visual hallucinations

[candycane]

Has anyone had visual hallucinations & if so do you know what causes them?

Can you describe what they're like? Do they go away when you close your eyes? Is this a MS symptom?

(I'm asking because I'm experiencing visual changes at night; first I thought it was floaters or an eyeball problem, but it has changed over the past few months and I'm wondering if I'm actually hallucinating)

[Debby]

Candy cane, I have had visual hallucinations, also at night. Mine were always dark and scary - people dressed in black, giant spiders on the wall, etc. if I closed my eyes I would have auditory hallucinations. I began to sleep with ear plugs and an eye mask, which I use to this day. I believe the hallucinations I had were related to medication which i no longer take, however, I still occasionally think I see something out of the corner of my eye, and often have to look twice to be sure there is not something on the bed, or next to me on the sofa.

These hallucinations were some of the most challenging and frightening Sx I have been through. I knew they were not real, but sometimes I convinced myself they WERE real, and would have to ask someone in my family if they saw what I saw.

I started to be afraid of the dark and trying to sleep. I would sit up all night with the lights on, but then I started having them in the living room, alone. It seemed better then, to at least be in bed next to my husband if something happened.

Good luck.

[MarkLavelle]

The only time I've had real visual hallucinations (not floaters or ocular migraines), they turned out to be due to a stroke.

The hallucinations started as small areas of distortion/smearing in my right peripheral vision, but after a week I "saw" cars passing me that weren't there (I stopped driving that day)! I don't recall the hallucinations persisting when my eyes were closed, but wouldn't swear either way...

It's important to note that what I was "seeing" was quite different from how my vision was actually impaired. The reality was that I had homonymous hemianopsia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homonymous_hemianopsia) - my eyes weren't seeing anything to the right of center.

"Seeing things" (in a sort of light show sense) when you close your eyes is quite common.

[journeyman]

Hallucinations too. Long teaching session.

I am a MS Ret. Clinical Psych. RN. There may be more new stuff in research. When I was in nursing school and before I learned my love of Psych we learned that damage to the nerve cells in the visual center could cause hallucinations. Sometimes they are just blobs and our brains converts them to things associated with stuff we know that we know - if that makes sense.

MS lesions can cause problems and distortions. There are a whole boatload of other things that can cause hallucinations. Trauma, medications, drugs, psychological problems etc.

As a MS'er who went undiagnosed for thirty years had hallucinations such as snakes slithering under beds, (I collected snakes as a kid and am still fond of them but not under a bed). Alligator under a bush, cats and dogs. All before I was diagnosed and after nursing school. You can just imagine how traumatic that was knowing my love of psych and thinking I was psychotic. (At least working in psych I looked better than my patients and knew how to cover them.)

When I finally went partially blind because of MS and a silent stroke in the speech area my auditory and visual hallucinations dramatically increased. I was very fearful until I remembered a trick from nursing school and psych training. If you fear them all your "mental and physical" neuro-transmitters and hormones go into high gear. They only get worse. Anxiety enhances them. If they are "floaters" the will remain pretty much unchanged.

The trick is not to "fear" it but try to "see" what it actually is. Turn on the light. I broke the spell on snakes when I turned on the light and tried to see what kine it was. The "ghost" cat or dog that I felt jumping on my bed and could see the outline disappeared when I turned on the light. I wanted to see if it was a ghost of one of our former pets.

Some of them I would see out of the corner of my vision. If I directed my focus to see what it was it disappeared. The trick is to control your fear and or anxiety and take control of the situation and TRY to ACTUALLY SEE what it is. After about a couple of months of that they actually disappeared. I am down to about maybe one a year. If I look for it it's gone.

I hope this helps. The trick worked for me. Control of fear, anxiety or panic of the unknown only makes it more frequent, scary, intense and seemingly real.
Dave Tampa, FL ( 84 degrees outside - we missed our winter. )
"Journeyman"

[MSW1963]

I had VHs' from one of the first Fatigue stimulant meds rx'd by my then itialian MS Guru, chair of local NMSS.

Mine were also in the evening/late night, usually when one would assume my morning dose would have worn off later in the day.

The med at the time was know to cause hepatic failure and other side effects including the visual hallucinations at the dose it was rx'd. I think the med was taken off the market since then.

If you are taking stimulants for fatigue, consider a diary for a few days to track if you experience visual hallucinations only when you medicate with your stimulant meds.

[Debby]

Dave....THANK YOU for that fantastic information! I will be applying it if needed!!!

[fishead]

candycane,

I have had "hallucinations", but they are neither scarey nor concerning, just different. I see things out of my peripheral vision. Things moving, as in an animal walking or something just "being there". I blame MS on this, as our brain is so complex, it only makes SENSE that we/I could have this happen, because of having lesions on nerve pathways.

Hope YOUR hallucinations are not scarey or anything that causes you concern/stress.

HUGS

LaTish

[valeriem2220]

I also have them.
I see mice running across the floor a lot, shadows in my peripheral vision.
The one I hate the most is when I think someone is walking up behind me. Now that I know what it is I don't turn around startled any longer, I just figure it is not really there.
My boss just did walk up behind me a couple of weeks ago and stood to the side and somewhat behind me. I froze with fear when I actually SAW her.