Heterophoria is where the two eyes have difficulty looking directly at the image being viewed. The eye muscles take over and try to correct this condition. But over a long period of time the eye muscle becomes over worked and you end up with the symptoms of agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is not the result of panic, panic is the result of agoraphobia. Some symptoms are strained eye muscles which cause headaches, usually in the front of the face or in the temples. As the muscles strain they become fatigued and they quiver, causing the eyes to move rapidly but minutely, which creates the feeling of dizziness, lightheartedness disorientation and a sense of imbalance. Other symptoms are face ache, eye pain or pain with eye movement. These symptoms are similar to sinus problems, migraines, TMJ problems, neck ache and upper back pain due to head tilt. Symptoms similar to spinal misalignment problems, motion sickness, nausea, poor depth perception, unsteadiness while walking or drifting to one side while walking, lack of coordination. There are also symptoms similar to those seen in patients with MS or Meniere’s disease. Difficulty with concentration similar to ADHD. Difficulty with reading comprehension, skipping lines, while reading, words running together while reading similar to those seen with learning disability. Also blurred vision, double or over lapping vision, shadowed vision, light sensitivity, difficulty with glare or reflection.
Feelings of being overwhelmed or anxious when in large contained spaces. Like malls or big box stores. Feeling overwhelmed or anxious in crowds seen in patients with agoraphobia and anxiety. This condition may be caused by head trauma, stroke, or neurological disorders. However, most often this is a condition you are born with. It may take years before symptoms occur, as the body will do its best to compensate for these problems. This condition runs in family’s
To correct this problem, the optometrist adds prism to your lenses. Prism is a way of making the lenses such that the image seen by the eye is moved up or down or to the side. Whatever is needed to allow the eye to point in the correct direction without straining the eye muscles. Proper prism correction leads to a reduction of symptoms of (on average) about 80%.
This information was taken from the book “If the Walls of my Exam Room Could Talk” by Debby Feinberg O.D.
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Click on the Hyperphoria test to the right and see if this could be your problem.
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Yolanda
I stumbled across this site while researching a sharp increase in what I was experiencing. And immediately knew that I had found my answer. I was told at 13 that I had "alternating circumduction," now known as heterophoria / strabismus. I was told that no corrections would be necessary as I have not experienced any symptoms as a result of this.
ReplyDeleteI have had an anxiety disorder for 4 years. I have been on Ativan, Zoloft, Lexapro, and Klonopin. The only one whose efficacy I am sure of is the ativan. It has definitely made some panicked times become more manageable. The SSRI's, however, I am unsure of whether or not they have helped. I was on Zoloft for a year, and did fine. I also was off Zoloft for the following year, and noticed no difference.
Recently, within the past 2 months, I have become agoraphobic. I am getting dizzy constantly, and have become very afraid to do anything outside of my own home or work. I attribute the fact that I work inside of a residential home makes me feel as though I'm in a "Second home" - which causes me to be able to maintain being there, though I do get anxious at work a lot. I have just finished my 1st year of a 3 year MSW program. However, my new symptoms were first noticed during the one summer course I took. I can recall being dizzied by youtube videos, and powerpoint presentations in class as well as being closely surrounded by the other 12 students in the class. I knew my anxiety was getting worse and I was beginning to attribute it to an "evolving" of sorts into a panic disorder. It has begun to affect my everyday life. I am worried that I may have to drop out of school. As my job supervising a residential home for people with developmental disabilities involves grocery shopping, staff meetings, and doctor appts, I am worried that I may have to quit my job as well as I can only come up with excuses and pawn these duties onto another person for so long.
Thank you for typing your story. Again, I have never read anything in the last 4 years that has resonated so strongly with me. I know that the answer is in my eyes, I just can't figure out what my next step should be. I'm trying to maintain my personality and hopes for the future, but with every passing appt or agoraphobic event, I am slowly losing hope. This provided a great boost for me. I don't want to let it go to waste.
ReplyDeleteYours in Panic,
Alex
Hi Alex, I don't know if I can still reach you here but how are you doing? Did you get the help for your eye condition? Please update me and my readers.
DeleteYolanda
Hi Alex, I don't know if I can still reach you here but how are you doing? Did you get the help for your eye condition? Please update me and my readers.
DeleteYolanda
Thank you alex for your thoughts. You definitely are in the right place and yes it is your eyes. I hope you have taken the hyperphoria test on the right and graded yourself. Now you need to go to www.vsofm.com and talk to Dr. Debbie. Other eye doctors just don't know how to go about putting prisms in glasses. She will tell you what your symptoms are before you can tell her.
ReplyDeletePlease keep me updated on your progress. I have a book and a kindle that will tell you what I went through and the steps it took for my healing, if your interested.
If there is anything I can help you with please let me know. I want to help.
The best to you, Yolanda