It has been 2-1/2 months since my 9 year old boy’s diagnosis. He is complaining of double vision. I had him checked by an ophtalmologist and yes she said the muscles in one eye are a little weak and to just give him time to get better. I want to know if anybody here has had the same problem and if it got better wih time. just want to know how it feels for him.
I have not had vision issues, HOWEVER, our daughter had double vision and additional issues and we did not discover the problems until she was 17. Check out this site http://www.visiontherapy.org/ His issues may or may not been caused by the ADEM. Our daughter had 6 months of vision therapy it corrected all her vision issues. Most doctors know very little about it.
Yes... My son had the the same problem only much worse. He went completely cross eyed in both eyes, but 2 weeks after the massive doses of steroids, he was 90% back to normal and today he is 99.5% back to "Normal". (what ever that means) Arthor was 18 months old then and is now an awesome 10 year old spelling wizard. : >)
Daddy Rex
I think my 2 yr old is having vision problems!!!
I can't get anyone to confirm it- and he wouldn't know how to tell me- but he's constantly rubbing his eyes- they seem the worst when he's watching a movie or a tv show... this would make a lot of sense to me if this was a result of the ADEM.
Thank you for posting- i'm going to follow up on this with my Pedi Neuro!!
Hi,
My daughter is now 1 year post ADEM and we believe has lost some peripheral sight on the left side (this was confirmed at the time of treatment whilst in hospital) however she doesn’t seem to have regained this sight. We have another appointment in October to confirm this, but it is very hard to tell with a 3 year old!
Phillipa
I had Optic Neuritis (double vision) right after the event and while I was in the hospital. They gave me an eyepatch which I alternated on each eye every few hours. My eyesight did clear up about a week later. Whether it was the eyepatch or just my luck, I don't know.
Best of luck!
LauraK
I had both double vision and optical neuritis.
Double vision (lack of coordination between Left/right eye) in my case disappeared after corticosteroids treatment within the first couple of months. Optical neuritis (that causes loss of vision capacity) in my case was treated quickly with high doses of steroids, even topic (retrobulbar/peribulbar injections). The recover of vision was perfect at the first event, and quite good after the recurrency of ADEM, five years later.
As far as i know, and in my personal, direct experience, it's very important the first three or four months of treatment, and, aagain in my case, corticosteroids were essential.
Even the use of Cyticoline as adjuvant for nerve recovery gave godd benefits.
My best wishes.
I've had double vision since my attack 4 months ago. It was one of my presenting symptoms. My double vision, as your son's, is caused by issues with the motor nerves that control the eye muscles in my right eye and not by a problem with my optic nerve (optic neuritis). It's gradually gotten better -- some days I don't notice it, other days I do.
My eye doctor prescribed a prism that fits into my right eyeglass lens and somehow corrects the problem; I use it as necessary, particularly for driving. I should add that I'm an older guy -- 66 years old.
I think it's generally better when the motor nerve is affected and not a sensory nerve (optic nerve). As with all these neurological problems, everyone heals at a different rate and to a different degree. It's case by case; generalizations about recovery time are virtually worthless, imho. But I would think that your son's young age is certainly a positive.
My husband had double vision for several months when he first came down w/ ADEM. It gradually got better, but it was one of his first symptoms. The double vision was not side by side but one image on top of the other. The eyes were not tracking together. The ophthalmologist saw him every 8 weeks to see the progress and see if glasses would benefit. He eventually did not feel he needed glasses. Give your son time. His brain is still healing.
I saw Laura's reply about the eye patch. My husband took to wearing an eye patch because it was more comfortable, but the ophthalmologist discouraged that as the brain will adjust and forget to have the eyes work together. He suggested trying to keep both eyes trained on whatever he is looking at. whether TV or attempting to read. Mainly, it just needs time.