Anyone else with visual disturbances?

[tot_teacher]

Hey guys,

Its been ages since I've posted.  I've been laying low trying not to worry about being in limboland.  I've had a particularly hard fall/winter with another round of symptoms without answers. My question to you is regarding visual disturbances.  Not just double/blurry vision (but I have those as well) but more specifically seeing flashes of light and lights (eyes open and closed) while in the dark.  ie: dark room when waiting to fall asleep

I've seen numerous Opthalmologists who all concur that my eyes have absolutely no sign of disease and my MRIs don't seem to suggest ON.  I do have an appointment with a neuro-opthalmologist at Duke University in April.

Just wondering if this sounds familiar to any of you AWESOME members of the MS community!!

Thanks,
Alisa

[alixjo]

I had ON last April and I still get (but not as often as I used too) flashes of light in a dark room, quite often the light is a green colour, sometimes white.

Alixjo

[Quixotic1]

Hi, Tot Teacher!  Long time no see!

Do you have any problems with seeing colors that are not as deeply risch as the other eye?  Is this occurring in both eyes?

IF this is Optic Neuritis, and it might well be, those Ophthalmologists should know that the physical exam in confirmed optic neuritis is NORMAL in over 60% of people because the attack on the myelin occurred farther back (away from the eye) on the nerve.  Sixty percent!

Have you had Visual Evoked Potentials?  VEPs?  Those are actually more sensitive than MRI in detecting ON.

Other eye disorders can mimic optic neuritis as I have been learning.  The two hallmark symptoms of ON are pain with eye movement and color desaturation.  However, it can occur with NO symptoms at all (as occurred with me), so by logic it can occur with some, but not all the typical symptoms, too.

Quix

[Wobbly]

Hi there.. I sometimes get flashes of light when I wake up or go to bed. sometimes I open my eyes in I have flashes of circles.. sometimes I have lines of lights flashing.

it's not always, and I wondered if it was from Dry eyes?  the Neuro opthomologist says I have no damage to my eyes from disease.

I get double/blurry vision and it get worse at times and better at times.

I sometimes have patches of blurry areas in my vision.  I get a achy pain behind my right eyeball and throbbin eyeball... comes and goes.  

but they Dr say my eyes seem OK??  20/20

take care and let us know how things go
wobbly
dx

[PastorDan]

Hi, Alisa.

It sounds all too familiar.  I don't see flashes, but I see an area that isn't as dark as the rest of the view when the room is dark, and even when my eyes are closed.  In brighter circumstances, I can see that the colors aren't as vivid in that area, which is generally to the right and up.  I've described it before as the kind of thing you see after seeing a flash of light, such as when having a flash photo taken.  Been to three ophtho docs, including one who teaches neuro-ophthalmology, and all say there's nothing to see.  Last doc, though, gave me some wisdom.  He said they learned in school that ON was a malady in which the patient might not be able to see anything, and often, neither can the doctor!

FYI, I am still undx.

I gotta go take a Neurontin.