Ocular Neuritis - Steroids or Not

[pweaver]

Hi, I've had ocular neuritis in my left eye for about 10 days now, went to the doctor and got that diagnosis a week ago, got sent to get an MRI to look for MS signifying white spots on my brain. I saw the doctor again today about the MRI results which were all clear! I found this forum in the last few days post getting the MRI and getting the results from the doctor (in NYC, you can get any kind of food delivered at 1 in the morning but it takes 3 days to get medical test results . . .) and read a lot of interesting information so I thought I'd ask for advice about deciding what to do next.

I have to decide tonight whether to do the steroid treatment over the next 3 days in the hospital. I am uninsured though if I did the treatment I would find a way to pay for it. The doctors proposed the steroid treatment but said it was my choice whether to do it or not. When I asked if the steroid treatment would have an effect on my long term vision recovery vs. waiting they said the only difference would be that the steroids would speed my recovery.

Any thoughts or past experience dealing with optic neuritis and getting steroids or not?

Even though my MRI is clear I had noticed within the last 6 months that I have had trouble pronouncing some sounds (especially 'r' and replacing 's' with 'sh') and mixing up the order of words sometimes. I have also been getting headaches on the same side of my head as I have ocular neuritis (left) on and off for about 6 months also. Within the last few weeks I had thought I felt minor numbness in my left leg.

Has anyone here had experience with getting a totally clear MRI after some symptoms but later developed MS? I would be interested in hearing any stories!

Sorry for such a long introduction post but this community seems to have a lot of great information and I'm glad to have found it.

I am 27, male and in NYC.

[lyndacarol]

Hi, I've had ocular neuritis in my left eye for about 10 days now, went to the doctor and got that diagnosis a week ago, got sent to get an MRI to look for MS signifying white spots on my brain. I saw the doctor again today about the MRI results which were all clear! I found this forum in the last few days post getting the MRI and getting the results from the doctor (in NYC, you can get any kind of food delivered at 1 in the morning but it takes 3 days to get medical test results . . .) and read a lot of interesting information so I thought I'd ask for advice about deciding what to do next.

I have to decide tonight whether to do the steroid treatment over the next 3 days in the hospital. I am uninsured though if I did the treatment I would find a way to pay for it. The doctors proposed the steroid treatment but said it was my choice whether to do it or not. When I asked if the steroid treatment would have an effect on my long term vision recovery vs. waiting they said the only difference would be that the steroids would speed my recovery.

Any thoughts or past experience dealing with optic neuritis and getting steroids or not?

Even though my MRI is clear I had noticed within the last 6 months that I have had trouble pronouncing some sounds (especially 'r' and replacing 's' with 'sh') and mixing up the order of words sometimes. I have also been getting headaches on the same side of my head as I have ocular neuritis (left) on and off for about 6 months also. Within the last few weeks I had thought I felt minor numbness in my left leg.

Has anyone here had experience with getting a totally clear MRI after some symptoms but later developed MS? I would be interested in hearing any stories!

Sorry for such a long introduction post but this community seems to have a lot of great information and I'm glad to have found it.

I am 27, male and in NYC.

Welcome to ThisIsMS, pweaver.

I have not had optic neuritis, but I have an opinion on steroids. For other MS symptoms in the past, I have received steroids in the hospital over a three day period. In my opinion, the steroids had no effect on my symptoms.

Corticosteroids increase blood sugar levels. People who use steroids long-term or use high doses of steroids have an increased risk of diabetes.

In response to increased blood sugar, the pancreas produces increased insulin. In my opinion, this excess insulin promotes my MS symptoms through insulin resistance in my cells.

In my own case, my first three MRIs were perfectly normal. My fourth MRI showed the lesions, which are the hallmark of MS (and many other conditions, such as migraines).

We are glad you have found us.

[jencor69]

Hi pweaver,
I've had an MS diagnosis for 23 years and during that time I have had several episodes of Optic neuritis ranging from blurry, painful eyes to complete blindness which lasted for 6 weeks. I have never taken steroids as treatment because of the damage they do to your bones. Steroids would have cleared up the symptoms quicker but they don't prevent and may even exacerbate damage.
http://multiple-sclerosis-research.blog ... nt-in.html
I had my eyes tested last week and the technician told me my optic nerves looked healthy and there was no damage evident (even after going blind). I treated the pain with cannabis because it has a very potent anti-inflammatory and natural analgesic effect.

[pweaver]

Thank you for your replies and the info on steroids! I decided not to do the steroids, I'm glad to hear any reason not to have done them as it makes me less anxious about the decision. Last night I felt like I had significant improvement with my vision but this morning it seems to be back to foggyness, we'll see how it is tonight.

Also glad to hear stories about MRIs. I'm considering significanly changing my diet becuase it has been very high in saturated fats (butter, yogurt and coconut oil) because I realize that I am still very much at risk to develop MS.

[lyndacarol]

Also glad to hear stories about MRIs. I'm considering significanly changing my diet becuase it has been very high in saturated fats (butter, yogurt and coconut oil) because I realize that I am still very much at risk to develop MS.

You are wise to consider your diet. In my opinion, saturated fat is not the villain; in fact, coconut oil (a medium-chain fat) is an EXCELLENT source of energy for the body! Butter contains lauric acid, found at greatest percentage in human breast milk. Fat is necessary for us humans – for the myelin covering of the nerves, for our brains which are mostly composed of fat.

My candidate for villain in the Standard American Diet is wheat/gluten/gliadin, which is now known to damage the villi in the intestines and lead to Intestinal Permeability which allows too much insulin to enter the bloodstream.

[lyndacarol]

More saturated fats:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... 20131104Z1