Eye problems

Hello all,

This is another ON query I suppose.

Can I ask if opticians diagnose ON or do I need a GP app ?

Amazingly after thirty odd years of MS, it is my first experience of eye problems so it may not even be ON.

I have been having pain, a dull bruised achy feeling for about two months along with blurred vision and focus issues but it has ramped up quite a bit now and the pain and blurring gets worse as the day wears on. By evening I am in more pain than I can push through.

It is definitely not like a migraine, I ,ve had those since a teen ( long time ago ) but it did start on my left eye which is the side I suffered a traumatic blow to my temple. Sometimes I get a burning sensation and sometimes even more weird is a sort of hot liquid " sloshing " sensation. My right eye is starting to be affected now.

Really would rather visit optician than GP as I have bothering my GP . I don’t have an MS nurse and haven’t seen a Neurologist in twenty years as they said they couldn’t offer me anything to help.

At that time I was RRMS but suspect I am now SPMS.

Any suggestions / advice appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Elljay

Hi You really need to get this checked out, probably best to go to an optician as they are able to dilate the eyes and get a proper look with slit lamp… I do suffer from problems with my eyes, ??? ON but do have uveitis. As I said, best bet would be optician Good luck, hope you get this sorted. Izzy

I second Izzy, I would go to the opticians, in some parts of the uk if the reason for the visit is medical you don’t even have to pay for the test, this is to try and reduce the number of people losing their sight. The optician will refer you to the ophthalmologist in hospital if needs be.

sounds like ON to me - but get it checked out

Hi Elljay Go to Free eye test | Specsavers UK . Just enter your postcode, choose your local store and print off free eye test voucher. Valid till end of June. Its worth a try. Wilma

Yes firstly you need optician to eliminate anything else going on. they can deal with it and pass you onto the right people if they think it could be ON.

I went to the GP when my eye was bad, they sent me straight to the optician because they said they had better machines than they did. The optician couldn’t give me a diagnosis but they sent all my results to my GP and referred me to the opthamologist at the hospital. I would definitely say go to your optician and just explain what’s been happening

Many thanks to all who replied.

I now have an appointment at Specsavers later today, will let you know result.

Ty elljay

Sorry but your GP will be able to a doctor who will be able to give you Visual Evoked Potentials. It is not necessarily ON; see mult-sclerosis.org but an optician can only see the eye; it could be further back in the brain.

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Hi guys, I’m new here but ON was what led to my MS diagnosis . My ON couldn’t be seen during an examination with an optician. I had to have an mri and OCT scans to actually see the damage although my clinical signs also indicated ON as I have an afferent pupiliary defect in the bad eye. My ON is described as retrobulbar so its behind the eye. My optic nerve is almost completely destroyed in my bad eye and I lost some visual function in the other eye too so if the optician says they cannot see anything, insist on scans as that may be the only way to confirm ON.

Welcome to the forum Becky.

What a horrible time you’ve had. I do hope your better eye recovers some more.

Very wise words, if the optician can’t see any ON, then you’d need to have further examinations to fully explore the cause of eye problems.

Sue

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Hello Elljay.

I had big problems with eyesight. Firstly I went to the optician and they did a very thorough series of examinations.

After going to the GP I was referred to a consultant. He didn’t diagnose ON but was vague in any sort of defined assessment. I was struggling to identify different shades of one colour, light was excruciating and I couldn’t make out details of peoples faces.

Nothing was prescribed.

When I was prescribed Citalopram as an anti-depressant, the eyesight improved rapidly. The optometrist said it had relaxed my eye muscles. They still get tired but that’s the beast.

I’ve been told it doesn’t work for everyone. No surprises there.

Best wishes.

Thanks to all who offered me their input,

Opticians app was thorough but not conclusive.

GP just opted for " it is probably to do with the MS "

The pain has eased a tiny bit but blurry vision and photophobia still big problem.

Waiting for referral to hosp consultant now after being pushy with GP.

Thanks again people, advice as always so helpful and no one needs to feel alone with problems.

MS stinks as someone said but the forum is beautifully perfumed :slight_smile:

Ell

Glad you were pushy with the GP, they are not specialised in MS and should never brush symptoms off.