Questions about ON

[Cre8_it]

Hi all,  I've had symptoms of ON on three separate occasions.  But wonder if I really did have ON or not.  I'm a little confused.  The first time I had severe pain in my head, then the blurriness,  I was in college (2003) and couldn't see enough to read so I went home.  I'm not exactly sure how long it lasted in that episode.  The second time (2005) I had severe pain through my right eye (like ice pick) 4 times in 6 days.  I had complete blindness in the eye for about 30 minutes, then I could see well enough again but not sure if my vision went completely back to normal.  The third time (2007) I had severe blurriness to the point that I wouldn't know who was standing in front of me, all I could see were fuzzy shapes.

So now I guess your wondering why this wasn't checked out right! LOL  I was leaving it up to my Dr. who quite frankly didn't give a **** and I knew nothing about ms then.  Anyhoo,  is this ON/an attack? or would I have to be completely blind in the eye for 24 hours?  I tried to explain this to a neuro before but she said it's not considered an attack because it didn't last 24 hours or more.  So really my question is, how does an attack usually go?  And since I didn't get my eyes checked, I don't know if it slightly affected my vision for a longer period of time or not.  Or am I not explaining it well enough?

I have noticed some differences in my vision but I'm not sure it's related to this or not.  I want to see an ophthalmologist but that will take some time since the closest one is a 2.5 hour drive away....like every other specialist!  Some advice would be greatly appreciated!  Thx

[COBOB]

No as far as blind for 24 hours.  My ON typically starts with pain for 2-3 days and then loss of contrast and visual acuity and color saturation perception for 5 - 10 days.  I have always had IVSM by the 10 day point, but the docs tell me it would eventually get better on its own.  It seems to get worse as I tire through the day.

Bob

[Cre8_it]

Thanks for your reply!  So I guess there is no point in driving 2.5 hrs to see an ophthalmologist then and I should have had the tests done when it was happening.  Sigh...I'm trying to get all the tests done that I can now to get dx'd with something, other than just getting a "demyelinating disease" on my mri reports.  But to my other question, would I have to have been blind for a full 24 hrs for it to be considered an attack?  Or can the blindness only last for 30 minutes with most vision returning, and then a gradual return of the rest of the vision over 24 hrs or more as in my case?

Thanks again

[COBOB]

Most (60%) cases of ON can not be seen on an exam.  VEP and MRI are both very sensitive at detecting ON.  After an attack of ON, the optic nerve can remyelinate and the then the VEP may return to normal.

Bob