Just been told by optician that I have optic neuritis, wondering if anyone can tell me a little bit about it. Any experiences of it would be helpful. Thanks mankiniman.
Hi there, I had optic neuritis back at Christmas last year and went completely blind in my left eye. It started out as headachy eye pain with distorted vision in my left eye and gradually got worse over the course of a week. I saw my neurologist and we decided against steroids as I have a history of anxiety and depression and the steroids could make that ten times worse. So it was left to get better on its own and even if I had taken steroids they may have only speeded up the recovery but they won’t have had an impact on my final outcome. I was off work for a few weeks and I didn’t drive for about 2 months, just didn’t feel confident. Slowly but surely my vision returned, and it was very very gradual and subtle. I have been left with some blurriness in my left eye which the neuro has said could get better in next couple of years or it could stay the same. It’s not that bad though and doesn’t stop me from doing anything. It’s quite rare I think to be left with permanent damage to the optic nerve so don’t worry. So that’s my experience, hope that helps you even a litt. The trick is to be VERY patient, hard I know but just try and go with it. All the best, Lisa x
Hello, I had optic neuritis twice, first in 1999 and second in 2004. The first time my vision was progressively diminishing into tunnel vision. Even moving the eye produced excruciating pain. I was put on IV steroids and two weeks later, vision was normal. They did a lumbar puncture because they thought it might be MS at that point. The second time in 2004 the pain returned as did the tunnel vision. This time I had steroids and an MRI, this was when they saw the lesions and diagnosed MS. Currently my vision in my left eye is like looking through a very large fog bank. Right is is just fine, so between the two, I can do most everything just fine. My kids think it’s funny trying to play catch and the ball hits me first before I try and catch it. It’s just the depth perception problem, driving is OK, the traffic moves at the same speed so I can focus without a problem. I would ask for an MRI just to be on the safe side. Good luck! Greg