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Eyes and Neuropathy
I would love to hear from folks who have peripheral neuropathy and eyes problems such as worsening dry eye and photophobia (light sensitivity). Has anyone been to a neuro opthamologist for this and been advised of the correlation? What did you learn?
My eyes have mitigating circumstances.... beginning with Fuchs Dystrophy (cornea disease) requiring cataract and cornea transplants, intractable migraine and Small Fiber Polyneuropathy...all of which play off each other. Photophobia, for me, has been constant since prior to eye surgeries and increasingly worse after. Migraines create photophobia and vice versa. SFN is nerve damage/dysfunction which for me has created hyperalgesia (overactive and hyper sensitivity). The cornea contains the highest number of small fibers in your entire body. My ongoing dry eye is developing along with intense flares of light sensitivity. I feel like a vampire...it puts me down, to bed, in hiding. As I explore how to tackle worsening dry eye, I came across this link that opened my mind further and thought maybe it might help some of you who have dry eye and neuropathy.
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Hank, I did three exercises and one was the Epley Manuever.
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1 Reaction@avmcbellar I do have a pair of night vision glasses that I wear over my glasses. They help some.
Jim
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1 ReactionI had experienced the vertigo also for about a year and after 2 unsuccessful visits to ENT’s was lucky enough to find a P/T who specialized in this disorder. Since there are 3 ear canals it is most important to know which one to work on and the movements depend on that otherwise the crystals can continue to move from one canal to another without alleviating the problem. My gal was a whiz and I have not experienced that awful vertigo since, although I do sometimes have some short lived dizziness but it is nothing in comparison.
@helennicola finding the cause is half the battle for alleviating the problem but you won’t know unless you try to see what helps. For you, luckily you found a therapist who specialized in vertigo. Many doctors do not know. They write orders to start a therapy but it is the therapists who do the assessments, write down what they will do to help the patients meet their outcomes or goals, and have the doctor sign that document. The document becomes the orders for the therapist to follow because those instructions are approved by the doctor. The therapist can only follow orders approved by the doctor. Many times I have seen doctors approve what ever the therapist writes because they simply do not question what the therapist plans to do for the patient to meet his or her goals. I am glad the doctors allow the therapists to try since they themselves do not know. It’s all about experiences but I believe some doctors leave it up to others to learn from the experiences.
In my case, there are many variables. I do feel a pressure in my ears that maybe contribute to my balance problem. I don’t know but I keep trying different treatments to seek help. Thank you for your experience.
@lois6524 So true about the ears and those ear exercises . I had the similar thing and the ENT sent me to the Vestibular Dr. After putting me through a lot of different test the Dr. said it was the crystals that where out of place and for a month I had to do these exercises 2 x a day and haven't had any since that bad . One time I felt dizzy and did the exercises and that was all so far I haven't had anymore .
@jesfactsmon Hi Hank yes this is what the ENT told me to do and I saw online it is the Epley method . Surprise how well it works
@lioness I would think the ENT physician would at least let you about the crystals. Glad he sent you to a specialist.
The occurrence for balance and dizziness issues stemming from the ears is becoming more common as we age. So many of my friends have experienced the condition and without knowing how it happened. We have no way of knowing how to prevent something like this from happening. Scary!
@avmcbellar Did you see your ENT or just your PCP ? It was my PCP that sent me to the ENT then he sent me to the vestibular specialist . I never did see any therapist as after a 2 hr testing with the specialist he sent me back to my ENT and was told to do these exercises and only had 1 short case of dizziness since did the exercise one time and so far haven't had any problems. Anything with your ear,, nose or throat you should see a ENT per the PCP
@lioness i saw my PCP who ordered vestibular therapy for balance and dizziness. I had gone to a therapist and did 3 exercises: the Epley maneuver, Brandt Daroff exercises, and Saccades exercises. I thought at first there was a slight improvement but the next day I got a bad headache. I tried the exercises for a week before ending the therapy. I saw no noticeable improvement. My headache went away in two days. I thought of going to see an ENT that deals with balance and dizziness but found no one in the area. I can continue to look and ask my PCP for recommendations. We know that my balance problems are not positional since I participated with the vestibular therapy. Thank you for your advice. I will look into seeing a specialist. I am not sure if my double vision also contributes to the problem.
@avmcbellar It might make a difference to see this specialist it was a 2 hr test he did with lights, noise and a lot of other test . Much more invasive then a therapist I would think . As I said the ENT suggested it but he is the one that told me about these exercises they weren't exactly the Epley maneuver I had to lay with my head hanging over the bed to do them 2 times a day . It did the trick though .