blurred vision

[keaneo]

Please help.
I am 39yrs old and many years ago experienced migraines. The pain mainly occurred behind my right eye. These resolved and now occasionally i just get headaches.
About 4 yrs ago I had an episode of blurred vision in my rt eye which resolved within minutes (no headache)
over the past year I have had 4 episodes of blurred vision again in the same eye which recover spontaneously in seconds. These have occurred twice whilst watching television, and twice whilst screaming at the children. I have seen an optician who gave a thorough exam and advised I see a dr if symptoms persist or extend in length.
My concern is a friend has recently been investigated for MS and I know visual problems are a symptom. I am now extremly worried to the point that I am imagining all sorts of neuro symptoms (these are definetly imaginary and are only there when i think about them)
I live in England where the medical axams you talk about take months to happen. I would be grateful if you could allay my fears. Could these be occular migraines. Thanks in advance of reply.

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-JT]

They can certainly be ocular migraines, which is high on the list of things that could be causing your symptoms. The disorder you may be concerned about with regards to MS is called optic neuritis which is a painful condition in which there is decreased vision and pain for weeks to months (NOT Minutes)of the eye. It's due to demyelination of the optic nerve and in the majority of cases in women more than men progress to MS. I just spoke to our neuro-ophthalmologist recently who said he has never seen a case of optic neuritis that lasted only a few minutes.

The symptoms however could represent a problem with the eye (cornea or lens) itself and a formal eye exam by an opthalmologist (physician not just optometrist) should be done to make sure everything is ok. If you have stroke risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, family history of stroke in someone less than 50,high cholesterol, smoking, heart disease, then these could represent mini strokes. But you are relatively young for a stroke, and the diagnosis should be taken into clinical context. Best of luck.

[smokeater]

I would see a neurologist for a work up.  I have a condition called Pseudotumor Cerebri which stands for " unexplained pressure on the brain".  And the main symptoms of that are headaches, blurred vision, swelled optic nerves, decrease in visual field or what we call Side vision and some patients also not a "wooshing sound or ringing in the ears".  But not all patients with this condition have all symptoms present.  You may or may not have this condition but that was my first thought when reading your post and I would certainly have a neurological work-up done and if they deem it necc. have an MRI and CT done as well as a Lumbar Puncture done as well as that would be the only way to determine if you definately had this condition or not, providing your MRI and CT came back normal, free of  obvious masses or lesions leading to your suspicions to MS and also the Lumbar Puncture can also confirm or rule out MS as well if I am not mistaken.  But I am not a medical professional and can only speak from my own experiences.  I have a very serious case of this condition and have gone through several surgeries for it and face several more and that is why I mention this to you.  But on an average, if you do have it, please rest assured that most patients are able to be managed by medications w/o surgical intervention.  So please try not to worry.  It does however affect the eyesight though and that could be the reason for your optical disturbances.  Best of luck in your quest for anwsers and please post back and let us know what you find out in the end.  God Bless you and keep the Faith.

Sincerely,
Smokeater!