This summer, I met a new friend: diplopia (double vision).
I never had a single eye-related problem in my life, but a couple of things started happening to me 6–9 months ago.
It all started with the training and the half-marathon I ran at Stramilano back in March.
The night after the half-marathon (which I completed in sub 2 hours 😅), my eyes started crossing.
The right eye seemed to struggle to focus, and I ended up with strabismus.
I went to bed. The next day, I was fine.
I thought it was just stress and tiredness from the event.
But this summer, the situation exploded.
I drove back to Calabria for 12 hours and arrived home with my eyes completely crossed, seeing double when looking far.
Close-distance vision? Perfect.
But looking straight ahead? Two worlds instead of one. Two people instead of one. Two cars in front instead of one...
It was August, and not many doctors were around. I still managed to find an eye doctor.
He checked me, looked preoccupied, and said:
"You have diplopia."
I had no clue what that was. I thought: okay, glasses and done.
Then he continued:
"Double vision at 40 can be two things: You've always had strabismus since childhood, untreated, and now it's exploded. You have a neurological problem.”
And since he was my child's doctor, he wasn't sure I had strabismus; he did not see...and we (he) never cured. So he went on:
"Matteo, we need to run brain and neurology tests to exclude any brain causes."
Now picture this: you go to a doctor thinking it's stress, or maybe just age catching up with you.
And he tells you — you need a brain MRI.
I was devastated.
Those days from Friday (when I got the news) to Wednesday (the scan) were probably the worst of my life.
Yes, double vision is common with brain issues.
But on the other side, as the past passed, I was strangely calm.
Why? Because I had no other symptoms: no fatigue. No strange headaches. I was in shape, training 3x a week, working hard, feeling strong.
How could it be a brain problem?
Anyway - long story short.
My brain was clear. 😍
My Lancaster test (eye + brain muscles) was OK too.
But I do have diplopia — mainly from the far right and front, when looking at a distance.
The verdict? Untreated strabismus. Apparently, I always had it, but no one ever noticed. (not even my eye doctor...).
And then… I turned 40.
And suddenly, it showed up. Uncontrolled.
So now?
👉New glasses.
👉Monitoring it with my orthoptist. (Dr.ssa Catalano, my angel)
👉A big scare I'll never forget.
It reminded me of two things:
It ruined my summer. But I'm glad I had Federica, my mum, dad, brother, and my daughters with me.
And now if you see me around or in calls with new glasses, you know the reason behind. 😅
No sales, no leadership, no fractional VP of Sales today.
Just something personal I wanted to share.
See you next week.
– Matteo
P.S. Here are some pictures of the journey:
First Eye Doctor Prescription (RMN encefalo --> MRI brain)
I am chatting with my orthotist, who has been the best doctor I have ever met in my life (Dr.ssa Catalano in Gioiosa Ionica (RC). Here I shared my fear of the brain scan with her.
MRI cleared 😍
Chat with my neurologist, Dr. Barbero, who finally said, "This is not a brain issue"
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P.S. If you missed my other newsletters, don't worry; you can catch them here.
