First symptom

[ApVish]

Hi All,

Just as I was saying that my DH was diagnosed with MS this monday with no clinical onset yet, he got his first symptom, which is foggy vision in one eye (no pain behind his eyes, but says he feels a dull headache on top of his brow). He says the fog is lifting off and pain reducing pretty ok if he takes ibuprofen.

We went to Doc yday again and she checked his optical nerves again through optical tomography and no inflamation. Took baseline MRI yday and they are seeing one tiny spot (according to Neuro) that is lighting up under Gad in the temporal lobe.

So it is not optical neuritis, but something else affecting his vision. He is about to start steroids tomorrow.

My question is do you guys think we need to meet with an optho ? to may be check his eye pressure etc ?

We never had this question yday at neuro's office, I have called and left a msg, but we are getting pretty anxious.

What do you guys think ?

[SNOOPY]

So it is not optical neuritis, but something else affecting his vision. He is about to start steroids tomorrow.

My question is do you guys think we need to meet with an optho ? to may be check his eye pressure etc ?

Vision problems should be checked out by an Optometrist or Opthamologist not by your husbands Neurologist.

If your DH does not have Optic Neuritis or any sign of inflammation then what is the reason for steroids? What diagnosis was given for his vision problem?

There can numerous problems related to vision that has nothing to do with MS. I have lousy vision but I have never had optic neuritis and my vision problems will not be helped by steroids. If anything steroids could possibly cause my vision problems to progress.

[Redwings]

So it is not optical neuritis, but something else affecting his vision. He is about to start steroids tomorrow. My question is do you guys think we need to meet with an optho ? to may be check his eye pressure etc ?

Hi Apish:
Yes, your husband should be examined by an ophthalmologist. Neurologists aren't trained or equipped (even with an OCT) to properly examine eyes, or to diagnose and manage ocular/visual conditions.

[KyleW]

Not all MS related vision issues are related to optic neuritis. I had double vision, lack of depth perception, occasional haziness associated with my relapse in July of this year.

I have elevated intra-ocular pressure and see an ophthalmologist quarterly. She did a full exam and found that my optic nerve was in good shape.

My vision problems were caused by nystagmus*. It’s the muscles that control my eyes that were the problem, not my eyes themselves. After I did a 5 day IV steroid treatment the nystagmus resolved.


* Nystagmus is a term to describe fast, uncontrollable movements of the eyes that may be:

Side to side (horizontal nystagmus)
Up and down (vertical nystagmus)
Rotary (rotary or torsional nystagmus)
Depending on the cause, these movements may be in both eyes or in just one eye. The term "dancing eyes" has been used to describe nystagmus.

[ApVish]

Thank you all. Checked back with Neuro and she said since the MRi showed one active lesion and the sudden onset of his eye symptom and she concluded it might improve with steroid treatment.

We have an Optho appt tomorrow morning to tell us more into what is happening. Hoping for an answer and some relief.

[maitrimama]

Contrast Sensitivity

KyleW - my eye situation sounds very similar to what you describe -
Trouble Focusing (a tiny bit of double vision)
Smokiness out of my left eye
Problems with Depth Perception
+
Decreased Contrast Sensivity aka the disappearing kitten...in dim light my sister's kitten disappears
Decreased Night Vision - lights look like big starbursts
Given all the above my eyes are sooo tired
Finished color perception in the blue range

Kyle or any other wise, helpful soul out there - does any of this sound familiar? I think the worse part is the fear that this will get worse and I won't be able to drive and that would limit the time I spend with my amazing teenage daughters. Wow that is the first time I acknowledged those feelings and it makes me very sad.

[KyleW]

Like every other aspect of the MS FunFest, vision symptoms can be unique.

"I think the worse part is the fear that this will get worse and I won't be able to drive and that would limit the time I spend with my amazing teenage daughters."

The only way you can know for sure is to be examined by an opthamologist. Knowing is better than not knowing

[Redwings]

Checked back with Neuro and she said since the MRi showed one active lesion and the sudden onset of his eye symptom and she concluded it might improve with steroid treatment.

Hi ApVish:
That's not a diagnosis -- that explanation is a guesstimate. Good thing you're seeing an ophthalmologist. If you're lucky, you'll see one that actually understands neuro-ophthalmology.

[Redwings]

Hi maitrimama:
All of the symptoms you described are very common with optic neuropathy. Different people experience some or all of them to varying degrees. For the most part, there isn't anything in current medical practice that fixes those problems, but there might be ways to work around some of them. The compensations are very individual, and sometimes they don't make enough of an improvement to be worthwhile. For example, even a little bit of uncorrected refractive error can make the blur, image ghosting, starbursts and visual fatigue worse. But an eyeglass correction might not deliver enough relief to make a person feel like the expense and inconvenience (when they aren't used to wearing glasses) are worthwhile.

As someone who's had recurrent ON for 20 years that has resulted in significant visual defects, all of it is familiar to me. It's a miracle I can still see at all. There's no way to predict whether your vision will get worse. I can appreciate the fear and uncertainty that you feel. But in the long run, you can't live in fear. The only way I've lasted 20 years is that I learned how to let it go. Que sera sera. (Some of the Baby Boomers among us might even hear Doris Day singing right about now...)

[0485c10]

checked his optical nerves again through optical tomography and no inflamation. Took baseline MRI yday and they are seeing one tiny spot (according to Neuro) that is lighting up under Gad in the temporal lobe.

So it is not optical neuritis, but something else affecting his vision.
My question is do you guys think we need to meet with an optho ? to may be check his eye pressure etc ?

A lesion in the temporal lobe can affect "sight" by not being able to recognize what we see.

Brain function map:
http://www.friendswithms.com/brain_f...ns_and_map.htm

Observed problems with temperal lobe damage.

Visual Perception.
categorizing objects
difficulty in recognizing faces

might be that the steroids do clear up the "vision" problem--it wouldn't be a wise decision not to see the optp while the symptom is active, even if steroids eventually clear it up. with MS it a problem at times to get it seen while the symptom is active.

[maitrimama]

Ophthalmologist

I am currently seeing an Ophthalmologist who is very thorough, doing a ton of tests including visual field testing, eye pressure (at different times of the day), she has reviewed my MRIs and gone over all my bloodwork. She actually redid some of my bloodwork because She didn't the like the lab used and didn't agree with the interpretation of some of the results.

In a couple of weeks I have an appt with a Neuro for a 2nd opinion, he will have his neuroradiologist read my MRIS, see what he thinks and set me up with his neuro- ophthalmologist at Yale New Haven Hosp.

If it wasn't my vision being effected I would have already jumped off this crazy carousel. The rest of my weird symptoms have been being ignored for a while quite successfully.