It does sound like you may be in an attack, defined as having "new, or worsening of existing symptoms, lasting longer then 24 hrs".

I have never done steroids (due to the potential short and long-term side-effects), but I thought I might if my eyesight (or breathing) was effected. However, the most recent trial called "Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial" indicates that steroids are not necessarily helpful:

These relevant results are briefly summarized below:

- Visual recovery begins rapidly (within 2 weeks) in most optic neuritis patients without any treatment, and then improvement continues for up to 1 year. Although most patients recover to 20/20 or near 20/20 acuity, many still have symptomatic deficits in vision.

- The probability of a recurrence of optic neuritis in either eye within 5 years is 28 percent. Visual recovery after a second episode in the same eye is generally very good.

- Treatment with high-dose, intravenous corticosteroids followed by oral corticosteroids accelerated visual recovery but provided no long-term benefit to vision.

- Treatment with standard-dose oral prednisone alone did not improve the visual outcome and was associated with an increased rate of new attacks of optic neuritis.

http://www.nei.nih.gov/neitrials/vie...Web.aspx?id=47

Do you know if you have spinal and/or brain lesions?

Cherie