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Suggest Treatment For Secondary Encephalo-myelitis
Question: Dear Doctor,
last year in January I contracted secondary encephalo-myelitis. Since then I've been suffering from various symptoms. Some of them have slowly got better, some of them have persisted. They have included urological problems, problems with memory, concentration, hand coordination, fatigue, and epilepsy.
Currently I am focusing on treating the most persisting problem, which has to do (I believe) with eye movements while reading and with feeling pressure behind the eyes. When I read, I tend to skip words, or worse, read different words than are written on the page. It feels as if my eyes are 'jumpy'. From what I've read on the internet it seems like some sort of oculomotor dysfunction (dysmetria), because my eye movements while reading are terribly irregular. Sometimes i skip several words, sometimes I can't keep my eyes on the line of the text that I'm reading. Sometimes the text just blends together. It's more a horizontal than vertical problem. It makes reading very hard, especially of long texts. If I focus intensely, I can read slowly and I don't skip any words, but it makes my eyes hurt as I feel as if they're trying to run forward and I have to force them not to.
I have undergone a thorough ophtalmological examination. The only finding was slight hypermetropia on the right eye. Otherwise everything is OK. I had amblyopia as a child, successfully treated and I haven't worn glasses since the age of 16 (I'm 23 now) with no problems whatsoever. I can see clearly. I've never had dyslexia.
My question for you is what kind of machine could be used to measure my saccadic eye movements while reading...(what this machine is called) because what I would like to know is whether my reading problem has to do with concentration OR whether it has to do with the eye movement. Related to that, I would like to know how each of these could be treated (biofeedback?).
thank you very much for your response.
All the best,
XXXX
last year in January I contracted secondary encephalo-myelitis. Since then I've been suffering from various symptoms. Some of them have slowly got better, some of them have persisted. They have included urological problems, problems with memory, concentration, hand coordination, fatigue, and epilepsy.
Currently I am focusing on treating the most persisting problem, which has to do (I believe) with eye movements while reading and with feeling pressure behind the eyes. When I read, I tend to skip words, or worse, read different words than are written on the page. It feels as if my eyes are 'jumpy'. From what I've read on the internet it seems like some sort of oculomotor dysfunction (dysmetria), because my eye movements while reading are terribly irregular. Sometimes i skip several words, sometimes I can't keep my eyes on the line of the text that I'm reading. Sometimes the text just blends together. It's more a horizontal than vertical problem. It makes reading very hard, especially of long texts. If I focus intensely, I can read slowly and I don't skip any words, but it makes my eyes hurt as I feel as if they're trying to run forward and I have to force them not to.
I have undergone a thorough ophtalmological examination. The only finding was slight hypermetropia on the right eye. Otherwise everything is OK. I had amblyopia as a child, successfully treated and I haven't worn glasses since the age of 16 (I'm 23 now) with no problems whatsoever. I can see clearly. I've never had dyslexia.
My question for you is what kind of machine could be used to measure my saccadic eye movements while reading...(what this machine is called) because what I would like to know is whether my reading problem has to do with concentration OR whether it has to do with the eye movement. Related to that, I would like to know how each of these could be treated (biofeedback?).
thank you very much for your response.
All the best,
XXXX
Brief Answer:
Saccadic eye movements are tested by electrooculography.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Welcome to Health care magic
I am Dr. DADAPEER K, an Ophthalmologist and I will be answering your question.
I reviewed your history.
It seems from the history that you are having difficulty in reading.
Saccadic eye movements testing is done by electrooculography. The abnormal saccadic eye movements indicate disorders of the central nervous system like multiple sclerosis, encephalitis and because of side effects of drugs like benzodiazepenes....
Mild hypermetropia will not cause the symptoms you have mentioned and this can corrected by the use of glasses if present.
Hence I feel the symptoms you have mentioned are basically because of the neurological problems you are facing following the encephalitis.
This will recover slowly as the neurological functions improve.
Hence I advice you to consult your neurologist for further evaluation and treatment accordingly.
Hope I have answered your question and the information is helpful to you.
Do write back to me for further questions.
Thank you
Saccadic eye movements are tested by electrooculography.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Welcome to Health care magic
I am Dr. DADAPEER K, an Ophthalmologist and I will be answering your question.
I reviewed your history.
It seems from the history that you are having difficulty in reading.
Saccadic eye movements testing is done by electrooculography. The abnormal saccadic eye movements indicate disorders of the central nervous system like multiple sclerosis, encephalitis and because of side effects of drugs like benzodiazepenes....
Mild hypermetropia will not cause the symptoms you have mentioned and this can corrected by the use of glasses if present.
Hence I feel the symptoms you have mentioned are basically because of the neurological problems you are facing following the encephalitis.
This will recover slowly as the neurological functions improve.
Hence I advice you to consult your neurologist for further evaluation and treatment accordingly.
Hope I have answered your question and the information is helpful to you.
Do write back to me for further questions.
Thank you
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thanks for your answer.
I have consulted several neurologists and neuro-ophtalmologists in my country but they do not seem to have an oculograph or be able to treat such a problem.
What kind of therapy is suitable? biofeedback or vision therapy?
The reason why I ask is because in my country nobody is able to diagnose or treat my problem so I need to search for something in either Germany or the UK.
Thanks.
All the best,
J
I have consulted several neurologists and neuro-ophtalmologists in my country but they do not seem to have an oculograph or be able to treat such a problem.
What kind of therapy is suitable? biofeedback or vision therapy?
The reason why I ask is because in my country nobody is able to diagnose or treat my problem so I need to search for something in either Germany or the UK.
Thanks.
All the best,
J
Brief Answer:
Treatment of the underlying cause is required.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thank you for the follow up question.
Most of the saccadic movements will resolve over time and improve slowly as the underlying cause is treated.
In your case we need to confirm the diagnosis if possible and treat the underlying cause.
Once the cause is treated the severity of the condition will decrease and there will be improvement.
Most of the cases I have seen show symptomatic improvement with medical treatment by the use of drugs like gabapentin, carbamazepine, valproate.....
Vision therapy is required in cases in which the underlying cause cannot be identified or treated.
Hope this answers your question.
Thank you
Treatment of the underlying cause is required.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thank you for the follow up question.
Most of the saccadic movements will resolve over time and improve slowly as the underlying cause is treated.
In your case we need to confirm the diagnosis if possible and treat the underlying cause.
Once the cause is treated the severity of the condition will decrease and there will be improvement.
Most of the cases I have seen show symptomatic improvement with medical treatment by the use of drugs like gabapentin, carbamazepine, valproate.....
Vision therapy is required in cases in which the underlying cause cannot be identified or treated.
Hope this answers your question.
Thank you
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Ok, so to recap:
1) get an oculographic test (Is there any other test required to diagnose my problem?)
2) try drugs
3) if drugs don't work, then try vision therapy
Best,
XXXX
1) get an oculographic test (Is there any other test required to diagnose my problem?)
2) try drugs
3) if drugs don't work, then try vision therapy
Best,
XXXX
Brief Answer:
Yes you are right.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thank you for the follow up question.
Yes you are right, first get oculographic test for confirmation of diagnosis and once confirmed treatment is by drugs and vision therapy.
Hope this answers your question.
Thank you
Yes you are right.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thank you for the follow up question.
Yes you are right, first get oculographic test for confirmation of diagnosis and once confirmed treatment is by drugs and vision therapy.
Hope this answers your question.
Thank you
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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