Some of the "Weird" Eye Problems
Associated With Lyme Disease & Bartonella
Lyme patients (approximately 5% +/-) often describe symptoms related to their vision that are dismissed or misdiagnosed by eye doctors not trained to recognize these problems. A pat on the head, ignoring your questions, a rolling of their eyes, or a declaration of "all is well" when you know it isn't will let you know they don't know.
If the symptoms or patient's problems are acknowledged they are often reported to be related to something other than an infection related to Lyme disease. To note, Bartonella is sometimes the cause of "weird" eye symptoms too.
If you experience any "weird" eye/brain symptoms you should see your local eye doctor. If, after the typical causes for these various symptoms have been ruled out, there doesn't appear to be an explanation for the mild to severe visual disturbances you are experiencing, you are not alone and there is still hope.
These "weird" eye/brain symptoms, some of them described below, can best be addressed by treating the Lyme related infections that cause eye/brain problems such as meningitis, encephalitis, brain swelling, optic nerve damage, toxins, etc.
The first approach in addressing these symptoms could be an IV push of glutathione to help clear out toxins. This has helped many Lyme patients over the years. It is especially helpful during or after a herxheimer reaction when symptoms can become much worse. Nasal glutathione, glutathione precursors and other similar attempts to increase your levels of glutathione most often are not effective. More information here.
To address eye/brain symptoms that return or don't clear up completely after starting antibiotic treatment, visiting a chiropractic neurologist can help improve them substantially or eliminate them completely.
Chiropractic Neurologists, few and far between, do not use drugs or surgery, are well trained in this field, are very successful in assisting Lyme and other patients and often take insurance.
They will perform an extensive and painless neurological exam before suggesting any treatments. Some may offer computer programs (discs) to take home with you to do exercises so you can refocus your eyes and stimulate parts of your brain that have been affected, thus reducing or eliminating your symptoms.
When searching for a health care professional in this specialty field (Chiropractic Neurology) you must first ask those you contact if they regularly use their advanced training in their patient practice- beforemaking an appointment- or you will be disappointed. (Some take the training and do not use it in their practice.)
To locate a chiropractic neurologist you can use the provider finder tool located here. You'll see a link for the "Chiropractic Neurology- Search" there.
These "Weird" Symptoms Can Be Misdiagnosed As Being Caused By:
Cataracts
Macular degeneration
Glaucoma
Astigmatism
Brain Trauma
Stroke
Binocular vision
Tired eyes
Dry eyes
Other disorders
Examples of what people may see and/or experience- in the patient's words...
Like looking at everything thru a window screen, piece of cheesecloth or a grid
Colors run, often reds and greens
Words appear to melt on the page at the end of a sentence
Repeating of images that slowly move
Halos around street lights at night- or more than one light is seen
More than one moon- sometimes 1 and 1/2 moons, sometimes 2 or 3 moons, sometimes overlapping
A faint image of the original one can be seen above, below or beside the actual image
Panic attacks, anxiety, rage, disorientation or seizures when exposed to florescent lights
Feels like looking thru a camera with the lens moving back and forth to refocus (zoom in and out)
Walking forward and then stopping feels like you are still moving or falling forward- eyes and steps aren't in sync?
Distortion of depth, especially when looking down
Can't see digital clock times- lights run or blend in together
Inability to tell how far an item is from me- I under reach or over reach for it
Like looking in slow motion at a vintage cartoon flip book
Seeing an object and the brain is too slow to register what it is before moving on to the next image
Eyes follow objects you don't want to see (example- windshield wipers moving back and forth rather than other cars and traffic when driving)
Moving objects make me feel like I am swaying or falling over
Can't watch tv because of the constant motion
Watching trees blowing in the wind makes me feel unstable or like I am rocking back and forth
The floor looks as if it is moving up toward me and back down again
Seeing lots of floaters and spots
Double images are seen
Loss of night vision
Multiple objects (example- a vase) when there is only one
Blinking light image still visible after looking away from the image
See two street signs when there is only one
Two traffic lights hanging side by side or overlapping each other when there is only one
If looking at white lettering on a black page I still see the words and images after looking away
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