I think he has had this problem with his right eye from the very beginning - the first regular eye doctor (not an opthamologist) said he had a stigmatism (sp).

He did have his eye dialated for this exam and all the doctor said was his nerves were damaged by MS and there is really nothing you can do, just hope his MS gets in check.

I do believe Chris is seeing maybe a very slight improvement in his walking in the last week (maybe because of the Ty, maybe not).

Thanks all - your the greatest

Okay, here is the update - I had the optho fax me his diagnosis and here is what it says:

"No active optic neuritis. Normal optic nerves without pallor. OCT shows decrease in nerve fiber layer thickness consistent with old optic neuritis from MS episodes."

Visual fields, monitor progress - 3 months.


Ok, so now do I just wait until April??

So sorry for Chris, Dedra. I know he had his hopes up for the Tysabri.

He has lost so much in such a short time! I hope you are able to get some answers and peace of mind.

Let's pray it doesn't continue to progress. Best wishes to you both. XOXOXOXO

Thanks Twinks - I really don't think it is the Ty not working as much as he was just so bad to begin with - apparrently his eye situation is from the past.

So does that mean ON comes and goes?

ON is not a constant state. It means that he has an attack (or attacks) and didn't realize it or didn't say anything.

The fact that the pallor of the nerve is good, but a few things puzzle me. I don't understand why they didn't do a visual field test now, so they have something to compare and also how the doctor is sure he's not in the midst of an attack right now. At least in textbook cases of ON, it usually have a curve; sx present when it begins, then new ones present and then as recovery occurs, it kind of rewinds.

I would suggest you calling the doctor to shed some more light on the report and ask what tests were done. (I'm wondering if he used OCT, but not even all neuro-ops have that piece of equipment. )

I don't remember you saying what led him to the eye doctor in the first place. Was this just a normal check-up or did he go because his vision was blurry?

Bearygood,

He did use an OCT for the exam - see above post. This was really just a checkup because it had been a year since his last exam which was just a regular optician who said he had a sigmatism (sp) in his right eye.

I decided he really needed to see an opthamologist because a full months ago he was complaining of his right eye hurting - I guess I didn't realize the extent of the problem.

Chris never complains or really tells me when something is wrong so I have to really push him to tell me anything.

I know; you've mentioned this before and I know it must be upsetting and frustrating.

I didn't realize that he had pain, which now does sound like he has ON. (It usually doesn't disappear in just a few months although the pain part does). Perhaps what the ophthalmologist meant by "not active" is that he is no longer in an acute phase?

(Sorry I missed the OCT mention!)

Thanks all, I will keep you posted