I’ve mentioned this within a thread before, but the subject has come up between me and a friend again, so i thought i would start a thread.
This friend who suffered with migraines in her past wore glasses all of her life. She decided to take the plunge and get a pair of bifocal contact lenses. the prescription was different in each eye. she got so dizzy she couldn’t drive to work. She kept wearing the contacts thinking she needed to adjust. It went on for a month. She also felt sick - you all know what i mean. And she was reminded of her distant migraines. She started seeing some vague aura.
she thought that, as crazy as it sounded, her contacts might be causing her to have migraines. She quit wearing them and all of her symptoms went away.
Oh, i forgot to mention, right before my big crash, i got a pair of bifocal contacts. On my way out of the office that day, as i was stepping down a curb i had my first episode of disequilibrium. Very weird. Like the ground had fallen beneath my feet. (sounds like the name of a rushdie novel). not just an adjustment to a new set of lenses, real disequilibrium.
Once i had my crash, very shortly afterwards, i couldn’t get it out of my mind, i always wondered, as crazy as it sounded, whether it was those contacts that started things off. Thing is, i was so sick, i couldn’t wear them, but my symptoms didn’t go away.
How weird - a couple of weeks before I became ill, I had my eyes tested and had a new, stronger prescription for my glasses and contact lenses.
When I tried them on, I felt really sick and dizzy all day. I got used to the prescription and this went away but I have often wondered if it triggered the MAV or if it is just a conincidence.
I had a similar experience when I pitched my contacts and started wearing glasses at the start of this whole mess. Very dizzy - could hardly walk - for several hours after putting the glasses on. In my case I think it was “visual reliance”. Due to MAV (or whatever is wrong with me) the balance cues from my inner ear had gradually become unreliable and my brain had started using visual input to maintain my equilibrium way more than normal. Then I put on new glasses that subtly changed the visual input and because my brain was relying so heavily on this information I got really dizzy. Dark rooms also bugged me for the same reason - my brain’s using the visual picture to keep me balanced and I walk into a dark room and my brain suddenly looses all that input. I’m now trying to retrain my brain by walking with my eyes closed whenever I get the chance. I figure that’ll help convince my brain it really can use the inner ear signals again.
Chaz, what a great idea. i’m going to start doing that!
yes, in the beginning of this, i would only put my glasses on when i really HAD to, and then immediately take them off. My thinking was that it was too much for my poor brain to process. i didn’t really know what the heck was going on.
Just to throw a wrench in the works. I wear glasses and I have found that they can cause migraines. For me, the worse example is a cheap pair of convience store sunglasses that are designed to fit all people by applying a lot of pressure behind the ears. That fit can drop me to my knees in a matter of seconds. I have to spend a couple of weeks tweeking new glasses before they stop causing headaches.
Dizzyness on the other hand, the only problem that I have had is recent, and that is when eating or doing other thing that require near vision. Eating is the worse and can cause me to feel like the room is moving with the food towards my mouth. My simple fix is to take my glasses off while eating. Can’t see across the room, but at least it’s not moving. :lol:
I never wore contacts because 20 years ago, I was told that they don’t make them for my perscription. Wasn’t told the reason, just never bothered looking into them. So I don’t have any relative feedback for contacts.
in my entire life i have never been able to wear over the counter sunglasses. They have always made me dizzy.
i went to the eye doc last week and found out that my astigmatism had vanished. thus, i need a new prescription. now i’m worried that the new lenses are going to make me sick.
i actually ordered a backup pair. maybe i’ll hang onto my old pair and just buy the backup until i’m sure i can get used to them.
