Myasthenia Gravis Support Group
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular disease leading to fluctuating muscle weakness and fatiguability. The hallmark of myasthenia gravis is muscle weakness that increases during periods of activity and improves after periods of rest. Although myasthenia gravis may affect any voluntary muscle, muscles that control eye and eyelid movement, facial expression, and...
You know how you're so used to some things you just never think about them? All these years I've had symptoms of MG (still struggling with diagnosis, ugh), my eyes were always the least of my problems. Mostly my eyes always felt tired, super tired, heavy, one more so than the other. Not until the last couple of years did I start looking at my face when I felt this. They've gotten worse with all the other symptoms, and my left eye noticeably struggles to stay open and often the surrounding muscles fall too. Very photogenic, haha!
But it was just now that I realized something. I'm way over tired, my "MG" is going crazy today so I've mostly been sitting around doing nothing. I am only not in bed right now because I was waiting for my Mestinon to kick in so I could breathe when I lie down. I can't sit up, so I was leaning on my desk, face closer to my monitor. My vision went double, clearly two of everything separated by a few inches. It's done that for... forever. It only happens when I'm tired, and I can straighten out my eyes for a bit but not for long. So, sensibly, I've always stopped reading or playing on the computer and gone to bed.
Well, my Mestinon just kicked in. Guess what? I can not for the life of me make my vision double close up looking at the monitor. I'm really trying. I'm more tired now than I was a half hour ago. Is that MG double vision that I've been (really bad pun here, apology in advance) overlooking? Or is it what I always thought, just tired eyes?
But it was just now that I realized something. I'm way over tired, my "MG" is going crazy today so I've mostly been sitting around doing nothing. I am only not in bed right now because I was waiting for my Mestinon to kick in so I could breathe when I lie down. I can't sit up, so I was leaning on my desk, face closer to my monitor. My vision went double, clearly two of everything separated by a few inches. It's done that for... forever. It only happens when I'm tired, and I can straighten out my eyes for a bit but not for long. So, sensibly, I've always stopped reading or playing on the computer and gone to bed.
Well, my Mestinon just kicked in. Guess what? I can not for the life of me make my vision double close up looking at the monitor. I'm really trying. I'm more tired now than I was a half hour ago. Is that MG double vision that I've been (really bad pun here, apology in advance) overlooking? Or is it what I always thought, just tired eyes?
Annette
I saw one image above the other image--a vertical double vision. I think it was the most distressing part of MG as I had to patch one eye to see--and one eye is about 1/3 of 2 eyes.
I had weakness, breathing problems and so on, but I could rest and get by (I used a CPAP machine to help with breathing), but trying to drive or even walk with one eye was scary.
Mestinon helped the double vision, but it was always there, and until I had been on high doses of prednisone for a few months it didn't go away. It wasn't my first symptom of MG, breathing and tiredness were, but it was the most striking and one that I dread coming back.
Good Luck
Since this is more intense then it has been in the past and is persisting I think a doctor visit may be a good idea. You may need your medications changed. If vision stays affected a visit to the eye doctor is also a good idea. For persistent double vision prism lenses are sometimes used.
My double vision only happens when I am extremely over tired and in the late evening usually so I just go to bed. I have had much less of it since going on the pyridostigmine. What I have learned from others here is that this muscle weakness is variable and treatments have to be tweaked at times. I hope you can get help with this. Since double vision is a more classic symptom it may be an indicator when you see a doctor.
Good luck with this and let us know how it goes. Marie
I have a lazy eye to begin with, but it does get worse when tired. I'm so incredibly used to it since it was from birth and early on my mom was told it was okay not to fix it because it didn't interfere with my vision. In fact, I compensate so well for it that even when I see two images I mentally block out what my left eye is seeing.
I sort of wonder if I do just ignore double vision. I definitely have had some not related to my lazy eye, like while driving and your eyes have to move a lot, but can count on one hand the number of times and it's only been a slight shift of images and doesn't stick around long. And this longer distance double vision (and a lot of blurriness) has only happend as my body has gotten worse, rather than having double vision as a first sypmtom.
But this close up reading, playing games on the computer, where my eyes flick back and forth and around a lot, that is what I know has happened a lot for years. And I just always thought everyone had that with tired eyes at the end of the day. Have asked a couple family members now that I started thinking about it, and they say nothing more than a little eye strain happens to them.
Thanks for the information. I'm definitely going to add it to my notes to talk about with the next neuro. It happened again last night, and again the mestinon fixed it. I'm really quite shocked that it never 'clicked' with me before.
I had the same double vision problems you did, and never could get mestinon to work even at high doses to get rid of it. I took prednisone, and a few months later it went away. I used an eye patch, and tried switching eyes occasionally, but also had the problem of my eyelid closing.
I learned to close one eye while driving -- and when I got to an intersection or someplace where I really wanted to see normally, I found that tipping my head way back and looking out of the bottom of my eyes, I could see normally for a while with both eyes normal. Then I moved my head back normally and shut the eye. Shutting one eye is much better than patches -- at least I thought so.
Good Luck Russ