mild blurrines in left optic disc

[lavon24]

Hello,

Quick history:  temp loss of vision 9 mons ago. Since then: transient visual dist., dizziness, double vision, numbness in legs, muscle spasms around back(very painful), tingling on bottom of feet when I get up in the morning, light headed. Seeing blue flashes of light (shooting stars)

MRI: Neg

Eye doc: indicated nerve fiber reduction in both eyes (mild)

Neuro:  mild blurriness in left optic disc and mild bilateral pallor

Should I be concerned?

[lavon24]

Thanks so much for your support!  I feel very welcome.  I plan to keep all of you up to date with my condition. Also, I wish you the best in your quest for true answers.

Thanks

[lavon24]

Thanks for your information and concern.  It is greatly appreciated.  I have had no real blood work up as of yet.  As well, the neuro did not do a  thorough, head-to-toe neuro exam.

As far as my next step, I am meeting with a neuro-opth this week.  I will let you know the outcome.

Your info was so valuable.  

L

[PastorDan]

I'm no formal meeter & greeter (though I did work as a Wal-Mart greeter for several months, several years ago! ;)), but such shortcomings notwithstanding, I'd like to be the second to welcome you to a fine group of caring and informed folks, who have made me feel welcome for the past five weeks or so.  Like you, I'm wondering what's going on with my health, and looking for answers.  Unlike me, Quix is a real honest to goodness physician, who retired because of MS.  She's been here a lot longer than me, too.  She'll never steer you wrong, from what I've seen.

Peace & blessings.

[Quixotic1]

Hi, and Welcome to the MS Forum.  I am so sorry you have not received a response since your post last night.  The forum traffic has been unreal and two of our three formal Meeters and Greeters are out with the flu.

You are dealing with a lot of stuff.

The answer to your last question is Yes, you should be concerned.  Should you be concerned about MS?  I don't know.  There are many conditions that can cause what you are going through.

The visual problems do sound like possible optic neuritis given the symptoms and the physical finding of a pale and thinned out optic nerve.

The MRI was negative for lesions.  My questions about this would be 1) What stregnth was the MRI machine and 2) was the test run using the techniques specified by the MS Protocol for MRIs used to diagnose MS?

Of course no one can diagnose or rule out any disorder online and we are no different.  You have several symptoms that can be seen in MS, but are not specific to MS.  This means that all of them can also be seen in the other dislrders that mimic MS.  These other disorders can also cause optic neuritis.

The double vision indicates some problem with the brainstem OTHER than the optic neuritis.  You have dizziness - which is a common problem in MS, but in many other conditions also.  The same is true for the numbness and tingling in your feet and legs.

Has the neurologist continued to work you up for the causes of these problems?  Did the neurologist take a very thorough history and do a thorough, head-to-toe neuro exam?  A good exam will take half an hour or more.

By now you should have had a wart-load of blood tests run for things like B12 deficiency, Lyme Disease and other infections, and for inflammatory diseases like Lupus.  Have those been done?

As you have read on this forum, we do not believe that a single negative MRI rules out MS.  There are many doctors that agree with us, though probably many neuros stop looking for MS at the first sign of a negative MRI.  The recommendations for working up a person for MS state that if the brain MRI does not show MS, and the person's history and exam findings (like sensation, reflexes, or weakness) are suggestive of MS, then an MRI should be done of the person's spinal cord.  I think this would be your next test.  If possible the spinal cord MRI should be done on the highest machine available - ideally this would be a 3T (3 Tesla) machine.  This gives the best chance of showing MS lesions that are there.

I'm sorry you are going through all of this.  It is horrible to have these things happening to your body, to have the suspicion of MS raised and then to have no answers.  Believe me, you have dozens of companions in this predicament here on this forum.  We know what h*ll it is to not know what is destroying your quality of life.

Please let us know what is planned next to find out why you have optic neuritis, and these symptoms.  We have a lot of members from Florida to help you find a good doctor or to commiserate.

Quix