Definition of ON?

Yesterday I woke up with what I call my "migraine".

It is excruciating pain in the left eye socket. I want to jam my thumb in there to deaden the pain. OTC meds take care of it for a couple of hours, then it returns.

Never last more than 2.5 days, no exaggeration. Have had it for years. Cannot figure out a trigger.

APRN a few years ago thought it was due to being on the placebos on the pill, but I didn't get it every month.......and I had a hysterectomy in '99 and yet I still get the exact same "headache". Erratic and unpredictable.

Is this really a migraine, or a type of ON? Could I be having multiple ON issues all these years? I literally have had this dozens of times.

Thanks,
Suzanne

[Rena705]

Hi Suzanne...I found this while strolling around the internet...my life is SO exciting...but I thought I would throw it at you because it is from a recognized source.  There is a lot out there on the net on ON but just how much is trustworthy...I like to err on the careful side?

Sure hope you start to feel better soon though!  I am thinking that maybe this is something that needs to be brought to your neurologists attention.  

From the MS Resource Centre:

• Blurring of vision occurs in around 58% of optic neuritis cases. This can range from mild blurriness in 34% of cases, through moderate (12%), to severe or total loss of light perception (complete blindness) in 54% of cases.

• Eye pain occurs in 53% to 88% of optic neuritis presentations. Sometimes pain is only noticeable with eye movement, sometimes pain preceded an episode of blurred vision, or a general eye ache, sometimes a headache gripping the affected eye, or a generalised dull headache.

• Reduced colour vision occurs in 100% of optic neuritis cases. Typically this is reported as a reduction in colour vividness, particularly reds.

• Visual flashing sensations brought about by side-to-side eye movement or sound often occur with optic neuritis. They are most obvious in a dimly lit room. Obscuration of the visual field in bright light is another common symptom of optic neuritis and many people with ON, particularly those with a chronic condition, report that they see better in dimly lit rooms. It is likely that both of these symptoms are caused by fluctuating interference of the nerve transmissions along the visual pathways.

• Uhthoff's symptom, the worsening of symptoms with heat or exhaustion, is present in about 58% of cases of Optic Neuritis.

Now these symptoms apparently are not felt by everyone with ON but when you look at the percentages...I would think that your pain bears looking at by your neurologist or an Opthamologist.  Let us know what happens and if you do go to see about it ok?

Lots of Hugs,

Rena

[cz1970]

Ive had ON and migraines that occur behind my eye.  ON generally causes excrutiating pain in the back of the eye and it worsens with movement. You have to keep your eye closed it seems because you cant stand the pain w/ movement. That lasts about 3 days then the pain goes away and so does your vision. Either partially or totally. For me, I lost sensitivity to color, light and my acuity decreased to 20/200. Everything just looked SUPER blurry.  It lasted 2 months! ON can be permanent but it takes 8-12 weeks to recover from it.  ALSO... ON symptoms can be brought on with a hot shower or a hot bath. I can't take hot showers or hot baths anymore without loosing my vision.

A migraine behind the eye feels similiar but NSAIDS can  help and symptoms totally resolve and your not left w/ vision damage. You may feel sick to your stomach also w/ a migraine.  ON makes you reach for an eye patch, Migraines make you reach for a gun!  Hope that helps a little. Only a ophthamologist can tell the difference on exam. There will be fluid in the back of the eye and your optic disk will show evidence of ON. You should see an Ophthamoligist. NOT an Optomitrist..... See the Dr.  GOOD LUCK!

cz

[CtResident]

Sigh.......I dunno. I'm so complicated. :-/

With **this particular** type of "headache", I have had pain with movement, the need to not use the eye, but jam the thumb in there. No nausea. Need for sunglasses.

My eye checkup with the neuro (non-MS neuro) reported:
      "Pupils equal and reactive, discs sharp, extraocular movements full, visual fields normal, visual acuity normal bilaterally. Corneal reflexes are intact....."

(note: this is in the report from the neuro who wrote down my responses to tests he DID NOT DO!!)

I just lie down, and jam my thumb into my eyes and try not to move. Can't drive, can't read, and if I force myself to go out, I need sunglasses. Yesterday was a rainy day changing into sunshiny, so it was a high glare day.

Today I had what I call "shadow" pain, meaning it's mostly over, but there's residual pseudo-pain left.

Well, it's over for now.

Suzanne  

[Wobbly]

Hi..I have a question about ON...if you had these symptoms and they are now gotten better...but you still have blurry vision (no longer flashing lights or the bright lights dont hurt as much). Should I see a eye doctor or wait to see if it get worst before I see if I have ON?   thanks for any help.

andie.

[Nerve_Wrecked]

Suzanne,

Could it be possible you have iritis? I've had it once, and I was HORRIBLY light sensitive. It was awful and excrutiating. This was years and years ago and I couldn't open my eye at all.

That's all I have to contribute LOL. It's probably useless, but thought I would toss it out there.

Christine

[cz1970]

Wobbly... YES!  Thats what happened to me. I saw the MD a month after symptoms started and he could see that it was ON.

To Rena, sounds more like a migraine but I'm not a Dr.  My neuro says things in his dictation he didn't do too.  I hate that!  Rena, go see a ophthamologist to know for sure.  But sounds alot like the migraines I get in my eye.  ON doesn't come and go like that is what MD told me.  You'll know it because your vision is left damaged for a long time after and it doesnt improve for weeks.  So, find out.... When they look into the eye, the optic disk will look grey or dull etc.  For me, he saw fluid and inflammation around the disk. I also had lost ability to distinguish colors on the color chart. Red looked pink etc.  I couldnt stand bright light either!   I still cant tolerate bright light in that eye for very long.

Rena and Wobbly, try taking a long hot bath and see what happens.  See if you loose your vision or it gets worse.  Once your out of the bath it will go back to normal in a few hours if it does get bad.  Apparantly thats how they use to diagnose it in the old days..... REMEMBER I'm not a dr. just an unlucky person with ON so dont take a bath if your not sure you can handle it!

cz

[Wobbly]

thanks for the info...I will try the Hot bath and let you know

andie

[CtResident]

No, I don't think it's iritis.

Away from the migraine thing, but still on ON: I do have blurriness at times (transient).

Also have had weird markings on page, as if every single thing was underlined. Had to stop reading.

Third thing is need for lighting: joyous was the day I got a new stove exhaust/light with 120 watts! Woohoo! I turn that thing on just to make a cup of tea!

And I put 3-way bulbs in every lamp in the living room.

But it makes me wonder, why does my world seem dimmer in the past year?

Is this something to bring up at all? Or will I be told I'm getting (everybody sing!) OLDERRRRR!!!!!

Suzanne
46 and still young!