Optic Neuritis

[Sue31961]

I'm confused about Optic Neuritis.  I've noticed that people here are referring to their bouts of ON.  This isn't something you would continue to have, once you have it?  The reason I'm asking is that the Neur. thought I might have ON.  I guess this is due to Nystagmus in my right eye (last few years) and eye pain (last 4 months or so).  I have seen an eye doctor and she said I don't have it.    I'm having more and more problems with blurring of my vision and the last few days I've experienced the font on the computer going from black to purple for no reason.

[santana8]

Hi, This is a question I have myself. I have read the experiences some of the others here have had with ON. The recurances does not sound like my experience with it, If that is what I actually had two years ago.

I had a sudden onset of distored vision while in a store. I had never had anything like this happen before. The only thing that I can even think of that was even similar was a couple years before the attack,I had some blured vision when in direct sunlght coming through a window.

I was also having some headaches at this time and my blood pressure was slightly elevated for a year. My GP put me on a low dose of Altace 2.5mg daily for this and it took care of it. This was four years ago, and my BP is still under control.

Back to the sudden onset of distorted vision, it very rapidly progressed over the following two weeks to extreme photophobia( light sensitivity), numb eyes, flashing and flickering lights, dimmed vision(color washout),masked vision( obstructed),blured vision, pain/pressure behind eyes and with eye movements, visual field defect, and diplopia.

This has all slowly healed without treatment over the last two years, and is about 75% recovered now. After the visual field defect was found, about five months into it, the optho sent me to a neuro. This is where the brain MRI showed about 10 white matter lesions.

My Visual acuity is now 20/25 and the field defect has slowly shrunk, but is not gone! My eye exams were and still are completely normal with a normal optic nerve on fundiscopic exam. My neuro says if I did have it that it was probally Retroubular Neuritis, which is just farther back on the optic nerve toward the brain. The optho cannot see this form of ON, as it is too far back to see on eye exam.

The thing that is different that I have noticed between me and some of the others here is that my symptoms have never recurred , and have only improved. Kind of one big bout of ON with no recurrances. I don't know why mine seems to be presenting differently. I am not DX with MS, but am being watch for it with MRI's every six months to check for new lesions. My DX for now is ADEM!

~Santana~

[young at heart]

ARE YOU SEEING A NEURO-OPTHAMOLOGIST?

HAVE YOU HAD A VEP DONE.

A MRI WILL SHOW INFLAMATION.

ON CAN EFFECT US ALL DIFFERENTLY, I HAVE HAD SEVERAL BOUTS OF ON SINCE NOVEMBER.

PLEASE GET ANOTHER OPINION

T-LYNN