Has anyone looked into binocular vision dysfunction?

sure, ill keep you updated. I joined the fb group because all i could find online was dizziness, lightheadness, vertigo due to VH, particularly in crowded places or driving. I was worried because mine is rocking 25/7 and i feel better driving. Many people that are symptoms free had the 24/7 rocking and felt better with movement. So that gave me hope. And its true, my neurologist told me clearly that they dont understand much about VM and that is an exclussion diagnses. The VH is or is not there. Simple. I think that the eye misalignment can cause the VM, if you think about it, is like the ears causing/ triggering it. We will see (no pun intended!) if my glasses help.

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Hi

Guess you might be much caught up in yr FB VH Group but just wanted you to know there’s been quite a bit of VH Activity on mvertigo.org this last week or so. Sure everybody would be interested to know how you are getting on with yr new specs sometime if you have a moment. All the best.

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Hi… well, my experience so far has not been “life changing”. I do see better and can work better on the computer. But got a migraine again during the weekend and the rocking got bad, when I was having a few good mornings. I am trying to be patient. I think the combo MAV and VH is interesting… I need to have hope that I am going to get better.

So sorry to hear you didn’t just have a Eureka moment where everything fell into place. Guess real world isn’t much like that. Still, it’s early days. May take a while to adjust. Hopefully if yr eyes are right, they will stop triggering migraines soon. I wasn’t really imagining you had both MAV and VH independently. Let’s hope the VH is causing the MAV in which case it might just stop eventually. Wonder what’s happened to Amy. Let’s hope she’s completely cured, forgotten all about us and is half way up Mount Everest or whatever turns her on.

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thank you! I asked Amy to give us an update here. Hopefully she will. And yes, I hope is early days for both the prisms and the effexor combo.

Hi Helen,
Just reading this about prisms and your infinite knowledge thereof.
I’ve been thinking about VH recently as the noble Dr S wrote down “2° visual dominance and visual dependence” (as well as “migraine variant balance disorder”). I wonder if his first comment relates to VH. I suppose it can’t do any harm being tested as I’ve noticed a slight misalignment in my eyes when I photograph them together. Barely noticeable but certainly present. So, my question to you is where in the UK can I have such a test and I await with grace and humility your answer. I’ve seen some testers in America but I think the flight would throw me off balance for months and make everything worse. I have a feeling you’ll know. Thanks in advance. Anthony

Just my 10 cents but surely for most ‘defects’ which are stable, the brain can easily compensate? Therefore stress in the brain tends to be lower for such a defect. MAV like symptoms clearly involve instability? It’s obvious when you observe the huge fluctuation?

So my question would be, why would this condition cause such fluctuations in symptoms? Why would your brain not learn to cope with the offset vision - it doesn’t change right? And when you have it since birth, presumably the brain gets to mould itself very efficiently around whatever it is presented with?

I do worry these specialists are just trying to take ownership for a condition that is not on their side of the tennis court … $$$. Caveat emptor.

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Visual dominance and visual dependence isn’t VH Ant. It’s far more common than VH. To be absolutely sure you get a correct and totally unbiased opinion you need to find a Consultant Opthalmologist. You will find one privately at a Circle or Spire Hospital or through NHS you need referral through optician. You could try your GP. Some will, some won’t refer.

It’s very unlikely you would have a noticeable Vertical Misalignment that you wouldnt already know about because of its severity and that you could photograph. Horizontally yes. I can detect those in an ordinary frontal photo of a stranger. PM it to me if you like.

To be contd … Gotta go for now or risk divorce proceedings! Helen

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Agreed. The brain seems to be able to adapt to stable differences. It doesn’t seem to appreciate change though. Congenital difficulties don’t seem to cause problems. I understand some companies particularly on the internet are really pushing VH (Vertical Heterophoria) as the cause of a long list of symptoms which at first glance seem very similar to MAV in order to sell prisms and Vision Training. VH apparently can occur following road traffic accidents. No doubt developing it that way must be a very sudden change to vision which could cause lots of problems and all manner of imbalance type symptoms.

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Hi - thanks, yes, all this makes sense. I was looking at those American sites - Debbie Feinberg et al and it all looked ‘attractive’ as a condition. I think my mind was wandering with the hope of finding a magical cure.

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Hi and thanks as always for both your replies.
I was thrashing about looking for a magical remedy I think.
Then visual dependence (because the vestibular system is down) led me to VH and it all made sense for a while. But when I reflect, it’s quite illogical really.
Plus the fact that I have spent loads over the last few years on different coloured glasses… Migralens green ones (clip-ons, wrap round ones); Theraspecs orange ones; and then an optician who does Irlen lenses with whom I had a colour therapy examination and £300 glasses made that block out different spectra in order to reduce this that and the other. NONE of them helped! I suppose with VM nothing would really help anyway in a condition that waxes and wanes. Anyway, thanks again for your response. Are there any other discussions on here about coloured lenses and I wonder if anyone has found the ultimate solution? Best, Anthony

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Hi Ant. All my eye research, tests and visits to eye specialists happened some time before my MAV diagnosis. It was an optician who set me off on that particular path. I was starting to experience strange symptoms abd off balance feelings between what had hitherto been self contained vestibular attacks. The optician was convinced my heterophoria was the cause of the unexplained dizziness type symptoms None of the specialists I saw thought there was any connection. In fact the most highly qualified one stated it was almost unheard of for such a condition to cause any complications in later life. And logically why should it. Something I was born with and with which my brain had always known and coped. Why should it suddenly cause balance issues. In retrospect though not at the time I think maybe it could happen following some powerful force of change such as an accident or maybe even the emergence of MAV but UK eye specialists didn’t recognize a connection then (over 10 years ago now). Then again as I have proved much of my symptoms can be controlled with medication where does that leave any theory?

Heterophoria or any eye misalignment probably doesn’t help but there is one good thing about all these eye conditions as far as I am concerned. A specialist can guarantee to easily identify them. There is no ‘Probably’ Heterophoria. You either have one or you don’t so it is very simple to eliminate the wondering and the investigation should be available free on the NHS.

The majority of the adult population is to some degree visually dependent and the degree of dependence increases quite dramatically with age. You only have to check the Romberg Test predicted results to see that. VH makes the dependence worse but it’s pretty common anyway.

Prisms and/or Vision Training are used for CI in addition to surgery which is generally reserved for children. Coloured lens such as Migraine/Theraspecs are used to treat Photophobia what many refer to as ’ light sensitivity’ not CI (Convergence Inefficiency). From memory Vision Training does use some coloured overlays in a different way. Red and Green. I’m bit hazy on that one. It was too long ago to remember now.

There are a few references if you Search ‘coloured lens’ but if anybody has come up with the ultimate solution they appear to be keeping it to themselves up til now.

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Hello,

My name is makala. I am a 45 year old woman with three girls. I was born with crossed eyes and had two surgeries before I was two. When I was 15 I suffered a TBI in a car wreck. My whole life I have suffered with motion sickness, headaches, Nausea, sensitivity to light, dizziness. After the wreck everything got worse. I started having migraines, black outs, balance issues on top of my other issues. Eventually they got a little less. Five years ago everything got worse. My motion sickness is out of control and I have been put on mclezine. My migraines have increased and are now vestibular migraines. My vision is often blurred or I see double. I have been to every specialist under the sun and all they do is treat the symptoms. Three months ago I had such a bad attack that it put me down for five days. It has taken hold of my life. My fiancé took to the Internet and came up with BVD. I literally have every symptom and more. I took the survey abs score a 51 the results said most people over 16 probably has BVD. Took this to my dr he had never even hear of it but he researched it and got me an appointment in Nov with a neuro ophthalmologist. I am praying for this diagnosis. I don’t have a life. I can barely ride in a car at this point. Needless to say I am beyond frustrated and tired of running in to dead ends. I have read on prism glasses and have been told they can change my life. Any thoughts from any of you who have tried prism glasses or abs advice you can give me on how to handle the symptoms that are plaguing me?

Hi and welcome abroad.

First bit of advice. Calm down. Relax. Whatever type of vestibular issues you may have will only be exacerbated by stress and anxiety. As you await your forthcoming appointment there’s probably little you can do about your eyes. Your reaction to your current situation and therefore your mood is one thing you may well be able to exert some control over.

I’ve already written extensively on here on the subject of eye misalignments generally and even some stuff on the latest, and currently most publicised version BVD. See links and also please use the Search facility for further information on any keywords, such as prisms, to pick up other relevant posts.
Anyone Ever Use Prism Glasses?
Has anyone looked into binocular vision dysfunction?
Vertical heterophoria uk

I too was born with an eye misalignment, was regularly motion sick, and was a similar age to you when I first started experiencing VM. From reading your script I can see you are about to embark on the same path I did when vertigo/vestibular attacks first hit. I went from many dead ends to apparently running round and round in circles and proved nothing. Be warned. Having any sort of eye misalignment (there are a few different ones) muddies the waters when it comes to dealing with vestibular disorders. I spent years seeking answers and came to the conclusion that really none exist. Far too little is known and even less research done to have reached any definitive conclusions as to connections etc. That said your situation is far from hopeless. Management options are available all depending on your exact condition. Prisms in prescription spectacles can help as can ‘Vision Training’ under a ‘behavioural optometrist’ (couple more keywords there to Google) may help others. All these options are aimed at realigning your vision.

Now you just have to wait it out until your appointment. One good thing about eye misalignment is that with the correct ophthalmic tools it will be easily obvious to an eye specialist. You either have it or you don’t. Unlike vestibular migraine you will get a definite answer. If you require prisms and have glasses fitted you may well see a great improvement in a short period of time, couple of weeks, maybe less. However if your VM diagnosis is correct prisms aren’t going to cure that. You will therefore need to pick up and follow a VM treatment plan as well. For info on that read the sites Wiki sections.

Just my own opinion for what it’s worth but given your current age I’d very much doubt BVD is your entire problem. Most probably just a contributory factor which combined with hormones changes has pushed your towards a state of VM.

Please come back and update the forum on how you progress.

Hey @dizzy3 in retrospect do you think the BVD treatment helped?