Hi can anybody give me any ideas on what helps with optic neuritis?..neurologist off so gp refered me as an urgent on fri afternoon to opthomology (the clinic was running 2 hrs late!) but can’t complain at least I was seen he diagnosed ON but not keen keen to give me sterpids as I had a bad doo on them previously!..he also said its gonna get worse before its better…what I’m wondering is is there anything that’ll help with the symptoms it’s quite painful and bright daylight is awful… Should you just go on as usual or is it best to rest your eyes( I feel like wearing a patch over it and maybe getting a parrot lol) and is it ok for driving or are you meant to tell the dvla I’ve not lost my vision in that eye completely it’s just diminished and like somebody put a dark curtain over my right eye!..also how long does it last?.. It’s horrible…is everybody’s vision affected differently… Thanks Emma
Hi Emma, when I had optic neuritis I totally lost all vision in my left eye, and yes it did get worse before it got better. To be honest I often think it would have been easier if I had worn an eye patch as the neurologist said it was easier for my brain to understand just trying to see out of one eye! I didn’t drive for about 8 weeks as I just didn’t feel able to. You might feel different about that. The only advice I can give you is to take it easy, get plenty of rest and be patient, it will improve. I also found wearing sunglasses was helpful as my eyes weren’t dealing with the glare of bright lights. All in all I had about 4 weeks off work and although I my vision was still not great after those 4 weeks I still managed to muddle on. Patience patience patience! Hope it clears for you soon xxx
Hi, I had ON in 2008 and despite having IV steroids still have residual symptoms. For me the ‘darkness’ in my left eye has gone but it still feels like i have vaseline smeared over the lens in my glasses. I do wear an eye patch at times esp when reading or when it is too bright (mainly when am likely to get pain behind my eye). When it was at it’s most acute I was told that if I wanted to drive I must wear a patch and the DVLA were also informed of this.