I should have taken the MRI offer.

[Pistachio]

Hi, I'm new here. I'm 44, female, and from Canada. And, of course, I wouldn't be here unless I either have, or fear having MS. I am not one to freely admit to ever being sick so I am here for some much needed advice. Please bear with me.

In 2013 I had a bout of optic neuritis as confirmed by visual field test. I lost three quarters of the sight in my right eye over the course of a morning. It eventually returned about five days later. Once I finally saw an optical neurologist my vision had returned and I chalked it up to stress. I was offered an MRI and dismissed it because I honestly thought the ON was just a fluke thing. I'm regretting that now.

In the last year I've had on and off episodes of intense eye pain. And whenever this flares up I also experience phantom smells ( like car exhaust), a feeling like a lump in my throat (causes continual throat clearing) and a scalp that feels like it's badly bruised. I also experience slight pain in my arms and hands. Like I said, they can come and go. I can be fine for weeks and then suddenly have pain in the eyes and head and phantom smells for a few days to a week. The eye pain is much like when I has ON but without the vision loss.

On only one occasion, right before falling asleep, I had crazy trembling of my whole body. It was like shivering that I couldn't stop. I wasn't cold, though.

I am also incredibly cold-intolerant. I'm not good in bad heat, though either. Hot tubs are absolutely out. They make me weak and nauseated. fact, I seem to have trouble regulating body temp. I'm famous for taking my winter coat to sit around the campfire on summer nights.

I'm trying not to freak myself out and Google is not my friend.

I'll also admit that while I'm concerned I'm afraid to know, too.

So, could you fine people weigh in, please? It would be much appreciated.

[JerryD]

Although I doubt I am one of the fine people that you refer to, I suggest that you get yourself to your primary care doctor and get an appointment with a neurologist. It may be something that can be treated and corrected. Good luck

[jreagan70]

Hi Pistachio:

For some people, an episode of optic neuritis is a fluke thing. No cause is ever found and the person n never has another episode. So for you to think that it was a fluke thing that didn't need follow-up is not unheard of or completely unreasonable.

You made a decision to pass up the MRI, which seemed like the right thing at the time. So don't beat yourself up about something that can't be changed. I hope you can learn from the experience, then forgive yourself and move on. What's done is done, so don't look back.

Today is a new day and a new opportunity. You know something isn't right, and doing nothing gives you no chance to change anything. So use your power. Go see your primary care doctor, get as much primary care testing done as you can, and get a referral to a neurologist. Your doctors will direct you from there.