Visual disturbances

I say visual but it's no eye problem, I know they are coming from the brain. So:
- I can't read any light colored letters on dark background. The higher the contrast, the more difficult or even impossible to read. White text on black background is almost impossible to read. If I concentrate even for a few seconds on such text, I'm starting to faint. A software to quickly invert colors saves me in such cases.
- I can't watch many repeating patterns. For example one and the same image in multiple rows or columns , many of them. It somehow confuses my brain.
- The third problem is actually a combination of the first two. Watching repeating black and white stripes confuses my brain and I'm starting to faint.
- That was for static images. It becomes even worse if I watch quickly flashing high contrast images (those that cause epileptic seizures in some people). They affect me in a similar way, only I don't have a seizure but PEM after watching some.

Anyone experience something similar?

 

Very similar but not as bad as fainting. However, can't continue any of the visual experiences you've mentioned above. Another thing is I find it really difficult watching old black and white films. I get very dizzy and drained.

 

Some research on vision has been carried out https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/npb/people/ch190/CFS_ME

 

Sounds familiar, except for the sensation of feeling faint. I think it can make you feel dizzy, though, which may be interpreted as feeling faint.

I'm pretty sure that this is a consequence of the eyes not working together well, something which is controlled, in part, by the vestibular balance centers in the ears. Among other things, there is a certain reflex that keeps your eyes locked when your head turns, and also during unnoticeably small movements of the head. I think this can get screwed up if your balance is affected in ME/CFS.

I've had a lot of problems with repeating patterns on carpeting, and another favorite involves the vertical groves on escalator steps. My height may place me at just the right distance from those groves to make it difficult for both eyes to "lock" onto the same place correctly. It's somewhat like the eyes fighting to merge the two images in a stereopticon



Magazine covers and full page ads occasionally feature semi-reflective, silvery backgrounds with red print on them. This drive me nuts. It's in some way "painful" to look at, probably due to the contrast and the spatial confusion caused by the reflective surface. For healthy people, this may just be "attention grabbing," but if you have visual/balance problems it's very irritating.

ETA: I think that "spatial confusion' I mentioned above is caused by the right and left eye seeing slightly different highlights when looking at a semi-reflective surface. It's similar to problems I've had with Polaroid sunglasses where the left and right lenses can block slightly different patterns of glare due to the polarity of the light.