I've recently been having problems with what I can only describe as being 'eye fatigue'.

Whenever I start concentrating hard on something mentally in a book, such as a book about math, I quickly get extremely tired physically. I feel completely drained and it's as if my mind stops working. I can no longer concentrate or comprehend what i'm reading. I feel like a zombie, that wants to just stare blankly at the wall for a while or lay down and rest. It seems to only involve things that have to be read.

Usually, after I close my eyes for around 30 minutes, it goes away, and I can continue reading. Obviously this makes getting anything done extremely tedious because of the frequent breaks I require.

It's like a type of mental fatigue, except it seems to involve the eyes somehow. I don't know, it's strange to describe, and I have no idea what it could be or what could be causing it. Can anyone help me out?

It sounds like convergence insufficiency to me. Which is an eye coordination problem. There are eye doctors who give eye exersizes for that sort of thing.
If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them with what little I know.

Montgumski

Thanks, i've read up some about it after you mentioned it, and actually noticed some other symptoms associated with it that I have had before. There was mention of 'periocular headaches' which sound similar to some random headaches i've been having for a while now. Usually, they begin right whenever I wake up in the morning, and the pain feels like it is directly behind my eyes. It goes from a mild to a stabbing pain whenever I change positions (sitting to standing). It's not a regular thing though. I get them about once every couple of weeks and popping a few ibuprofen gets rid of it for the day.

Other than that though, the fatigue is the main problem with it. No real blurryness (well, other than my typical near sighted-ness that i've had for years) or double vision.

Does this sound similar to you? I'm not sure if this is the cause, but after reading those articles I have a distinct feeling it is some problem relating to my eyes now. I might consider making an appointment with the eye doctor after all, even though it is kind of an awkward problem to explain.

Hi mo42,

I don't believe I've ever had the stabbing pain or periocular headaches that you describe. However, your desciption of your reading problem is almost identical to what I've experienced, such as a total lack of concentration when reading. I've had like three optometrists tell me I had problems with convergence. Blurryness or double vision aren't always a symptom, they are absent in my case as well.

You might be going farsighted or even getting a combo. of nearsightedness and farsightedness. I've been having similar symptoms, like that "foggy feeling." I'm seeing an opthamologist next week. I think I'm getting farsighted. I've been nearsighted, since I was a child, but I'm having a harder time focusing, when I concentrate on something. This usually indicates a prescription change. Dry eye syndrome and sinus problems also add to the eye strain. Good luck to us both.