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[graeme]

Hi,

I have keratoconus in my left eye.

I have recently had an Quantitive Electronecephologram of brain waves and found that my right occiptal lobe (at the back) of my brain is omitting too much delta / theta slow wave brain waves.

I fear this my be because I do not wear a lens.

Can you advise?

I also believe my sleep is serverely hampering by Keratoconus. Do you have any comments?

Many thanks for any advice.

Graeme Lawler

[rosemary johnson]

Hallo Graeme. Welcome to the forum.
A Quantitative Electroencephalogram?? However did you get to have one of those??? Was this NHS or somthing you had to pay for?
(Maybe I should ask "why" too, but I'll quite understand if you want that to be your own business.)
It would seem fairly plausible that, if one eye is seeing more than the other, and the better one is doing more than its share of the work, then the two sides of the brain that process the incoming signals from each eye would be unevenly loaded. And IIRR the left side of the brain processes the right eye and vice versa.
But as for the details, I think you need a neurologist of the right type.
Same for the question about sleep - I don't know why an eye condition per se should disturb one's sleep - though if your brain is "stressed out" in some way from struggling to handle distorted vision signals - and mybe even getting headaches because of it - that might make it harder to sleep sweetly. But again, I'm an amateur here.
Rosemary

[Andrew MacLean]

Graeme

Welcome to the forum

I have a great deal of difficulty sleeping, but I think that has more to do with my apnoea than KC.

I use a CPAP machine to help me sleep.

I am not sure that I understand the mechanism that links your not using contact lenses with your occipital lobe firing too many delta/theta waves. From my Psych 101 at University in the 1970's I do recall that the eyes send signals along the optic nerves to the occipital lobes at the rear of the brain. There is an occipital lobe on each hemisphere of the brain.

I think it is fair to say that the eye is only the source of the signal, and that 'sight' is a function of the interaction between the eyes and the brain.

It is certainly true that the brain takes the information provided by the eyes and tries to make this information into a coherent image. It is equally true that the information provided by KC eyes with no lenses can be very distorted and that the brain has to work very hard indeed to reconcile this information into an image. What I am unsure of is why this would lead to an increase in delta/theta wave activity?

Andrew

[graeme]

Hi Rosemary / Andrew

Thank you very much for your replies. The 'QEEG' was a result of undertaking a sleep study. I'm told I have Periodic leg movement but they can't tell me how or why. I'm probably jumping ot the wrong conclusions but I'm desparate to wake up one day refreshed and I don't really fancy taking the ropinirole medication prescribed. (I started it for a while and it made some difference but I just felt more 'spaced out'.)

I have read interesting books by Aldous Huxley called 'the art of seeing' which got my mind working about the imporatance of good vision.

i have also read into neurofeedback as a method of inhibiting slower brain wave spikes during the daytime because I'm told that I may have ADD as a result perhaps of poor sleep. However, I am aware this is a forum for KC and am happy to remain on the subject!

Thanks guys
Graeme

[rosemary johnson]

Ah - I see.
COmiserations on the (non-)sleeping. I go through spells of sleeping badl if at all.
Well, at the moment, I'm sleeping badly cos I keep rolling over onto a broken rib. Ouch, ouch.
Don't really know about link to poor sleep and bad vision - unless, as I said before, you are getting overtired, and maybe headachey, from struggling to make sense of the distorted visual images getting to your brain.
Maybe your brain is just rather unusual.......
Have you ever tried going the other way? - that is, instead of trying hard to sleep all night, trying to get refreshed by regular power naps?
Or even, trying some relaxation/meditation type techniques to get some deep rest (and hopefully refreshment) - like being "asleep" while you're technically awake?
SOrry if you've treid all this and it didn't work at all.
I've tried all the above at times and sometimes had positive effects - on feeling well and relaxed, that is, though not necessarily on the insomnia.
BTW, I think I'm more of an auditory person, so it isn't struggling to process oor visual images that keep me awake. But what does is clashing sounds. Like,neighbours playing music with a beat that is going completely the wrong speed for my natural body rhythm. Or when I've gone abroad, and I've got English speech rhythms and the rhythms of the foreign language where I've gone both floating aroundi n my brain and clashing inthe middle. I guess that's some sort of sound equivalent...?
Rosemary

[Andrew MacLean]

Long ago I discovered that it was not a good idea for bad sleepers to lie in bed trying to sleep. The very effort seems to negate the goal!

As I say above, I live with Apnoea and I manage to sleep with my CPAP for about three hours at a time. When I am awake, I get out of bed and do something. I work at home so there is never a problem finding an activity that I can pursue without disturbing the rest of the house.

After an hour or so I go back to bed and sleep some more.

All the best

Andrew

CPAP = Continuous Positive Air Pressure.

[pepepepe]

I have a friend who had "sticky" electrodes put around his head and the machine they where attached to was causing it to out put erratic waves in results. He has KC and has had trouble correcting his vision. However when he is fully corrected all is well. His eye tracking problem went away when he tried sclerals lenses also.

I guess the eye is a part of the brain. Sleep is a problem for me too (I hate the alarm clock), but I had that before KC came in to my life