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optic neuritis

I am currently recovering from a relapse. This is my 1st major one I have had in a few years that has set me back a little. When I first started having any problems it was 6 weeks ago. I had a blind spot in my right eye, and since then it is blurry/dim vision. That is all that has improved. Two 1/2 weeks later, I had extreme fatigue, left side weakness and slurred speech. And all of that has gotten a little better. I was put on a high dose of steroids, I am now currently winging off of it with just 10mg a day that I will end tomorrow! I have looked into how long symptoms with vision will improve, but I am starting to think it may never. I do not want a blurry eyeball. Is this something that I am going to have accept as my new normal?

  1. Optic Neuritis has been a pain for me since the beginning. For me, it did get much better, but never completely cleared up. AT first, it made street lights look like giant Christmas trees, and headlights at night were a nightmare. Fortunately, it was my right eye, which is my weaker eye anyway, so I was used to relying on my left eye. Now, nearly 16 years later, I still have some issues with bright lights at night, but other than that it is pretty good. When I notice it worsening, I know I have a problem. I kinda consider it an early warning sign of a relapse coming on. Of course, let me say that all of the symptoms are different in presentation and severity with each person. Hopefully yours will clear up, at least mostly. I had been diagnosed with Optic neuritis once before without being referred any further. On my second round with it, the ophthalmologist sent me directly to a neurologist. That seemed to be MY first major symptom that I knew was different and not caused by anything else but, as it turned out, MS. That was the thing that got me diagnosed. Hang in there! It will get better! It does take time, though.

    1. Thank you for the encouragement! I went and seen an eye specialist a few days ago. Good news is my eyeball itself is healthy! He said nothing looked inflame, they did a field of vision test and that came back abnormal. He believed my issues were from a lesion. I go to neuro this coming week.
      I also had in the past problems with head lights, looked like they had halos above them.

      1. Thank you for the update, candi1977! I am glad your overall eye health is good. I hope your neurologist and your specialist are able to come up with a treatment plan that helps. Thank you again for sharing and good luck at your upcoming appointment! Best, Erin, MultipleSclerosis.net Team Member.

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