I'm having some minor eye pain in one eye with no visual disturbances (that I know of.) I really only feel it with blinking or squeezing my eyes shut. I have my annual MRI coming up in another week and a half. Should I call the neuro and let her know about this or just go to the appointment and follow up as usual? Can optic neuritis be detected by a regular eye doctor?
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I would contact your neuro's office and get some advice. My regular eye doctor referred me to an eye specialist when I had some vision problems. The eye specialist is then the one who said "I think you have MS" . . . I had blurred vision and not much pain. I don't know if you can have the pain with no vision change in ON or not.
I definitely would not wait until your appointment if it was me - there could be any number of things going on, and the sooner you get it checked, the sooner you may be able to get things resolved.
Good luck and keep us posted. -
Any competent eye doctor (optometrist or ophthalmologist) can detect optic neuritis IF there are enough signs and symptoms present. Without specific signs and symptoms, no doctor can conclude that the cause is ON.Originally posted by prairiegardener View Post
Eye pain alone is too nonspecific for a determination of cause to be made without a lot of other testing. In that respect, an eye doctor is a better choice than the neurologist because eye doctors are specifically trained and equipped to do a full evaluation and rule other causes in or out. Neurologists aren't trained or equipped to do that.
One clue that an eye doctor is the more appropriate choice in your situation is that pain from ON, which occurs behind the eye, isn't usually triggered by blinking, which occurs at the front of the eye. That leaves open several possibilities that don't include ON.
Eye pain is a separate issue from your neurologist and MRI, so don't wait until your neuro visit. You can call your neuro for advice, but for a thorough evaluation you'll still need to see an eye doctor.Comment
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