could this bee optic neuritis

i am not sure how many ways optic neuritis presents so i have a question.


about 4 years ago i woke in the middle of the night blind in my right eye and having horrible pain behind my eye.  the totla blindness was brief, about half and hour, but i was having double vision, blurry vision and pain for several weeks.  i saw an opthamologist who said my optic disk was pale but besides a slight astigmatism everything looked .


that happened right at the begininng of my quest to find out if i might have MS (currently MS is just in the differential...playing the waiting game).


yesterday i suddenly started having blurry vision in my right eye...it has persisted today and does not seem to be improving so far.  i dont really have any pain right now.  i it possible that i had optic neuritis and it cam back??


should i even be worried or chalk it up to allergies?? (i do have eye allergies but usually it effects both eyes)


how long should i wait before i get worried that it is not improving....should it get worse if it is something like optic neuritis??

[Zacksmomi]

I have been told I have had ON by my neuro, but have no visible signs of it on tests so I can not say how it starts. I just know that I have eye issues that lead him to believe it was once upon a time ON.  You do not need to be in pain for it to  be ON I don't think.

If you are having a new eye issue that has lasted more than 24 hours definately notify your Dr.  An MS attack is considered when a new neurological issue persists for 24 hours or more.  If you are in limbo, this may be what the Dr's are waiting to see, a second flare up.  

I of course could not tell you at all what is going on with your eye, but like with your heart, you don't want to take the "wait and see" approach in my book.  I would at least make the call to your GP or Neuro and notify them of the issue.

Hope you are better soon
D

[coco31]

Hi there,

I have had optic neuritis on 3 ocassions in the past year. Twice in right, once in left. Each time the symtpoms were different. The first time - vision blurred suddenly and I had no pain. The second time I thought vision blurred but wasn't sure untill review with opthalmology 6 weeks later revealed RAPD in left eye - it was mild and no pain. The most recent (6weeks) ago was loss of peripheral vision and extreme pain......

So I guess each episode for optic neuritis can have individual symptoms - I dont think there is any set pattern - Of note for me I did notice that symptoms tended to get worse on day 2-5.... You should probably have this checked out just in case. Even your GP should be able to spot some RAPD, some disc palour and do a colour blind test which all help in a clinical diagnosis of optic neuritis.

Good luck and hope you feel better soon,

Sharon

[Rachelinpain]

thanks for the input.  i went to the optomostrist today and was told that my vision is basically normal (minimal correction on each side).  

she did not see any abnormality on the fundus, no problems with the optic nerve or anything.

i am still having horrible pain and blurry vision in my right eye.  is there a reason why it is blurry but doesnt show up on eye exam...just wondering if anyone has experience with that.

i am seeing an opthamologist becasue the pressure in both of my eyes cam up slightly elevated and she caould not figure out any other reason why my vision was blurry.  i am assuming i will get a whole workup at the opthamologist...maybe i will get an answer.


so frustrating!!

thanks
rachel