In case it's helpful for anyone else who, broadly speaking, has trouble with attention or learning though isn't convinced its ADHD: get your eyes checked.
"Due to similar symptoms, an undetected visual dysfunction can be misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD, dyslexia or a reading disability. A comprehensive eye exam, which rules out a binocular vision dysfunction, is critical to determining if vision is a contributing factor."
For years I had trouble concentrating and sticking with a task. It felt like my eyes were exhausted even after a few hours of simple computer work, so I was constantly getting up and looking away and taking breaks. This led to not even wanting to pay attention or focus on anything at all, especially on screen, because I knew I wouldn't be able to stick with it. It felt like my brain was mush.
Fast forward almost five years of twitching from one task to the next, it started to feel like my vision was getting worse. I wasn't having any luck getting my prescription right with the eye doctor I had been seeing, so I went to another doctor, then another, then another, until one doctor refused to write me a new prescription because she picked up on a slight muscle imbalance in one of my eyes, which was preventing my eyes from tracking and converging together.
She sent me to a pediatric vision specialist (they'll see adults) who primarily deal with muscular dysfunction in the eye—these folks quite literally changed my life.
Turns out I have all sorts of muscular issues with one of my eyes, which causes both eyes to work overtime trying to coordinate and focus together. This led to tired eyes, and a tired, sleepy brain. Long story short, it took a few months to get the prescription just right, along with some initial vision therapy, but once I got used to the new glasses, my ability to focus returned almost overnight. Everything felt so much calmer—reading, writing, thinking, driving, speaking.
These days, after a handful of changes to my prescription over the years, I've reached a dead-end with lens corrections, so surgery is the only option left if things get worse. But so far, the glasses with appropriate corrections have been absolutely incredible.
Anyway, I just wanted to post this in case it's helpful to someone who is lurking with tired eyes and a fractured attention span. You want an optometrist with F.C.O.V.D after their name, someone who specializes in binocular vision and muscular dysfunction.
> "Due to similar symptoms, an undetected visual dysfunction can be misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD, dyslexia or a reading disability. A comprehensive eye exam, which rules out a binocular vision dysfunction, is critical to determining if vision is a contributing factor."
Does a standard eye exam cover that? An optometrist recently told me that my eyes are "boring" and my mild prescription hasn't changed in years. So I've been trying to address my tired eyes with the basics: "20-20-20" (every 20 minutes, look at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds), actually wearing my glasses, drinking enough water, exercise, stress reduction, and getting enough sleep. If I continue to have trouble, should I ask for some more comprehensive exam?
> Anyway, I just wanted to post this in case it's helpful to someone who is lurking with tired eyes and a fractured attention span.
I suspect there are a lot of such folks, but the obvious suspect is the pandemic. Among other things, it often means fewer unplanned vision breaks and generally worse self-care.
> You want an optometrist with F.C.O.V.D after their name, someone who specializes in binocular vision and muscular dysfunction.
To rephrase my initial question more precisely: do I need to get the person who does the exam to have that qualification, or is that just who I'd go to after seeing something is wrong on a standard exam with any optometrist?
I'd suggest finding a doctor with the F.C.O.V.D qualification for the exam. In my experience, an exam focused on binocular vision issues is very different from standard eye exam. I had to do a few drawing exercises on paper while looking through a range of devices I had never seen before, along with all sorts of tests for eye tracking, visual-motor coordination, convergence, and perception. Hell, my imbalance was responsible for a cocked and crooked neck and funny left-leaning posture. Posture was never a point of discussion when seeing different optometrists throughout the years.
If it turns out that you don't have any muscular issues, they'd still be able to help with your standard prescription if you're trying to get it right!
Thanks for the advice! I expect my problems will just go away with general self-care improvements, but I'll try that if not.
Hmm, is there any relation between this sort of problem and eyelid twitching ("blepharospasm")? WebMD doesn't seem to think so, but maybe you've heard differently.
"Due to similar symptoms, an undetected visual dysfunction can be misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD, dyslexia or a reading disability. A comprehensive eye exam, which rules out a binocular vision dysfunction, is critical to determining if vision is a contributing factor."
See: http://walesby3d.com/vision-learning/ and http://walesby3d.com/what-is-vision-therapy/
For years I had trouble concentrating and sticking with a task. It felt like my eyes were exhausted even after a few hours of simple computer work, so I was constantly getting up and looking away and taking breaks. This led to not even wanting to pay attention or focus on anything at all, especially on screen, because I knew I wouldn't be able to stick with it. It felt like my brain was mush.
Fast forward almost five years of twitching from one task to the next, it started to feel like my vision was getting worse. I wasn't having any luck getting my prescription right with the eye doctor I had been seeing, so I went to another doctor, then another, then another, until one doctor refused to write me a new prescription because she picked up on a slight muscle imbalance in one of my eyes, which was preventing my eyes from tracking and converging together.
She sent me to a pediatric vision specialist (they'll see adults) who primarily deal with muscular dysfunction in the eye—these folks quite literally changed my life.
Turns out I have all sorts of muscular issues with one of my eyes, which causes both eyes to work overtime trying to coordinate and focus together. This led to tired eyes, and a tired, sleepy brain. Long story short, it took a few months to get the prescription just right, along with some initial vision therapy, but once I got used to the new glasses, my ability to focus returned almost overnight. Everything felt so much calmer—reading, writing, thinking, driving, speaking.
These days, after a handful of changes to my prescription over the years, I've reached a dead-end with lens corrections, so surgery is the only option left if things get worse. But so far, the glasses with appropriate corrections have been absolutely incredible.
Anyway, I just wanted to post this in case it's helpful to someone who is lurking with tired eyes and a fractured attention span. You want an optometrist with F.C.O.V.D after their name, someone who specializes in binocular vision and muscular dysfunction.