Well my friends, I have just got back from a appointment at the hospital for my eyes. I was surprised as you might be,but its true and they are getting through them rather quickly.
It appears that the problems i have been having with my eyes is related to my ra. Great another thing to put up with. Despite having my tear ducts done last year i still have very dry eyes. He did say what it was, but i couldn't even pronounce it as it was such a long word. I have now been given thre months supply of some new drops for it. I am now waiting on another appointment for this condition.
I just keep getting worse not better. I wonder where it will all end. I am in a lot of pain and i am also back on steroids,which doesn't suit me at all,i am fed up with them,i thought that as i had got off them things might start moving with my weight,but no that didn't last.
So every one i do hope you are all pain free on this sunny sunday. Sylvi...
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sorry to hear you are still not feeling good but glad to hear that you had your eye appointment even on a sunday it shows that they are at least trying to get the waiting lists down. Weekends and evenings are also good times for working people to have appointments as they then dont have to take time off work. My local hospital has also started doing this in fact I had my routine mammogram on a saturday afternoon. hoping that you are soon feeling better for a sustained period as I know you sometimes feel better for a short time but it does not seem to last long for you.Also only 2 weeks now till your son is home and that is something to look forward to.
Sorry your feeling unwell sylvi, As you know i am new to this site and this rotten deceases,
My rheumy mentioned about me having to have regular eye test, Is there not anything else this RA can cause, it sounds like a complete nite mare, special for you at the moment.
Great idea for hospital appointment to be available at the weekend to, When i first started to read your message, I thought have i got the days wrong, I've done that a few times lately to.
You poor thing, I hate it when my eyes go as can't really concentrate on anything when you have itchy eyes. have you tried having a bowl of water over your radiator to keep the air in you room moist? I find that winter is the worst as either you freeze, or you have the heating on which drys out the air. Hope the drops help too. Polly.
I'm having problems with dry eyes at the moment as well, saw optician recently and now awaiting appointment to the eye hospital down here. (plus new lenses in my glasses today hopefully).
What optician told me was: get a hummidifier, sip 8 glasses of liquid a day (coffee doesn't count as it has duretic properties) and use gel tears upto 6 times a day (I was only told to use them twice a day previously). Apparently sipping the fluids rather than gulping it means the fluids dont go straight to the kidneys but supports other parts of the body, i.e. eyes. (Googled this information and did find this on another site, cant remember where though).
For the dry eyes I'm using Gel Tears (0.2% w/w Carbomer eye gel) throughout the day and Viscotears Liquid Gel once a day at bedtime (this one is like vasolene and coats the eyes - very gungy and I hate it).
I also have glucoma and had lazer treatment years ago to make holes which let out the pressure, optician thinks the holes have closed up as the pressure is up again, hence awaiting visit to eye hospital.
Morning everyone,(i can't say ladies as we have men on here as well), Thank you all for your nice comments. This morning i have got up in quite a bit of pain, again. The drops the hospital gave me are called,optive plus, and i have to put them in four times a day. Judy i am sipping this morning and i will certainly keep trying to do that thank you.
Cris,shirl and polly, thank you all for your thoughts and i will be taking them on board. I am getting in a flap as i want all the dccies up when my george comes home,but the trouble is i can't do it all on my own like i used to do. Everything now has to fit round the others in my household and i am afraid to say i am not the most patient of person. I am sure they will get up in time,just not at my speed.
You all have a pain free day love sylvi.xx
oh Sylvi, sorry to here that - it is like one step forward and one back. I have funny eyes as well and just use drops, never realised it could be linked to ra. IT must be so frustrating it really does sound as though you have not been properly sorted out sylvie, you should not be in such constant pain.
I know you were so happy to get off the steroids but if you need to get back on them again well maybe that will help with the pain.
Do you think it is more the firbro that is giving you pain or is it the ra.
It is annoying isn't to be so reliant on everyone else, it drives me mad. Hope you have a much better day today and george will have everything done to your liking.
Mads,the trouble with these diseases is you don't know which one is causing the trouble. I have just been and had more blood tests this morning so we will see what they produce.
How are you now? is life treating you well. Love Sylvi.xx
so if the inflammation is up that should mean that it is ra, is that the way they try to figure out which it is.
I am not bad, Like you I try to do more than i am capable off and then wonder why I am unable to move. My esr factors are rising again so they are probably going to rejig my medication just when i liked being on a lowish dose of a relatively mild dmard. But i am working away, pretending christmas is a lot further away than it is, and trying to prise the argos book out of my 7 year olds hands. She has been putting ticks against items since July.
poor you sylvi,my sis-in-law has arthritis in her back and every few months her eyes become really sore and she has to have drops every hour and the hospital told her it was to do with her arthritis in her back!!! hope you feel better soon xxx
Hi Sylvi, so sorry to hear that you are in a lot of pain and hope very much that it gets sorted out very soon.Is the dry eye part of RA or is it another disease? Iwas told to have eye tests ever year due to the medication and diseases I have.I have had 2 appointments on a Saturday now, which has been lovely, from the point of view of parkings being so easy, was in and out before my appointment, so wasn't getting stressed out and so empty that I felt able to walk without someone banging or pushing into me. Hope you feel better soon, hugs Ann x
Is it Sjogrens disease? That can cause dry eyes. If the drops you have been given don't make your eyes feel better or if they irritate, then make sure you go back to the GP and ask if you can try a different one. There are loads of different eye drops and some of them have different preservatives which means the first one you are given may not be the best one for you. I probably went through about four different ones before I found one that felt good in my eye.
The other option for permanently dry eyes is to have your tear ducts plugged up. Sounds weird, but they put in tiny silicon plugs (punctal plugs) into the duct that drains your tears away from your eye - that can really help make sure that you eyes don't get too dry because it encourages the tears to stay on your eye surface. Some opticians can actually do this for you as well.
They said what it was,but it wasn't the you have spoken about. It was a long name and i couldn't pronounce it let alone spell it. xxx
Hoping the drops are helping? optive are quite good for lubrication they have an ingredient called guar gum in the ingredients this makes them "thicker" / able to coat the eye better than most other ones. I think like some else suggested you might benefit from lacri lube ointment which tends to be used at night in addition xx
if its not one thing its another i had read about this
i have also in the earlie stages had a few problems with me eyes going a bit blured didnt take any notice of it though thought it was part of the condition so i looked it up.
it seems if its not one thing its another with this thing sylvi
one dosnt know what is going to strike next and all because your body dosnt want to plat ball get bettter soon sylvi WE NEED YOU ON HERE.
Thank you for that. I must admit i have found it hard to support others when i am like this my self. I do try to be optimistic. I will try harder minka ok.xxxxxx
I thought you might find it helpful to have a read of our information about some of the eye conditions and problems related to RA and how they are treated: nras.org.uk/about_rheumatoi...
Sjogren (or 'dry eye') syndrome is one of the most common eye problems for people with RA, with up to 40% of those with RA experiencing this.
Thank you Sarah Kate, I can't remember what he called it and i have to see another consultant so we will see. I hope they work in time,i'm hopeful. sylvi.
Oh gosh, Sylvie, I can't believe you have one more thing to deal with! I am inclined to agree with Mads. It appears your RA and the inflammation are not under enough control. You should NOT be having so much pain, and developing more signs of inflammation, ie, your eyes now. I would suggest you get back to your Rheumy and lay all this out on the table and tell him you need more control! If you are not on an anti-tnf, it appears as thought it is time! All the best to you sweetie, Love ya, Loret
Apparently loretta i came of the steroids too quickly and i believe this is why i am in so much pain. I am now back on them and my rhuemy nurse has told to up them to 10 again. i will have to talk to them in the morning and see what she says.
How are lovely loretta haven't heard from you laterly hope your well.xxx
I'm good, Sylvie, just busy getting ready for Thanksgiving this week. Will actually have 3 separate dinners, due to not being able to get everybody together on one day!
Minka no one knows better than i do how this disease affects you. I am back on my steroids as i came off them too quick and i am paying for it now. Moan all you like minka,it will nothing i haven't heard already. Like you i am sick and tired how this disease affects you and the other diseases that come with it. I am brighter in myself this morning so i have made a start on putting the deccies up,i have done some and now when i have finished this i am going to do a bit more. Take care i will be back on here in about 10min. sylvi.xx
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