Retinal detachment and ms

[Isitart]

Hi, I'm a newbie here. I was searching for correlation between retinal issues and ms and found the recent post re retinal testing.  I had a retinal detachment without any indications three years ago.  I've had ongoing ms symptoms for years which I've just puzzled together recently. (actually had no idea what MS really was until I started searching on 'tingling' and found that I'd been experiencing symptoms for years on and off).  

While discussing my detachment the eye surgeon noted that it wasn't new but was chronic thinning which was now giving out in several places.  I'm wondering now if this is yet another indicator I should add to the list when I bring my concerns to the md next week?

thanks for any input.  P.s. I also have had the imaging done, but in context of my detachment surgery.    

[JemmAus]

Hi Isi....my vision blurs with migraines sometimes, but other than that, no. Unless the blurry bit is from MS. I get so confused by all this - trying to decipher what is MS, what is my weird migraines, whether the weird migraines are from the MS or from perimenopause or completely unrelated, etc etc

Whatever it's from, it's certainly unpleasant. When the partial detachment occured, I woke up with it, and thought we were having a bushfire when I looked out the window (I live in Australia and had that same year been through a major one) but then realised the smokey vision was only out my left eye. It settled about 4 days later, ad hasn't reoccured. They told me if it does it again they'd want to do  surgery, but frankly, after reading up on the surgery and meeting someone who has been through it, NO THANKS!!

[jujuminx]

Sue, I would strongly suggest you wait to discuss your sx with your dr and get some tests done before you say you have MS.  It may take weeks, month and perhaps years before your dr can make that diagnosis.

Julie

[Isitart]

Thanks for the responses. jemmAus, do you have any intermittent blurring or such since your detachment was addressed?   I have noticed that when I feel lousy my vision is worse...  Always thought it was caused by a cold or something coming on,
but now realize that both the feeling lousy and the blurring are caused by the MS.
Thanks, Sue

[COBOB]

It would take a retrospective study.  A certain percentage of the population gets retinal detachment say X per 100,000.   Then you need to look at the incidence in the MS population.  I guess until someone does the study, it is coincidence (although I have a theory.)

Bob

[JemmAus]

I had a partial retinal detachment about 6 years ago - and not long afterward my main symptoms started. Coincidence??? Who knows.....

[COBOB]

There was a recent discussion here regarding optical coherence tomography (OCT.)  OCT is used to measure the the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNLF.)  These nerves are non-myelinated and may be an early indicator of axonal loss.  

MS patients demonstrate axonal loss by "Black Holes" on MRI T1 sequences and loss of brain volume.  An early warning test like OCT would be very beneficial to PwMS.   As far as I know, there is no relationship between retinal detachment and MS.  That being said, some PwMS has axonal loss.  If that axonal loss causes thinning of the retina, and thinning of the retina is related to retinal detachment, then some PwMS may get detached retinas.  I'm not sure that this has ever been studied.

Bob