Vision Problems

[Patricia10]

I have had PMR since April 2015. Started on 15mg Pred and now down to 7mg. I am taking it slowly as advised on this forum so as not to have a flare. I am increasingly concerned about my sight, and when I mentioned this to my doctor she said I should go to the opticians, which I did. In fact I had to pay as I had already had tests six months earlier. Optician said my eyes were fine, I have 20/20 vision but I find I keep rubbing my eyes as there seems to slightly hazy spots, and reading is difficult sometimes and I am constantly polishing my reading glasses. My eyes are not dry,

Any suggestions please.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

They may be dry - but you don't necessarily feel/notice it. And they can be dry but you produce lots of watery tears - that don't work like real tears should. Try using some artificial tears and see if it helps. What I used was liposomal spray which you spray onto your closed eyelids and I found it helped a lot.

Both PMR and pred can lead to irritated eyes. I developed a floater that makes a hazy spot - looks a a bit like an oily smudge on my glasses but there isn't one! It hasn't changed a lot - it went away at higher doses of pred, it occasionally reappears now. Screwing my eyes up and then relaxing them usually gets rid of it for a while. I also found I could better with my glasses sometimes than others - they have sat at a lot of different positions on my nose over the last 10 years but i'm still on much the same prescription as I was then!

[Judigardener]

Wonder if you have a cataract developing?

[Megams in reply to Judigardener]

In NZ Optometrists are qualified to prescribe corrective lenses after an indepth consultation using a variety of equipment especially using refractive machine to accurately diagnose any problems going in the back of the eye - an Optican is not trained to do that, rather he/she makes up a prescription as per an Optometrists findings. Another words the two professions are not equal in their ability to diagnose - I am sure it is the same in England, not sure where you hail from Patricia10?

I have had issues with my eyes - cataracts are growing albeit slowly. I have a minute piece of vitreous matter presently sitting at 8 o'clock in my R eye which wants to stay put - my brain is slowly getting use to it. Not bothering me so much now as a consequence.

I have experienced a detached vitreous in both eyes since PMR - am constantly cleaning my reading lenses for better visibility & think its due to the slow growing cataracts.

Blessings

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Megams]

Most "opticians" in the UK have optometrists working there - and it is the same situation although the words tend to be used interchangeably in everyday use. That's why I usually say to people to go to a "proper optician" who can do all the tests and not just a dispensing optician who will only make up glasses on someone else's prescription. The big chains only use optometrists to do the eye tests - and then there are the salespersons.

[Megams in reply to PMRpro]

Yes I thought that to be the case - it always "pays" in every sense of the word to actually book in an appointment time with the Optometrist and that way money is well spent.

In NZ ads on TV push Specsavers -very clever marketing as ads usually hilarious and so true of our failing eye sight. Of course these larger chain vying for more business luring those with less money into their stores on the belief they will sort their eye issues out for a fraction of the cost - don't you believe it.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Megams]

In fairness, I had a fairly good experience with Vision Express when my glasses got mislaid a couple of years ago! The optometrist was actually a bit OTT according to the eye department here - she was panicking about a thin retina. It was an emergency - I couldn't go through an English summer with just prescription sunglasses! - and I needed replacement glasses in a couple of hours. My independent wonderful optician in Scotland was far superior in service though - and, as you say, cheaper for normal specs replacement.

[Megams in reply to PMRpro]

That's good having an Optometrist being a bit OTT - eyes precious & no second chances if something gets missed like a lovely young Optometrist who worked in a practice where I was working died of an aggressive brain tumor. Absolutely defied belief on all fronts.

Having a good Optician can be worth his/her weight in gold.

Can't say I'm familiar with Vision Express but no doubt along the same lines as Specsavers.

Blessings

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Megams]

They are, yes...

It was good yes - except I was at the start of a 3 week holiday in the UK and she KNEW I didn't live there. Had I been less sanguine I'd have been terrified I was about to go blind and not enjoyed the break. As it was I had to wait a few months for an appointment - as I almost certainly would also have had to do in the UK. She didn't explain and was very miserable with it - hardly patient-friendly...

[Megams in reply to PMRpro]

Oh dear never easy is it and we are always at their mercy and hope you did go on to enjoy your hols.

You have probably become so seasoned with your lengthy PMR journey and other associated health difficulties that there is merit in just one day at a time & embracing that fully without worrying about tomorrow or the next day...........

[bunnymom]

I too clean my glasses all the time because my vision is blurry. Eye dr says all is well I am hoping at lower dose of pred eyes will improve. Currently at 22 slowly tapering to 20. I also use drops for dry eyes.

[judam9]

i have had my cataracts removed for a few years ago. and it was no big deal, i do have an ophthalmologist as a doctor. but now he has discovered that i have macular degeneration.

and a month ago i received a shot in the eye. and will see him again on thursday. they did use numbing drops , but kind of wish that they had used a few more. i'm guessing that i'm going to have another on this trip. this is further then an optometrist would go. . i hope it will help to keep my sight going, but my eyes get very tired in a short time. and the words keep jumping around. my eyes were dry, but then they started to swell and then began leaking. in to the eye. i think i should have had shot much earlier then now. i guess i will find out.

oh when they did the cataracts, they implanted a permanent lens for distance, for that i didn't need glasses anymore. just reading glasses.

good luck with your eyes, and God Bless. judiB

[Patricia10]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful replies. I think I will give it a couple of weeks, as I am going on holiday, then if I am still feeling uneasy, I shall go to my local eye infirmary and get my eyes checked out. Hopefully they will do a.more in depth examination. Thank you again

[Hidden]

I have Chronic Dry Eye which is puzzling to me since I awake every morning with watery eyes. I also think something is wrong with my glasses and clean them. I am 65 and am starting to develop a cateract but not that bad yet. Just got my new prescription for eyeglasses n will see how it goes when they get here. After a day of sit n read then watch videos or work on computer I can hardly focus.

The one part of me working all day is my eyes.

Try some Refresh eye drops. I like it much better than Visine which burns my eyes.

Do you have a headache, jaw pain or sore scalp by any cance!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

The watery eyes bit is typical of dry eye syndrome. The eye is not producing the correct amount of high quality viscous (thick) tears and that makes the surface of the eye dry out more than it should - as a response the eye makes large quantities of thinner tears in an attempt to keep the eye surface moist, especially in certain conditions, overnight where you weren't blinking, in wind or cold. In another post I likened it to the difference between the claims that thick Domestos coats the loo better than ordinary cheap bleach which is thinner!

So really - anyone who finds they develop watery eyes should consider they may have dry eye syndrome and check with their optician. If your eyes are too dry the surface can become damaged.