What is up with that?
 

I just had my first attack of Optic Neuritis that started on Oct 9th.....I didn't actually know that it was ON causing my "double vision" until it had gotten to a point in which I didn't feel safe to drive. (still getting used to the whole MS thing) I called my neuro on 10/14 and he had me come right in to see him. He prescribed me 1,000 mg of Methylprednisolon for three days. This is also my first time taking steroids.

So I didn't sleep for three full days, the ON did improve but has not totally gone away. It has been a full week since I was done with the steroids, but I am still having several ON 'episodes' daily. The numbness in my feet has gotten worse as well as I am having more tingling in both of my hands, and of all things......I feel like I sat down on a "wet" bench! (my pants are dry, really!) So what is up with that? I was expecting the numbness and "wet" sensation to clear up with the steroids, but it has not. I have also had a constant, dull headache that will not go away and I am light sensitive when I am really tired.

Can someone tell me if this is something I should expect? How long should I give the steroids to do its work? Could I have just moved right into another "flair" after the ON? Is this the same "flair"? Would you call your neuro, or would you wait longer?



Secretly, my fear is that the one time I decide to not check to see if my pants are wet.....that they really will be! :eek:

Sometimes the healing can take a couple of weeks, after IV steroids, so give it a little longer. Unless you think it's getting worse....then call your Neuro and holler at him..:hug:

Numbness and wet sensations are sensory symptoms. Steroids usually do not help with sensory symptoms and are not usually prescribed for them.

Hopefully you will continue to see improvement with your ON.

It's IV steroids? Right?

I had double vision earlier this summer, had the 3 days of IV steroids and after the big crash a day or so after the last infusion (didnt get the handy dandy nasty tasting oral taper) I started to have improvements in the vision altho the doubles didnt go away right away, just wasnt as horrible, but a bunch of my sensory symptoms cleared up fairly quickly and I enjoyed it while it lasted.

Left half of my body has been numb since the beginning of September, and when I couldnt move the left ring finger I panicked a bit (when I say "a bit", I really mean "A LOT!!". Neuro gave me a bottle of steroids and I did a taper.

Numbness didnt go away, and it got worse in my feet, but at least the pain went away for the most part, and I can move the fingers on that hand a lot easier now.

The increased numbness in my feet did get better, and now I only notice a little bit on the left side. I think the numbness is starting to get better...either that or I'm just getting used to it...(I'd rather it went away...I dont like the constant reminder that I have MS)

hi amy,

i hope the steroids help.
i would call your neuro and tell him what you told us.
i can't hurt to call, you have nothing to lose. they will help you.

i hope you feel better.

This makes so much sense Snoopy. I wondered why my own sensory symptoms didn't seem to fade away after steroids. Marginally perhaps, but definitely not a reversal of them by any means.

So glad you're feeling better Amy!
My vitamin D level was a bit low, too, so tood 1000 IU's of D till the beginning of October, then was upped to 2000. I see the least amount of sun in the summer, since it's too darn hot to spend time outside..

Me too! I'm even staying up later...in fact too late since I will be getting up for work in 5 hours, but it feels so good to have some energy and the gumption to do something other than 'work,dinner,sleep'

I don't go out in the hot weather too much either, but I can normally handle up to maybe 80 degrees if there is a breeze.

Do you come up to the cities for any of the MS Society events or seminars? It would be cool to meet you sometime.

They gave you oral steroids for optic neuritis?

Not to scare you, but my ophthalmologist told me that according to the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial (ONTT) that oral steroids is associated with an increased chance of future attacks of ON.

I didnt have any steroids for my first attack. I waited it out, and things improved within about a year and a half. Never went back to totally normal, but it got close and I got my color vision back.

My ophthalmologist told me that he thought I had another ON attack in the summer of 2007, but I never noticed any symptoms other than some eye pain over a weekend and a headache that took a few days to resolve, he was saying there were changes on my optic nerve, and that it was in the other eye. I had oral steroids that summer for really bad vertigo, around the time the ophthalmologist said that I probably had that ON attack...

I did have IV steroids for the double vision I had this summer. Things are now back to normal, I only get double vision now if I look to the right without turning my head, but that's been getting better.

I just came off oral steroids for problems I was having with half my body being numb. (neuro gave me the steroids because I was having problems moving some of my fingers and I was in pain...pain went away, and now I can move my fingers better, but they're still screwy)

I do kind of wonder if those oral steroids I had in the summer of 2007 and the ones I just had will make me more susceptible to ON. I dont know if having oral steroids within a few months of an ON attack would have an effect on it or not.

I should call my ophthalmologist and ask...I probably wont tho...his techs dont always have the nicest phone manners.