugs

Thank you for understanding, BlueBells. Most people, including my sister, don't understand why I'm afraid, but that's how my brain is wired; I can't change that any more than I can change the colour of my eyes.

I ended up with a fullblown cold which I'm only now just starting to feel better from, so I've had to cancel a few things this week, one being a trip out to St. Catharine's to visit the optician, who made my sun and regular glasses. He's good - knowledgeable, understading, patient. When I told him my story, he said the first thing that comes to mind is the axis/focal point/how the glasses are fitting on the face, so he booked me in for Friday, which I rescheduled to sometime next week. In the meantime, since being in the apartment and not using my hearing aids/sunglasses much, I've not had much trouble focusing, and I had a break from the head pain. I noticed a very long stratch on my new regular glasses - sigh! - which may have been affecting visual acuity, too. More money gone West; I hope the optician can fix that, or at least tell me that it hasn't affected the lens. Every get the feeling the fates are against you, lol?

 

[BlueBells]

@MissNeverWell

he said the first thing that comes to mind is the axis/focal point/how the glasses are fitting on the face,

Is that the thing where they mark the dot on the lens to position correctly?

I had that, I went to another optometrist, and it was 5mm out! Esplained a lot, and once corrected, I was no longer needing to push the bridge up, (I even put a wad of tissue under them) and yes, it gave me headaches. I'd forgotten that, so hopefully, that will all work out well for you.

Actually, at times I'd feel a bit nauseous, and that stopped with the correct alignment, also.

Hugs

Oh, both optometrists really good, but the staff that did the "spot check" made the mistake. Prescription of the lenses was spot on

 

[MissNeverWell]

@MissNeverWell


Is that the thing where they mark the dot on the lens to position correctly?

I had that, I went to another optometrist, and it was 5mm out! Esplained a lot, and once corrected, I was no longer needing to push the bridge up, (I even put a wad of tissue under them) and yes, it gave me headaches. I'd forgotten that, so hopefully, that will all work out well for you.

Actually, at times I'd feel a bit nauseous, and that stopped with the correct alignment, also.

Hugs

Oh, both optometrists really good, but the staff that did the "spot check" made the mistake. Prescription of the lenses was spot on

Yes, BlueBells, exactly! As much as I feel so ashamed of my overreaction the past week, I'll be relieved if that is the cause of the problem. I'll have him check the axis point on my regular glasses as well (the ones I wear indoors).

Wow! 5mm out. That's how I ended up going to this optician. I had the eye test done in St. Catharine's at a chain monopoly (didn't know it at the time) called FYi Doctors and originally purchased both pairs at their location. However, when I tried them on they were all blurry, really off. The technician did some adjustments, then I went next door to Home Hardware and couldn't read any signs, so I promptly returned. The technician who originally took my measurements was back from lunch, and she saw right away that they glasses were sitting too high on my face. However, despite numerous adjustments, both sets of glasses were way off, so I requested a refund and went to Speer Optical. Paul and his associate were great!

 

[MissNeverWell]

Update on vision fluctuations. In another post I mentioned sudden problems with blurred and double vision/difficulty focusing with my highly shaded, non-polarized sunglasses. When I closed one eye I could focus; the same result closing the other eye. For a number of weeks and months prior, I would get intermittent pain in the back of the left side of my head (the occipital bone; the occipital lobe of the brain controls vision). Fast forward, after a rather unsatifying trip to a gp along with a visit to my optician (those who make the glasses) during which time my vision was close to normal (my estimate, to them it was the right prescription and the axis was fine), I discovered two leads that may explain what I'm going through (it's like being in the twilight zone - now you "see" it, now you don't, almost quite literally).

The first break was during a follow-up visit with my audiologist, and I explained the recent events. I happened to mention that I feel more off balance and dizzy with my hearing aids in. She confirmed the interconnection between the occipital lobe and vision, but furthermore, she said it sounded like a sensory integration problem with the eyes and ears. I told her the gp chalked it up to tight muscles in the neck, but the pain was more like hitting my head against a sharp object (which I have done on more than one occasion in the past). My audiologist told me about the sternocleidomastoid muscle in the neck, the very large one that bulges out when you tilt your head to the side, which affects balance and integration of the vision and movement. I'm not totally sure if I got it right or not, but I think auditory integration is also part of it. This muscle connects to the clavical and scapula, if I understand correctly, and is closely connected to nerve activity in the upper cervical spine (in the region of the neck). This is interesting given the mild degenerative disc disease in the neck area that showed up on an x-ray. So she wrote up a note for a referral for balance testing to take to a family doctor once I have one (getting very close, have to go back for a second meet and greet before exploring any medical issues). Now why couldn't the g.p. briefly explain these connections when I went last week?

The second information breakthrough I discovered was an article on the Fibromyalgia Action UK by Kathy Longley entitled, "Does Fibromyalgia Affect Eyesight. It was an interview with Dr. Mark Pelligrino (Canton, Ohio) who has fibromyalgia himself. Kathy posted a request to talk with people who have fibromyalgia and also trouble with their vision.

Common vision problems reported include blurred vision, fluctuating visual acuity, misty/filmy characteristic which clouded the vision, dry eyes, eye pain, sensitivity to light, difficulty focusing and visual overload. According to Dr. Pelligrino, "Many patients have to change their glasses prescription frequently because of fibromyalgia-related vision fluctuations and changes in visual acuity. They also find their eyes are particularly sensitive to smoke or that environments with very dry air cause vision difficulty." Kathy describes one interviewee's experiences with vison changes since developing fibromyalgia: Lynette, who had perfect eyesight before developing fibromyalgia, also finds it difficult to focus and struggles with sensitivity to light. "I am very slow at focusing, it always takes a while to re-focus if I have been looking at something close-up and then glance up, I have to blink a few times and wait for things to come back into focus," she explains. "I also experience great sensitivity to light, even on cloudy days when you can't see the sun I will be wearing my sunglasses. If I don't wear tinted glasses I find myself really squinting, I feel dizzy and sick and it is actually painful, sort of like having really bright sunlight directly into your eyes. I struggle with fluorescent lights too and often wear sunglasses indoors." Some experience flashing lights/zigzag patterns (much like occular migraines (without pain) or an aura before a migraine (with pain).

The cause of these symptoms reportedly stem from the postural muscles involved in eyeball movement and focus. When triggers or spasms occur, these muscles don't function properly, resulting in distorted eyesight. "In order for vision to be clear, both eyes must take the same picture at the same time," explains Devin Starlanyl in her book The Fibromyalgia Advocate. "When this doesn't happen, double vision, blurry vision, and/or changing vision can result. Misalignment of the eyes can be caused by trigger points interfering with the muscles that hold the eyeballs in place. Trigger points can be responsible for contracting these muscles at different tensions. Muscle fatigue would make things worse." They can also be the cause of sharp, stabbing pains in the eyeballs.

The article covers additional correlations such as autoimmune disorders like SJogren's and dry eyes associated with fibromyalgia.

Definitely food for thought and less scary than what my imagination was cojuring up when adding 2 and 2 and getting 22.

 

[sunkacola]

Interesting, @MissNeverWell , and thanks for posting that. I have developed severe double vision since developing fibromyalgia. I have never even considered it might have to do with fibromyalgia, and it's an interesting thing to keep in mind. I also have always needed to wear sunglasses, and have difficulty when in buildings that have fluorescent lights. but those things have been an issue for me my whole life.