EYES

[maber]

I have read a lots of postings , and have noted that some of them mention trouble with eyes/sight . I have been having trouble with my eyesight ,my near sight seems to have change drastically not sure whether this is due to a caterac coming in one eye . As my far sight isn't very good I have always relayed on my near sight and this seems to change hour to hour . I was wondering if this was due to ataxia ? Is anyone else having trouble like me ? Look forward to your replies Maber x

[motherelle]

I have been having the same problem but never thought of it being related to the Ataxia .

[tedjohnson]

Hi. Maber. Ataxia does include sight problems as well as speech and balance etc

If you contact. Ataxia U K. They will send you a very good. ' large'. Booklet which

Will give you loads of help and advise

I am seeing a neurologist next week and I intend asking him about my sight problem I believe prizms can be fitted to glasses but I don't know any details

But if I have anything of interest I will write.again. Cheers. Ted

[wobblybee]

Hi Maber😊

I have double vision and nystagmus, both can be symptoms caused by Ataxia.

I've had a Botox injection into the muscle of the worst affected eye, this was to try and relax the muscle and reduce the level of double vision. It's widely accepted treatment.

Unfortunately my eye didn't respond and I went on to have an operation to pull the muscle back into place.

This worked quite well but I still need corrective glasses/lenses.

Currently, I have distance glasses with a prism in the left eye. This works well, but only

when sitting, for example driving and watching televion. Walking around wearing glasses with a prism can seriously effect my balance. Nystagmus and prisms don't mix well.

Alternatively, I have a partial occlusal (blackout) contact lens for the left eye, and a variofocal lens for the right eye. This is my preference between the two options.

My optician referred me to my local hospital eye department, I've been treated there since 1999. 😊xB

[oniki44]

Hi - I have nystagmus, which was diagnosed at the same time as the Cerebellar Ataxia. Can't focus and everything is jumping, so have had to give up driving. I don't understand why my prescription has not changed, though. Optician referred me to an Eye Specialist and was told nothing can be done about nystagmus. Have tried gabapentin, pregabalin and now baclofen tablets which are supposed to calm the muscles, but they make me very dizzy and my balance worse. Have just been to the local Low Vision Clinic and was given some magnifying glasses to try out. A Kindle was suggested for reading, but I love ordinary books. Also, someone is coming to my house to show me what can be done on my computer to make things easier. Strangely enough, I have no trouble watching TV. If I lift my head and look straight ahead I can focus, also when I close one eye. Weird! A lady at the Low Vision Clinic told me that 'bandage contact lenses' helped her with her nystagmus. I was given a website for nystagmus sufferers: nystagmusnet.org. Hope this is correct - it doesn't show up in blue. Botox injection???? Brrr. Thanks, but no thanks. I have been told the effect does not last anyway. Is there anyone who has benefited from treatment?? I have had prisms put in my reading glasses, but there is no improvement. Hoping to hear from you for any further useful suggestions. Best wishes from Oniki x

[silkwood in reply to oniki44]

I liked reading as well.Belong to a book club and the current book is a Playaway that libraries use.Look it up online.Also a partially sighted person i know suggested Calibre. Take your pick.

[silkwood]

No nystagmus but problems with eyesight this year.Not age related,am now 56.Have had reading glasses for over 12 years. Now have affected sight,double vision.Have had CA for 8 years. No sight probs due to ataxia until this year then the full works suddenly.Got reading glasses and distance glasses. Wear them around my neck but with vigorous shaking of the hands,get in an awful muddle and nearly strangle myself.

[Ginger1]

I have CA and was diagnosed in 2003. From speaking to the optician, Nystagmus is either congenital (born with it, which shouldn't get worse) or acquired. I have Nystagmus and first noticed jumpy eye movements when I was about 15 years old (I am now nearly 45).I get blurry vision and double vision but I wear glasses for TV (long distance glasses) and for reading (short distance glasses). Have been to see an Eye Specialist at the hospital too. I read from an ebook as it's easier as the font size can be increased and it's lighter too, as I suffer with numbness. It's far better. The font size can be increased on the computer too I believe to make things easier.Looking at different angles can be easier to focus Ive found. I have never had prisms, so can't comment. Closing one eye helps to focus and is common I believe in Nystagmus. I understand Nystagmus can be as a result of the CA progressing. I take Gabapentin but I've noticed that decreasing the dosage helps my balance! I have botox injections for Dystonia but I understand it is used to treat lots of different ailments (from what I have gleaned, it relaxes the muscle that is over-working).

[Wyndham]

I don't know if my eyesight problems are Ataxia related or not, but the blurred vision gets very annoying, especially when trying to read.

I now read books on my iPad or iPhone almost exclusively. On these devices (and Android devices, like Samsung too) you can adjust the shape and size of the font to suit your eyesight, as well as change the background to a better colour. You may be surprised what a difference changing the background colour can make for some people with eyesight problems.

I have got so used to reading books on my iPhone and iPad now that I find it difficult to read an ordinary book, and even fund reading the newspaper awkward (because off the small fonts they use).

My prescription is okay apparently, I just now prefer using my mobile devices. I have a large library of books too choose from and it is so easy to use.

There are plenty of hardware options like the Kindle and others, so it doesn't have to be expensive. The biggest cost will be getting books although there thousands of very good free books available on the internet.

Happy reading.