This is a short, inexpensive E-book. It starts with a well-written story about the
author’s experiences with MS. Then, she moves
into imparting medical information in a friendly, understandable way. This book is primarily about the visual
problems one can encounter, related terminology, and what medical tests might
be done when you visit the neurologist regarding visual symptoms.
However, she also skillfully defines some of the medical terminology
used regarding MS in general and writes about a few aspects of MS beyond just
the visual symptoms. At the back of the
book, there are some study abstracts, if you don’t mind reading medical jargon.
If you have encountered visual problems due to MS, I’d say
this book should definitely be on your “to read” list. It is also fairly informative about other
aspects of MS, though. So, if you are an
“information addict,” as the author admits to be (and I am, too), it is still
worth reading if you’ve never had the visual issues.
I took some notes while reading, so will share. In the bulleted list below, I've included what I found personally
helpful and also made a few comments. I’ve
placed quotation marks around segments taken directly from the book. This reading also sparked a theory I’ll address a little later in this post.
- Optic Neuritis (ON) rarely occurs in both eyes at the same time.
- It is the most common first symptom of MS, in the form of blurred vision.
- “92% of patients with Optic Neuritis experience severe pain particularly when moving the eye.”
- “Intravenous steroids administered as quickly as possible after the beginning of an attack can not only shorten the attack, returning vision more quickly, but can improve the degree of recovery. The only MS symptom where this is the case.” Oral corticosteroids “may lead to more recurrent attacks than in non-treated patients (though oral steroids are generally prescribed after the intravenous course, to wean the patient off the medication).”
- The author suggests various supplements and alternative remedies for optic neuritis. One thing mentioned is fish oil. My hubby’s optometrist suggested he take fish oil capsules (Omega-3 fatty acids, EPA & DHA) because he was getting iritis at least twice a year. He took it for about a year, but then stopped when we read that it can increase a man’s chances of getting prostate cancer. Since his dad had prostate cancer at an early age, that scared us off from his taking the fish oil. Just something to research and consider, if you’re a guy reading this book.
- GOOD NEWS: “Recovery from ON is often complete and even in the worst cases, patients seldom fail to recover some sight. Further improvement in vision can happen up to a year after symptoms begin.”
- The rapid, involuntary shaking of my eyes that I experienced is called “Nystagmus.”
- “As with most symptoms of MS, fatigue and heat (Uhthoff’s symptom) usually make [Nystagmus] worse.”
- “There is also something called ‘short-circuiting’ fatigue, where affected nerves of individual muscle groups, such as your legs, tire after a short walk or your hand after writing.”
Now, for the theory that reading
this book sparked.
As I mentioned in my
opening post to this blog, I have a beloved cousin who has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). I’ve also observed acquaintances with
it. What stands out for me is that one
of the abilities that seems to remain for such patients is their ability to
voluntarily move their eyes, even though ALS is a disease that attacks the body’s
nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles. Take this interesting concept into account
when considering what this book says about optic neuritis in those with MS: “Intravenous
steroids administered as quickly as possible after the beginning of an attack [of
optic neuritis] can not only shorten the attack, returning vision more quickly,
but can improve the degree of recovery.
The only MS symptom where this is the case.”
This makes me ask, then: Is there something about the nerve cells
controlling the eyes that make them different than nerve cells elsewhere in the
body? Why do the eyes of an ALS patient
seem to successfully resist attack, even though I’d declare the eye muscles to
be classified among the “voluntarily controlled” muscles? The ALS patient’s heart muscle still works,
for instance, because we don’t voluntarily control our hearts. We don’t have to think about it to make it
keep beating. In the same line of
thinking, what is special about the MS patient’s eye nerve cells that make them
more responsive to medication, to the point that symptoms go away and normal
sight can be recovered?
I would suggest a study on what is
different about eye nerve cells, if anything, in comparison to nerve cells in
other parts of the body. If we can
discover that, perhaps we can utilize this information in combination with some
of the exciting cell work currently occurring in laboratories to cure MS and
other neurological diseases or at least develop another treatment option.
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