Eyes

[RAstrong]

I am wondering if any of you suffering from RA have had trouble with their vision? My eyes have definitely become dry but I can no longer read what's infront of me on the television

[Matilda7]

Suggest you see your optician and have them check your eyes. Could be related to RA.

[Hidden]

I've had very dry eyes for 3 years and my vision is blurred nearly all the time, but not enough to make life dangerous. My eyelids stick to the surface of my eyes when I've been asleep which is unpleasant. I've had all sorts of drops and gels, they only work for a little while but I just keep putting drops in whenever my eyes feel sore and gritty. I can't read things on the TV screen either. I can read a paper or book for a little while. You should see an optician to make sure all is well and get drops or gel from your GP. I did these things. I also have very dry ears and nostrils, I use my eye drops in both as they feel comfy when I do. My Rheumatologist said it is one of many symptoms which are part of the whole RA mess. I hope you can get some relief for your eyes. Cheerio from Susie.

[Matilda7 in reply to Hidden]

It's very important to use the eye drops regularly, not just when your eyes feel dry.

I use minims artificial tears as I can't tolerate preservatives, and put them in every 2 hours throughout the day. Have been doing this for almost 40 years and it works well! I get them on prescription, having been diagnosed with Sjögren's.

[JennyA123 in reply to Hidden]

Have exactly the same problem nothing works for me try everything even plugs on my eyes and still super dry and 😣 painfull I don't know what to do next .

[Loraine121]

Hi Rastrong , I use eye gel and drop as I have fibromyalgia and just recently diagnosis with RA and I was advised by the consultant to see my option and let them know about the medication that I was on .

Good luck i hope you get somethingto help

Loraine x

[Fruitandnutcase]

I have inflammatory arthritis, last progress report my rheumy wrote to my GP he said he thought I was probably developing Sjorgens too.

I also have Graves Disease and have really dry eyes but not thyroid eye disease. I use preservative free eye drops all the time. As long as I use them my eyes feel good but as soon as I stop (because my eyes feel good) my eyes get dry again. I get blurred, fuzzy vision when they are very dry and a sort of double vision effect - when the credits run after a programme I used to see the names with a half shadow beneath them - it was very annoying.

I've been checked out by my optician, had photos taken and the place I go has the same sort of machine as the hospital has so I've had OCT (optical coherence topography or maybe it's tomography ) scans done too. My rheumatologist was well impressed when I took a copy of that along with me 😉

You are definitely best to go and see your optician as first port of call before you do anything and they can advise you as to what you can do or refer you somewhere else if need be. Opticians in my area can do a direct referral of patients to hospital if they need to.

I also use an eye bag that I heat in the microwave, that helps a lot as does just putting a hot compress on my closed eyes.

I should also add that if you are taking hydroxychlorophine then it is very important that you have regular eye tests.

[Simba1992]

Q10 and vit A cream for the night and good drops for the day have really helped me.

[Bailybiscuit]

I tried different types of eye drops and gel but now use Hyabak ones as prescribed by my glaucoma nurse. They are better than any other you can get and she wrote asking my doctor to prescribe them and also told me to make sure she didn't try to change them to ones with preservative in them.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Bailybiscuit]

Hyabak are good and your glaucoma nurse is quite right - watch your doctor doesn't try and fob you off with cheaper drops that have preservative in them. There are lots of preservative free drops out there that are good but they are quite pricey when you have buy them yourself.

[Amhoarten]

Certainly go to opticians as I was there the other week and after asking me about medications and medical conditions she specifically asked me if my eyes were dry. If they were they could advise me. It's known to be a sympton of the condition. All the best x

[Sweetpolly2016]

I'm starting to have trouble with my eyes and ears too! R'S sucks! I may have to stop working because of my hearing problem.

[RAstrong in reply to Sweetpolly2016]

As of right now I could not even consider going to work. Not knowing when I wake up if it's my hands feet or knees that are going to fail me today. Unfortunately there is no way I could be reliable. Hopefully that changes once my meds get sorted out.

[Gailes]

RA can and does impact on vision. Go to the optician soon. If you don't want glasses get daily disposable lenses. These can be bought on line reasonably. Use eye drops to relieve the dryness. Hope this helps.

[Richgirl]

Hello, RAstrong, oh yes. My eyes get so dry. Then they get so watery. Hard to keep them open at times. They will some times burn. Itch. Hurt like sand is in them. All these different things I get at different times, one at a time. Very odd. I never asked my RA doc about it. I do get my eyes checked out every 3 months. They say my eyes are healthy. But that RA can mess with the feeling in your eyes. He said to use over the counter eye drops for relief. I hope this helps. Hope you get to feeling better.