Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Palinopsia, another effect of ciguatera

So I've had weird visual disturbances for a year and four months since I got ciguatera, and finally found out today what it's called: palinopsia. I see too many light shadows all the time making it hard to focus. Doctors call it overactive after-images. Very little is known about the condition, other than it rarely gets better and like ciguatera-caused nerve pain, is caused by over active neuron signals firing off. Great. Anyone else have this too?

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Updates- still got it, 14 months later....

I have been doing better overall with ciguatera but must avoid the trigger foods or symptoms quickly return. Luckily my gastro problems almost fully normalized 11 months into it. But if I eat so much as a piece of chocolate, cup of decaf coffee, or a few nuts, I have nerve pain for days. In January I ate lots of those foods and some alcohol- and started waking up with numb feet and hands plus visual disturbances again. Scary! But after stopping the foods it got better within a month.

I went to Hawaii last week and snorkeled on a reef that has ciguatera. It was odd to see the lovely triggerfish and know they may be carrying it. And to be so close to the toxin that has caused so much heartache.