Pain in eye and driving at night

Hi all, i was dx last october and for the last 2 weeks have had pain in my left eye as if its strained.

I am wondering if this could be MS related and also do any of you have trouble driving at night?

I don’t know if the eye pain and night driving are connected yet but i am unsure if an accident i

nearly had tonight was because i thought the lights were closer than they actually were. Any input

welcome.

Thank you

it could be M.S. related , as in it could be optic neuritis , or it might not be of course , I’d get it checked out a.s.a.p if I were you , you can’t be too careful about your eyesight ? , it may take more than a trip to an optician to diagnose , but if in doubt or worried , A. and E. at the hospital will have a look for you , and refer you if necessary

Hello there Anon,I reckon you need to stop driving at night.15 months before I was diagnosed I had myself taken off driving Fire Engines,because I didn’t feel 100% confident at night.If you stop night driving the rest will do your eyes good,and the medical profession need never know.

Wb

[quote=“woblyboy”]

Hello there Anon,I reckon you need to stop driving at night.15 months before I was diagnosed I had myself taken off driving Fire Engines,because I didn’t feel 100% confident at night.If you stop night driving the rest will do your eyes good,and the medical profession need never know.

Wb

[/quote] I hope anon isn’t a bus , ambulance, or train driver then wb ?

Hi I had this . Went to spec savers and had the drive by night and day glasses . The night ones are brill they make car lights into yellow colour . U can see better with out them burning your eyes or straining them . Since having optic neuritis I always have burning eyes . The drive by day time glasses are like sun glasses . But would really recommend both pairs , night n day . I used to worry bout driving at night with such bad eyes . But since having the drive by glasses I’m brill now . More than happy to drive at night as the glasses turn lights into carm yellow . Hope this helps xxx

I was told by my optician that people with MS are more sensitive to light and to wear dark sunglasses in the summer. (don’t know if it’s true) .

I find myself wearing them in the winter if it’s sunny too. Try these night glasses, they may help - think I’ll look for some.

Safe driving.

Jen x

Yup, I get it too. My neuro said it could be retrobulbar optic neuritis. It feels like I’ve pulled the muscle behing my eye and I become very light sensitive and find it difficult to position myself on the road if there are cars coming towards me with their lights on.

I agree with Achord that you should get it checked out as steroids may take the inflammation down and lower the risk of further damage.

Thanks for the tip on night glasses Minder and Jen. I’ll ask my optician as I currently just avoid night driving when mine plays up.

M xx

Any pain which is prolonged or painful and there constantly should be investigated. The no night driving is quite common amongst us msers, especially where one has had a bout of ON. Im blind in my left eye and suffered double vision with my other eye and little sight which is left in my left eye, so had prisms prescribed, now put in my new lenses. I still wouldnt drive at night though as Ive lost all confidence, as the glare hurts my eyes terribly. Also tv viewing hurts my eyes too, think its to do with the optic nerve damage which seems to make all light brighter than it was previously. I also wear transition lenses so bright daylight is reduced by the change in colour (like sunglasses).

Beware any sight issues and youll be told by your gp that you shouldnt drive and should inform the DVLA of your ms diagnosis and possible eye issues. I had to stop driving for a while whilst sorted out.

Best wishes

bren

x

But the issue is, you shouldn’t be driving anyway !! I am absolutely shocked and horrified by comments like “difficult to position myself on the road”. WHAT !! You cannot be serious. Do you have no consideration for other, innocent road users and pedestrians that you may well injure. And as for “beware any sight issues and you’ll be told by your GP that you shouldn’t drive”, too right ! And “should inform DVLA of your MS diagnosis”, you should be doing anyway. If this sounds harsh, then so be it. I am totally appalled by your apparantl ignorance of the danger you pose over your own perceived needs.

I think what may be more ‘appalling and ignorant’ is your assumption that we would drive were it not safe for us to do so Anonymous…

Mags

Can’t believe that some people think we would drive and put people at risk . We all have common sense and know how to use it . Rant over xxxx

Sorry Mags and Minder but comments like “nearly had an accident” and “find it difficult to position myself on the road” show that some people are indeed driving, when it is not safe to do so. The comments speak for themselves.

Sorry Mags and Minder but comments like “nearly had an accident” and “find it difficult to position myself on the road” show that some people are indeed driving, when it is not safe to do so. The comments speak for themselves.

I’m sure there are many people driving that shouldn’t anon , you only have to sit in a supermarket car park to witness that ? , and that is often less than 5mph ? , in fact it can get worse when they get a trolley ?

and I’m not talking about gender or disability either

p.s. why anon ?

Thank you to those with helpful advise, i shall be getting my eyes tested asap. This was a general question

as i doubted what i saw for a split second (i think) so do not consider myself a danger on the road as the

anon who commented has suggested.

Let us know how u get on . Hope your ok . Ignore the negative responses . Xxxx

Great advice about the night driving glasses I am going Specsavers in two weeks and these will be top of my list. I have ON and some days my sight is very poor and my eyes burn and water alot, on these days I hand the keys to my wife , I am now in a car pool so lifts to work are not a problem and if I can not take my turn I put some juice in the drivers tank. These glasses sound a top tip many thanks mark

I think it’s safe to say, whatever symptoms you have at any point after contracting ms could be ms related. It’s also very difficult to admit when you can’t do something such as driving safely, since it is such a huge benefit to your independence and freedom.

I gave up driving June 2011, I had to sell my beloved car and at the time it was a hard and painful decision. I loved that car and I loved driving, but it came to a point where my ability to drive wasn’t safe enough to be on the road anymore.

If you are having trouble seeing, either through focus, depth perception or foreign objects obscuring/distracting your vision, reporting this to a doctor would likely have you suspended from driving. It could be tiredness, it could be optic neuritis. It’s impossible to tell but an eye test is a good start at least.

It’s your decision and I can’t advise you based purely on what you’ve said here, but you should be aware that you won’t want to give up driving when you should. It’s also worth remembering if you leave it too late to make such a decision, the risk of having an accident and it impacting the life of other road users increases every time you are on the road.

Speak to a doctor, discuss your symptoms, your neurologist would be even better. If you don’t want to discuss it with them for fear of them stopping you driving, that would be an indication that you know what you should do. If you are confident that your symptoms do not make it unsafe for you to drive, the doctor or neuro should share that opinion.

Good Luck!