Just curious - I am wary of the fact we can attribute so much to low b12, however, I have PAS, low ferritin and Folate, occipital neuralgia; to name but a few issues. I have my B12 6 weekly and supplements for the others. Since September I have been having awful eye pain, but the pain is actually in my eyeballs - it feels like someone is trying to gouge my eyeballs out with a spoon - very unpleasant. I was just curious as to others having similar symptoms or anyone being able to offer any wise words, please and thank you in anticipation.
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Ree2705
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Hi... sounds really painful and not able to offer much advice really except it would be a good idea to see an optician. Are your eye pains accompanied by a headache?
Five months is a long time to be in what sounds like serious pain so maybe it should also be investigated by your GP.
Obviously the folate and ferritin issues should be addressed asap, this will help your body to utilise the B12 and you should feel better but in the meantime, well worth having your eyes tested just to be on the safe side. Hope you get some relief soon.
Thanks for the response guys - there is no dryness, itching or headache and the pain is not there all of the time. At first I wasn't overly concerned as it didn't last long but it's getting more frequent. I had my eyes tested in the summer but I do intend to go again very soon. I was mostly curious to know if anyone else had a similar issue before I dismissed it being down to the B12...
This site is such a fabulous wealth of information, it's becoming my first port of call for queries and support- a massive thanks as always.
Ree2795. Forgot to say...I have dry eyes and the most common and consistent thing I get is sharp stabbing shooting agnonising pain in and around the eyeballs...much more common than the itchy scratchy thing.
Sounds like what you may be describing...so really have no idea why I didn't say this before.
So it might be worth trying the hypermellos (artificial tears) to see if it eases the pain. But you'd have to use it regularly for several weeks to see if it works. It's not effective if it's just put in when the pain occurs.
Hi Ree2705. Yes, you can get the drops over the counter in any chemist.
There are lots of different tear replacement products availabe. Hypermellose eye drops, things like Actimist spray (spray on to top of eyelids)...oh and a whole host of other things that do the same job. Different things suit different people so,it may be a case of finding what works for you 😄.
Hypermellose is inexpensive but some of them, particularly the branded ones, cost an arm and a leg!
Always works best when used regularly...if forget a dose...or a day...or a day or two...it always comes back?
You're right, the pain thing is very unpleasant. It always catches me when I'm not expecting it...lots of wincing and trying to get away from eyeballs. Quite entertaining (for others) when it happens in public 😖.
I agree with those above, go to the opinions. they do more than check if you need glasses, they can also check the pressure in the eyeball, peripheral vision and look inside the eye to see if there is any damage.
you said your ferritin is low, are you also iron anemic (as in low blood count, too small red blood cells) ? my Ophthalmologist once told me that being anemic can affect the fine blood vessels at the back of the eye, but I don’t know the details of this sorry.
lastly, are you getting any allergies or sinus problems? as this can put pressure on the eye.
hope this helps, I know that pain in the eye can be horrible.
Hi Ree2705 I'm have PA I have the same problem as you,
the pain is agony, I was talking to a glaucoma nurse she told me it was dry eyes, I got eye drops from chemist and they have worked. I never even thought my eyes were dry, if I was you I'd give them a try they worked for me.
Thank you both dragonfly and katakraa for both bits of useful information - I shall try some drops and I will discuss this with my optician when I go. They did all of these usual things when I went to the opticians in the summer, but obviously I wasn't having this problem then...
I have experienced a stabbing pain in the eye ball but also suffer with dry eyes. I have another autoimmune disease which I usually blame all my ills upon. However on the recommendation of the optician I purchased an eye bag (link to follow). It has been the very best remedy that I have used. I am no longer constantly reaching for the eye drops but use them morning and night. I do not think I have blepharitis, the booklet that comes with the product helps dry eye syndromes, and meibomian glad dysfunction as well as styes etc. However contact lens wearers should consult their contact lens practitioner before use.
Interesting observation that after reading your post, this morning after taking my cyanocobalamin injection, I had one sore eyeball.
I think in the past I've treated this as a headache since the pain is so far back in the eyeball. As you said, feels like it is being gouged out.
It really only showed up at the end of my commute when the sun came up so I still think it is a reaction to sunlight deep in the eye itself.
Have you noticed any increase in floaters and black spots in your field of vision? I had these about the same time as I was diagnosed with B12D. Now that I self inject, my eyes are pretty good.
They get tired from too much reading, computer screen work and driving due to a lot of left / right movement.
Indeed, an interesting observation and yes I have a lot of floaters - my eyes also get tired after reading and computer work - I have my injections 6 weekly but after on-going battles with GP I am looking at self-injecting more regularly; this will hopefully improve the myriad of symptoms that I attribute to this vexing condition...
Thank you for sharing your observations with me - it's much appreciated.
Do any of you have a sore neck with your eye pain? Or headache? Because I just got diagnosed with occipital neuralgia and one of my symptoms is that I can feel this incredible pressure behind my eyes especially when I press on my neck. I did have a lot of eye pain in the beginning too that is better than it was now. I think my optic nerves were affected.
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