For my friends and readers, my apologies. I haven't been keeping up on the computer as well as I'd hoped. This article is about one of the reasons. One of the "gifts" my MS has left me with is is a bad nystagmus problem. This is the involuntary motion of the eyes when looking at something. This past week, I had the first appointment with Dr. Bell--a neuro-opthamologist. The appointment was to specifically look into the nystagmus, and to see what could be done. My problem is a mostly horizontal, but sometimes slightly pendular, motion. The interesting thing he and his nurse discovered is that it is largely caused by convergence. That is, the closer to me I look, the worse it gets. That explains why watching TV doesn't bother me much, but reading a book is sometimes impossible. (As with everything else, my eyes have their good days and bad days.) The computer screen is more book-distance, so my eyes are worse. That, combined with having to constantly watch my typing, as I can now only one-finger type with my left index finger (and I'm right-handed), means my eyes are in constant close-up motion. That is very tiring. It does put more impetus on Dragon Naturally Speaking. I just wish it could get past its problems with my voice. Keep trying... The nurse made a couple interesting comments. First, it seems unusual for MS-induced nystagmus to last this long. So, will it possibly go away eventually? MS often affects colour perception, and mine is still excellent (I would never have been accepted in Telecom if it was less than perfect. The last card was the number "3", which began a recitation of Monty Python's Holy Hand-grenade of Antioch: "Three shall be the number of the counting, and the number of the counting shall be three...") Dr. Bell wants to see me again to test for my peripheral perception and possibly other aspects. I hope this won't involve more eye drops. This first appointment left me out cold for two hours on the couch. See, when my eyes get tired, my whole body gets tired and I need a nap. That's another reason for me being behind. Ele and I are trying to go for more walks, etc. While enjoyable, the motion strains my eyes. A one-hour walk thus easily leads to a one hour nap. I sure hope the nurse is correct in wondering if the nystagmus will go away. That will just leave my eyes not tracking together. While also very tiring, it will only be one of currently two problems. Rainer