BAM!!! Crosseyed - Right out of the blue!!

@singout (980)
United States
April 20, 2011 2:02pm CST
Diplopia. What a wierd word. It means "Double vision." Wierder yet, is how it hit me and what caused it. See if you have experienced something similar: I woke up one fine Friday morning, minding my own business, getting breakfast ready, when I noticed a little pain in my sinuses. Since I had been fishing on a windy bridge on Wednesday prior, I figured that to be the probable cause. By Friday night, the pain had included my eyes. By Saturday the pain continued, but by evening I noticed my eyes began to function erratically as I moved around. I still chalked it off to a sinus cold which I have experienced before. By Sunday morning there was definite eye muscle disfunction and I began to experience some dizziness. By Monday morning...THERE IT WAS!.... Full-fledged double vision. The pain had settled in my right eye and sinuses and Tuesday was even worse. Wednesday morning I decided to call my family doctor. After telling her my symptoms, She said she had never heard of sinuses causing double vision and I should get to an opthamologist right away, which I did. When I told him of my condition, he worked me in to his schedule that very morning. After putting me through the usual exams, He recommended I take a blood test and cat-scan, which I did without wasting any time. The result was very surprising. They found that I actually had a brain. But better news was that the cat-scan was normal and so was the blood test. At first the doctor was suspecting that shingles might be among his probabilities. Naturally, I was afraid that a brain tumor was the cause. As it turned out, that given my history of type 2 diabetes, he diagnosed it as "diabetic palsey." which has affected the muscles of my right eye. This condition cannot be treated medically but has to run it's course in about 3 to 6 months. It is a lot like "Bell's Palsey" which, for the most part, gets better over the same amount of time. Meantime what do I do; stagger around, getting nauseous as I try to cope with this condition? The answer: cover the affected eye and play one-eyed pirate for the next 3 to 6 months. AYYY matey! It may be funny but at least the double vision is gone.
1 person likes this
1 response
@mentalward (14691)
• United States
20 Apr 11
That's horrible! Well, in a kinda funny way. I bet this will be the longest 3 to 6 months you'll ever live! Did the doctor recommend that you switch the eye patch between the eyes? I would think that best so the one covered doesn't get weak. It could also be fun if you wear it on your left eye and go somewhere where people see you, then switch it to your right eye and go to the same place the next day, just to see if anybody actually notices. You do have some unusual things happen to you, huh? Well, nobody can call you boring, common or even normal (whatever that is), that's for sure! I hope it runs it's course in record time for you.
@singout (980)
• United States
21 Apr 11
Although I see well out of my right eye (in fact it is my best seeing eye), If I were to cover my left eye and just used my right eye I would fall over from dizziness. It's the muscles that control the eye which is affected. Those muscles don't move fast enough to keep up with what my brain thinks should be seen. If I stand perfectly still and look straight ahead at something, I can see perfectly clear, but if I move that eye to another object that's when I get dizzy. I figure it this way, if it isn't going to kill me, and there is a prognoses of improvement at some future time, then I can stand anything. Thanks for your well wishes, Mentalward