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Hi, I'm new here and new to thinking about MS.

Last week I was diagnosed with optic neuritis when I saw an optometrist for a routine exam. It's actually in both eyes (which I think is sort of uncommon) but worse in the left eye. The optometrist referred me to a neurologist who did a neurological exam and ordered blood work and several MRIs (cervical, brain, orbits). My cervical MRI was done last Friday and came back clean. The other two MRIs are happening later this week.

The optometrist and the neurologist both threw around the possibility of this being caused by MS. Can anyone give me any info on how likely optic neuritis is to be MS? Is it sometimes just optic neuritis and not indicative of anything more serious?

Thanks for your help.

I have had optic neuritis 3 times in my young life (only 26 years old now). Often, it can be the first sign of MS but there are other reasons it can happen to people.

How old are you? Any family history of MS or other autoimmune diseases?

Have you ever had any other symptoms? Or "problems" that cannot be explained?

No matter what, you can find your self handling whatever is thrown at you.... MS is not the end of the world

Best wishes,

Chris

Thanks for the reply, Chris. To answer your questions, I'm 30 years old and have no family history of ms or other autoimmune diseases that I know of. I have had some symptoms consistent with ms. I have become more clumsy in the last year. I drop things a lot and hurt myself falling twice in the last six months. I've also had a weird tingling sensation in my left hand sporadically. I'm tired a lot.

The neurologist said I had brisk reflexes. Other than that, my neurological exam was normal.