[Zoi]

Hi Julia,

I'm sorry to hear about all you're going through at the moment.... Vision/eye problems can be incredibly scary....

Is the optic neuritis a recurring problem or have you had it once? Optic neuritis can certainly cause pain behind the eye; I remember finding it hard to even talk at times from how strong the pain behind my eyes was due to the neuritis... I don't know if iritis could cause pain behind the eye, or if muscle problems in the eye could cause that sort of pain... Is the pain connected to the eye drooping or is it un-related?

Eye problems in lupus can be quite complicated, but it's very good that your doc is being thorough with the tests and that your symptoms are responding to the increased steroids!! :bigsmile: :thumbs:

What kind of meds are you on for your lupus, besides the pred, at the moment?

One other thing is, lupus-related optic neuritis is often associated with something called Hughes' syndrome or APS; an autoimmune disorder that makes the blood more prone to clot. Do have any idea if you've ever been tested for it?

Hang in there :hugbetter: :grouphug2:

:foryou:

Zoi

 

[Zoi]

Hey Julia,

Have you ever had VEPs done? If you can't have a contrast MRI visual evoked potentials are a good way of telling if the nerve itself has a problem (de-myelination, inflammation etc) or if the problem lies outside the optic nerve. It's a pretty fast test, completely painless and not at all annoying (no needles or anything, just some gel on your head!) Here's some information on VEPs:

http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/VisuallyEvokedResponse.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_evoked_potential

Hope the appointment with the opthamologist goes well!

Zoi