Headaches & Double Vision: Chronic Progressive External Ophthalmoplegia (CPEO)

Several weeks ago, I abruptly started having severe headaches in the afternoon. I would become very dizzy and felt as though I was going to pass out. I would crawl into bed and have to lie down with a towel over my eyes. Every day it was like clock work. Around 1 p.m. I would get a headache. By 2 p.m., I was lying flat on my back unable to do anything. For the rest of the day, any time I took the towel off my eyes, my headache would come roaring back. I could not figure out why this kept day after day without relief. What was causing all this misery? #GodisMyStrength #CPEO #DoubleVIsion My Vision History I have for many years had issues with my vision when I get tired. In college, I abruptly could no longer see at night after a long day of classes. I went to the eye doctor and was told my vision was slightly abnormal. I got a pair of glasses, and my vision improved. I rarely wore the glasses except when I was extremely tired. In 2014, my mom was in a bad car accident. She required a lot of care. The stress of being thrust into this new caregiver role was a lot to handle. My health suffered. During this time, my vision worsened. I found my old pair of glasses. My vision slightly improved, but everything in my visual field seemed to slightly oscillate back and forth. It was hard to explain, but everything seemed fuzzy and out of focus. I pushed through, but I started having severe headaches and dizziness. In 2015, I went to the eye doctor. I told the eye doctor I thought I was having double vision. The eye doctor did not know what was wrong with my vision. She referred me on to a neuro-ophthalmologist.During this time, it was discovered one of the health complications I was having from Mitochondrial Disease is a condition called chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia. My eye muscles in my left eye are much weaker than my right eye. This causes my left eye to be lower in my eye socket than my right eye. When the eyes do not align, double vision occurs. To correct the double vision, prism can be used. Prism is used to bend light to create a single image in the brain. After numerous pairs of glasses, a year later in 2016, I finally was prescribed glasses with the correct prism strength. In 2019, I attempted to get new glasses. I lost count how many times I went to the eye doctor, but the correct prism strength was never achieved. Every time new glasses were made, the prescription gave me a worse headache than not wearing the glasses. I was extremely frustrated. I finally gave up and decided I would deal with the headaches and other symptoms I got when I did not wear glasses. It took some time, but eventually the horrible headaches and dizziness lessened. My body adapted to having double vision. In August, I abruptly started having issues with blood clots in my PICC line arm. For more info, please see the video:    • PICC Line Blood Clots: 24 Hours in the ER   The blood clots traveled to my lungs, leg and my brain. There was an incidence in which I lost control of one side of my body and fell to the ground. I am not sure, but it seemed as though I had a transient ischemic attack or TIA. A TIA is a very brief loss of blood flow to the brain. It is like a stroke, but the blood vessel blockage lasts a very short time and then open back up again. For more info, please see the video:    • PICC Line Blood Clots UPDATE   Since this time, I have noticed I started having significant headaches, dizziness and double vision. The other day I was absolutely at my wits end. I was tired of having to lie down with my eyes covered for most of the day. I suddenly wondered if my vision may have changed. I realized my dizziness was accompanied by double vision and nausea. I found my old pair of glasses I had from several years ago. I put them on. Usually, the glasses help me see, but after an hour, I start developing a horrible headache. Amazingly, when I put on the glasses, my headache started decreasing. I was shocked by the improvement I had. After wearing the glasses for several days, my headaches have greatly decreased in intensity. I still have daily headaches, but the severity is much less. I try to go as long as I can during the day without wearing my glasses, but when the headaches become bad, I put on the glasses. I know the glasses are not the correct strength because my headaches linger on. Perhaps I should go to the eye doctor and attempt to get new glasses, but after trying several different clinics over the last six years, finding an eye doctor who knows anything about prisms has been futile. For the moment, I rejoice and praise God for this relief in my symptoms. For more fun and adventures please check out my blog: https://mitowarrior.blogspot.com MeWe: https://mewe.com/join/lifewithaventil... Facebook:   / living-with-chronic-illness-god-is-my-stre...   Email: [email protected] Affiliated YouTube Channel:    / lifewithavent