Just to follow up I still have optic neuritis but it has cleared up a little. I started driving just around my neighborhood but I am not comfortable driving far or fast on highways yet.

Have you been to a neuro that specializes in MS and asked about an MRI of the brain and C-spine of both the with and without contrast? If not you should to definitively find out if you have MS or not. One thing for sure is that optic neuritis and numb body parts are NOT normal and most out here had to go to the above professional to really determine if they had MS or something else.

Best wishes and glad the optic neuritis is clearing up ( :
EP

I have had those tests and more and they all show no signs of MS no lesions on brain spine or neck lumbar puncture normal eeg fine I did see a neurologist in the hospital also but have not been to one that specializes in MS. I guess I will wait and see what happens as I go off steroids. I do have a friend that had all normal test results also and she does have MS so I know it is still a possibility. Has anyone else had the side effects of numbness and leg weakness from steroids?

Then if you have had the MS tests come up neg I would ask if you have had both your gums (dentist) and GI tract (Gastrointestinal specialist). I have ulcerative colitis (UC) and have since had iritis which is inflammation of iris (colored part of eye). Disease process in these 2 areas (gums or GI) can cause wide spread inflammation in the body. Something to look into ..or not.

Best of wishes to you
EP

i hope you feel better after the steroids are gone.

I'm going to just say HOORAY! I'm happy for you!

no matter what may or may not be wrong with you now or what may not come....TODAY is is not MS and that's freaking great news!

PS AFTER you get proper dx and can no longer skew test results that can help you find root cause you can look at natural ways to reduce inflammation. R-ALA (Alpha lipotic acid), D3, fishoil, primerose oil, probiotics, low gluten and low sugar diet can all reduce inflammation without the very neg side effects of long term high dose steroid use. Don't get me wrong you may need to do this from time to time but being able to reduce inflammation more naturally can help you reduce dosage or times in a year you need to take it. This can reduce problems in the future.

Best wishes,
EP

I dont want to be negative but I went through this a year and a half ago. I had a few slight MS symptoms but my mRI came out clean and my opthomologist did a complete work over and said that he didnt think there was MS. I was ecstatic!! I celebrated and I quit thinking about MS. Well I have gradually gotten worse and kept getting stupid shitty doctors and long story short, I do have lesions on my neck now and I do have MS and now Im fighting to get my mobility and life back... I pray and hope that its not MS but please becareful, you dont want to get to the point that your fighting to regain your life.. : )

Hope all goes well for you!

I am very sorry you are going through this. It sounds so similar to what my husband went through five years ago. He had optic neuritis which was misdiagnosed by a neuro-opthamologist as a psudo tumor. His original MRI showed no lesions but we later learned it was a poor quality MRI or the wrong kind. When he got a new MRI it showed about three small lesions. By this time, it was too late for IV steriods (which should have been given instead of the oral prednisone, which did not help). He ended up getting the IV steroids anyway, but they did not fix the OI. Also, by this time we realized other symptoms he was having which he had dismissed as part of middle age, were all part of the MS. I recommend you get an opinion from another neurologist. I hope you don't have it but I know that even very competent doctors can miss this.

Get a third opinion to be sure.

Steroids can cause numbness and weakness in your legs. My step-dad had to take steroids for issues with his eyes and it got to the point where he couldn't walk. Once he went off the steroids, he regained mobility.

I really hope you don't have MS, but at least if you do, you will have gotten proper documentation all the way through

I did have blood work done in hospital so I thought they tested for Lupus that way but don't know for sure.