Brief double vision in the mornings

May 19, 2012 5:18 PM

For a while now, I've had about 5 minutes of double vision in one eye, but only in the mornings. Is this normal?

I have my routine eye exam in a couple weeks, and I plan to ask my optometrist, but I was wondering if anyone else experiences this.

It's only in the mornings, right as I wake up. I'm usually fiddling with my phone before getting out of bed, so I end up closing my right eye in order to see properly. Within a few minutes it corrects itself. I don't experience it anytime during the day.

I do wear glasses for nearsightedness and I believe I have some astigmatism as well.

posted by cozenedindigo to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

No, double vision that is distracting enough to make you close that eye is not normal. Make sure you talk to your specialist about this and make further appointments as necessary. There could be lots of causes, from benign to less benign.
posted by Nomyte at 5:33 PM on May 19, 2012

I get this sometimes if I wake up from lying on my side, and the eye that was against the pillow was pressed against it harder than it should be and my eye literally got a bit squished and deformed which leads to funky vision problems until it gets over it. It's very obvious when this is the case though - the side of my head definitely feels squished.
posted by brainmouse at 5:42 PM on May 19, 2012

I doubt that it is something serious, mostly because it's only lasting a few minutes, but weird vision problems can be signs of more serious issues (this happened to someone I know) and the sooner you get it checked out, the better. Just to be on the safe side.
posted by tacoma1 at 6:34 PM on May 19, 2012

http://www.glaucoma-eye-info.com/retrobulbar-optic-neuritis.html
posted by tacoma1 at 6:37 PM on May 19, 2012

Are you sleep deprived? Sometimes when I wake up with not enough sleep and try to look at a screen, my vision gets weird. 5 minutes seems long though; I recall it being a 0.5-1 minute thing.
posted by scose at 7:39 PM on May 19, 2012

I do something similar to this, my eye doc said it's just very mild cross-eye and gave me some focus exercises to do at home. Hopefully it's equally non-serious in your case!
posted by vasi at 12:42 AM on May 20, 2012

Go see a doctor. Some serious possible causes for these symptoms are not isolated to the eyes.
posted by abx1-se at 12:51 AM on May 20, 2012

If it's glaucoma you need to see an opthamologist now, and not wait. (I have it). Make sure you do not take diphenhydramine (Benadryl or over the counter sleep meds). If you do, stop immediately.
posted by andreap at 6:32 AM on May 20, 2012

I brought that exact issue to my eye doctor - reading my iphone in bed gave me blurry vision for a while after - and he said I need reading glasses and the issue was my eye muscles spasming, or something.
posted by thatone at 9:30 AM on May 20, 2012

Go to the doctor. It could be nothing but diplopia is a symptom of some pretty serious diseases.
posted by pintapicasso at 10:31 AM on May 20, 2012

Response by poster: Well I saw my optometrist today and he said not to worry about it. He said if it happened during the day it might be cause for concern but as it is it's fine. Thanks everyone!
posted by cozenedindigo at 4:23 PM on June 6, 2012