fluorescent lights..

[meg321]

Does anyone else have trouble with fluorescent lighting in large stores or markets.  I just get miserable and almost have to run out or keep suffering to finish my shopping anf then do bath..lol


hugs, meg

[MrsD91115]

I know little about MS. I came here looking for answers as my 11yo daughter has symptoms but no diagnosis.

She has serious issues with fluorescent light and we found "irlen spectral filters" on her glasses help alot. They are tinted lenses (glasses or contacts) of a color specific to you.

I just thought some here would find it helpful.

[myshoeisonfire]

YES!!!!! me too!!! the same exact things happen to me!! Ive lost many jobs due to this!!! when i go outside.. ill be fine within 30 minutes!!

problem is, doctors offices are all fluorescent.. and by the time i get in there, I have no idea whats going on!! ive tried to make notes to help myself remember, but then I dont know what to do with the notes, or how to comprehend them!!

i thought I was the only one with symptoms like this!!!

this changes everything!!!

[Chukfi_Tobi]

OMG!  I realize this discussion line was almost 2 years ago, but I have to add my comment!  I never knew that other people suffered from fluorescent lights the way I do!  In fact, I just posted this over on the neurology forum:
Is there any treatment for the effect of fluorescent lights on a person?  Since I was a pre-teen, if I'm in a place with fluorescent lights on the ceiling, I start to feel like I'm asleep and dreaming, I can't think straight, can't remember what I came in for, and can't remember how to get out.  I've tried to force myself to deal with it so I could shop in stores like WalMart, Macy's, etc., but the longer I'm there, the more disoriented I become, sometimes to the point where I feel like I'm tumbling forward, and sometimes I get tunnel vision and am close to losing consciousness.  When it gets to that point, I head for the door.  It's very frustrating and very scary.  As soon as I'm in natural light again, I'm fine. The pinkish fluorescent lights immediately send me into a barely conscious state, and the white ones hit me after just a couple of minutes.  I've wondered if it has something to do with the oscillating nature of the lights, combined with possibly some white noise creating a sensory overload.  Please give me any thoughts you have on this problem.  It negatively affects my daily living.  Thank you!

[Jep437]

I have the exact same symptoms. Sorry I haven’t found a solution yet but wanted to let you know you are not alone. I have tried a wide variety of sunglasses and they do not seem to solve my issues.
Jeff

[meg321]

That answered my questions, I do wear sunglasses but they don't help much.  I will ask my opthamologist (sp?) when I see him. I know I mentioned it before and said there was something that would help.

I think I asked him, or had a dream, which I do often and think its real.

thanks, meg

[sunnyinthesnow]

Like Ess said- sunglasses are a good, good thing. I wear them often. And don't care how much I'm made fun of.

I wonder if it isn't an overstimulation thing? There's GOT to be an ms connection when so many ms-ers have problems with light and sound... just gotta be.

[GrannyJo6]

I have always been sensitive to the flourescent lights, especially coming in from the dark. Would trigger a migraine most of the times. I've not ever liked them, but after this last exacerbation I realized that they are just part of too much sensory input. I just freeze. Can't function - get me out of here NOW! Yeah, they mess with the brain alrighty!

[essdipity]

An easy and low-tech solution is to have sunglasses handy for such occasions. They really help. Besides, you'll look cool wearing sunglasses indoors  ;-)

ess

[Ufrustrated2]

count me in on this. balance and weakness issues will begin at these times. not every single time but most.

it is even listed in my medical file about this "trigger" although no one put 2-n-2 together back then.

really really ironinc you  and others posted this. i usually will leave or sometimes take a nerve pill before going to such busy places.

what a saving grace forum this is...

[cali1892]

Yes. I don't know what it is but yes. It doesn't do it all the time.  But when it does I have to just leave. Sometimes when I wear a hat to dim the light it helps.

[Zacksmomi]

The lights in Target make me sick every time I go in there.  I also have problems in classrooms and Dr offices.  

I notice it happens a lot more if i am fatigued.
It is Yucky!!

Best Wishes
D

[meg321]

I have gotten really sick before, dizzy and my eyes hurt, and I got a head ache, usually in costco. and I would just have to leave.

Sometimes its worse than other times.  I have them in my kitchen and dont even know they are there...maybe its the white fixture that hold them.

weird, whats the difference?

hugs, meg

[PastorDan]

Banned?  As far as I know, they will soon be REQUIRED!  Our wonderful government is supposedly banning incandescent bulbs -- you know, the ordinary, everyday kind we've always used, that get hot?  Like Thomas Edison invented?  There was some movement trying to get this ban modified in the previous Congress, but I don't think it went anywhere.  Now we are learning that fluorescent bulbs are a problem in landfills -- mercury, maybe?  I don't remember.  Anyway, Big Brother will "fix" it for us; you can count on that.

[LATW]

They should be banned!! :-)   I have an awful time with them.

LA  dx'd 2008

[jensequitur]

I think it's the flickering of the lights that causes me to feel so weird and out of sorts.  I shade my eyes with my hand - if you don't want to look like Lewis and Clarke, get yourself a hat with a brim.

[HVAC]

FYI I have heard from other MSers that rose color or amber shooting glasses you get from a sporting goods store can help.


Alex

[Lulu54]

Meg,  Fluorescent lighting to me is absolutely miserable.  I've never associated it with my MS - just that it is offensive lighting to my eyes and senses.  

I pick up an oscillation from the lights and it does play with my bearings.  

-Lu

[HVAC]

My mobility dog Polly helps. I explain it as if  my gyrascope were broken. Polly acts as my left side so I only concentrate on the right. It is amazing how much easier it is.

Alex

[rendean]

Yes, fluorescent lights and a busy atmosphere of people and/or things moving quickly around me intensify my symptoms. According to my PT gal this is because the brain is receiving too much sensory input and causes disruptions in functioning.

When I told her I was going to NY  last month and riding the subway she was horrified that if would be too many stimuli and gave me coping skills to reduce the effects. I did fine with her suggestions and tolerated a 23 hour day...subways and all.

Ren