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Anyone else here with iritis issues?

wciarci

Wenderella
Messages
264
Location
Connecticut
When I am in a really bad flare I often develop iritis (inflamation of the iris). Very serious and needs to be treated right away with steroid drops. Just wondering if anyone else has this?

Wendy
 
D

Darrin

Guest
Iritis? Yup. Me too.

I've suffered with Iritis for the better part of the last decade, not fun; huh?

My Ophthalmologist says he's seen the number of new cases grow substantially over the past 10-15 years. I suspect the fact that most North Americans spend the majority of their working day staring at a computer monitor is at least partially to blame, though that's just my explanation...I'm otherwise fit.

In my case, when it flares up, if I don't get started on the steroids immediately, my ocular fluid gets cloudy and I spend the next 30-45 days blind in that eye until the steroids finally kick in and knocks the Iritis down.

I do tend to be a tad dramatic, but I can honestly say Iritis has changed my life. I'm a 40yr-old guy, always been fit and athletic and Iritis is doing it's damnedest to turn me into a couch potato - I find the surest way to bring on a relapse is to work out too vigorously. Not fun.

How are your interocular pressures holding out when using the steroids? - My pressures skyrocket, forcing the use of additional drops to keep my levels safe.

Chin up!

Darrin
Alberta, Canada
 

wciarci

Wenderella
Messages
264
Location
Connecticut
Hi Darrin,

Not fun at all! My pressure remains stable while on the drops but I am able to identify it now, pretty quickly and go right to the doctor who will give me an appointment time immediately when I call. It tends to rear its' ugly red head when I am pushing myself too hard and overtired. Thanks for the reply. Just another strange symptom. I wonder what is causing it? Do viruses hide in the eyes like they do in the stomach or intestines?

Wendy
 

wciarci

Wenderella
Messages
264
Location
Connecticut
Hi Ramakenesh, I know that iritis is an autoimmune issue, just wondering if CFS/ME is that as well. From the posts or lack thereof, I assume that it isn't an issue for most.

Wendy
 

ramakentesh

Senior Member
Messages
534
if you have generalised aches and pains you may have ankylosing spondylitis since iritis is a cardinal sign. When i developed AS and POTS/CFS I felt achy all over before the pain all moved into my SI joints and i started getting iritis, etc. My AS flares make my POTS worse and vice versa. Its an easy blood test to check for the HLA gene.
 

andreamarie

Senior Member
Messages
195
iritis is an autoimmune disease. it has nothing to do with staring at computer screens. ankylosing spondylitis is also. i do not have either but people with Crohn's get both. No one has found an infectious element in Crohn's; they've been looking forever. a few of my cousins have chronic uveitis; one eventually was nearly blind. When the Sjogren's started thirty five yrs ago my dry eye was so severe that my corneas became inflamed and the opthamologist who finally saw me was doing a study on Crohn's and uveitis and iritis so I learned a lot about them. He has an international reputation (one of my cousins with chronic uveitis was coming from Mexico to Boston to see him) and flatly said they were autoimmune diseases and there really was nothing you could do to prevent them. So keep being fit for other reasons. The HLA test is simple but it is not always definitive. AS is really a tough illness; sorry you have it. House did an episode where the patient had both diseases and a few more and finally figured out he had Crohn's that was never diagnosed and was in remission.
 

ramakentesh

Senior Member
Messages
534
My AS is pretty mild (so far) so its not so bad - It take a double dose of it in five minutes over POTS any day! :)
 

andreamarie

Senior Member
Messages
195
You don't get iritis from AS, but they are both autoimmune diseases and tend to flare at the same time. I saw Crohn's patients who had similar experiences. When my Crohn's was active I would get inflammatory eye problems. I also have a friend who's Crohn's flares a few days before her AS.
 

ramakentesh

Senior Member
Messages
534
Actually many AS patients are diagnosed because of developing iritis - infact autoimmune iritis and AS are associated with the same histocompatibility. So they are assocaited.
 

wciarci

Wenderella
Messages
264
Location
Connecticut
Hi kdp,

The first signs are red eye, but the red is more pronounced around the iris. Also broken blood vessels. Once you get it you'll know the signs. It is subtle at first, but there is also an ache and light intolerance. If you let it go the pupil will become very distorted. Don't let it go. At first it looks like pink eye but it isn't.

Wendy