Has anyone had eye problem with RA?

marion1952

Hi Folks

If it's not one thing going wrong with me at the moment, it's another!!

Over the last few hours I've developed a sore right eye.. It feels like an ulcer under the eyelid, but I can't see anything there. I'm wondering if it's related to my RA, which is not well controlled at the moment..

Can anyone tell me what the symptoms are when RA causes inflammation in the eye?? Can it just happen in one eye or is always both??

Any advice appreciated!

Thanks

Marion

skezier

Hi Marion,

Sorry Flower only just seen this.

I really hope it all feels better today but think its best to get it checked out cus it is a side effect of the bone thing and the drugs. Mine go dry and blood shot sometimes (poss from the crohn's or the pa?) and you know I have visual things from time to time not connected as well. Makes me always think you have to get eyes checked out but if I were you I certainly would as soon as you can. Hope its nothing much and soon sorts. (((( )))) Cris xx

tillytop

Hi Marion (and morning Cris), so sorry about your eye.

As Cris says, do get it checked out - either by an optician or a doctor- and sooner I think rather than later if there is any chance it could be an ulcer because it will need to be treated quickly.

Eye probs (one or both) can be associated with RA through dry eyes caused either by the meds or as a secondary auto-immune thing called sjogrens syndrome (?spelling) which causes dry eyes and dry mouth. As I have discovered recently, the resulting eye problems can happen even if you are not aware of your eyes being particularly dry.

Good luck - and please do keep up updated.

Love Tilly xxx

marion1952

Thanks folks

Just going to the Eye Hospital Emergency Dept now... have not been able to sleep because of it !!

Hope I can park near the department though, as have a huge dressing on my left big toe (yes - another infection!!)

Will let you know later

Marion

tillytop

Good decision Marion - and really good luck.

Will be thinking of you - and please keep us posted.

Love Tilly xxx

julie47

Hi marion

Good luck at the hospital for your eye.

I have RA and I have found my eyes go blurred from time to time and the other week it was really blood shot. Don't know if it is related though. I started hydroxy about a year ago and I think I should have a proper eye test due to taking that. They did test me for colour blindness cause I was taking it.

Been threatening to make an appointment at optitions, I think you have inspired me to do so,

Hope everything is ok for you

JuliePF x

frogmorton

Good luck Marion

wise very wise to get it checked. I had bad eyes several times in the years building up to the srthritis so i am cioonvinced there iS a connection.

Love

toni xx

gickygawky

There is a link between eye probs and arthur - I get Uveitis/Iritis because of my AS.

Glad to hear you are at the hospital - I hope you are feeling better again soon.

Arna x

dreamdaisy

Oh marion1952, it's one step forward then a good fair few back sometimes, isn't it? I assume you are at the hospital now so I hope they can give you some help, advice and treatment (not necessarily in that order!). Please let us know how you get on, if you can. DD

sharmaine

Hi Marion

I've had problems with dry eyes since the onset of arthritis. I use eye drops 4 times a day and eye ointment at night. Night times are worse. Problems with your eyes should be checked out so see your GP. I was sent directly to the Eye Surgery where I saw a specialist by then it was jolly uncomfy.
Symptoms in my case: painful, sore, slightly itchy. It can start with one eye and then it moves to the other. It's possible you may have an infection.

Regards
Sharmaine
X

marion1952

Thanks everyone..

Well, back home now.. Had fantastic treatment at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital Emergency Clinic !!

It turns out I had a few problems with the right eye. I had a cyst there and also some calcium deposits under the eyelid, one of which was so big it had caused lost of scratches on my eyeball (the Nurse Practitioner liked it to an ice rink with lots of scratches on it).

So, the Nurse injected it (nice!) burst the cyst, removed the large calcium deposit and gave me some antibiotic drops. It will be sore for the rest of the day, but should be Ok by tomorrow.

i may have more problems with large calcium deposits in the future, so was told to just go back to the Emergency Clinic and have them removed.

I was really really pleased it wasn't due to my RA after all, but the nurse did suggest I use artificial tears all the time now ..

So - going to ANOTHER hospital in the next half hour to see the podiatrist again about this infection in my toe !!
I could swear, but I'm too much of a lady !

Marion xx

dreamdaisy

Well that is good news - I am sorry that the treatment was uncomfortable but at least you know what it was and it's sorted. So, podiatrist next. Good luck with that one! Would you like me to swear for you? I am not at all ladylike at times. DD

tillytop

Hi Marion

So glad you got your eye checked out and it will hopefully feel much better soon.

I have just come back from the docs following probs with my eyes - lots of scratches caused by eyelid sticking to eye at night and, like a couple of the other peeps, have been prescribed "viscotears" for the daytime and "lacrilube" cream for use at night to prevent it happening again. Doc says probably secondary to RA.

Hopefully you won't get any more of those nasty calcium deposits in future.

Good luck at the podiatrist.

Love Tilly xxx

skezier

Hi Marion,

So glad you went and that lot must have been driving you up the wall there? It might not happen again if your lucky. I hope it will all soon calm down and don't the scratches feel huge?!

Good luck with the toe and I so hope that also will soon be sorted for you. Sending a ((( ))) and a hope. Cris xx

sharmaine

Hi Marion
Glad they've sorted you out. Fingers crossed you'll start feeling better by the weekend. Play the martyr and get everyone to run around after you. It's miserable when your eyes hurt.

Take care
Sharmaine

marion1952 wrote:

Thanks everyone..

Well, back home now.. Had fantastic treatment at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital Emergency Clinic !!

It turns out I had a few problems with the right eye. I had a cyst there and also some calcium deposits under the eyelid, one of which was so big it had caused lost of scratches on my eyeball (the Nurse Practitioner liked it to an ice rink with lots of scratches on it).

So, the Nurse injected it (nice!) burst the cyst, removed the large calcium deposit and gave me some antibiotic drops. It will be sore for the rest of the day, but should be Ok by tomorrow.

i may have more problems with large calcium deposits in the future, so was told to just go back to the Emergency Clinic and have them removed.

I was really really pleased it wasn't due to my RA after all, but the nurse did suggest I use artificial tears all the time now ..

So - going to ANOTHER hospital in the next half hour to see the podiatrist again about this infection in my toe !!
I could swear, but I'm too much of a lady !

Marion xx

alarkra

Hi Marion,

I'm so pleased that you managed to get it treated so swiftly! I didn't have time to write on here this morning, but I was hoping that it didn't turn out that you had an ulcer in your eye. I had one which I went to eye casualty with after my GP sent me straight there. That was horrid. When you went today, did they put anesthetic in your eye(s)? I've had that done of couple of times and it's ghastly as I thought my eyes were going to drop out of their sockets! I had scratchings taken from my ulcer it and then had eye drops that I had to take every 15 minutes for 48 hours - I literally didn't sleep for 2 days! It was awful! When I went back to the hospital they said that I was improving & that also I was lucky the the ulcer hadn't been a couple of mm further over so it was over the black part of my eye as I would have always had a scar which would have always meant that I had obstructed vision. Needless to say that I am now totally OCD about my eyes and always take extra care of them (not that I neglected them before!) - I could never deal with loosing my sight. I now have that rare RA secondary symptom which causes dry eyes and mouth... which makes me happy because I am of course collecting all of the rare little health problems to go with my RA!

I do hope that your toe gets better soon - it really does sound like you are in the wars at the moment! I hope that you have someone to help look after you, or at least poke you with a stick once a day to make sure you are ok HUGS! xx

frogmorton

Hi Marion

so glad all is well

and yes artificial tears is what I was advised to use.

YOur poor poor eye - I bet it is sore

Love

Toni xx

ironic

Hi Marion,

Oh that was a scary night for you. Great that you got things sorted out so quickly what a relief for you. Hope the eye drops begin to work for you ASAP.

Let’s hope your podiatrist appointment went as well and they could give you some answers why you are getting infections. You will be shattered when you get in so I hope tonight is a more peaceful one for you.
Lv, Ix

marion1952

Hi you wonderful people

Thanks so much for all your good wishes ...and good advice too!

I will get some viscotears and lacrilube tomorrow.

Alarkra - what a dreaful experience you had with the ulcer! Yes, they injected an anaesthetic into my eyeball - thank god the nurse had a steady hand!!

Julie - I had an eye test before I started on Hydroxy .. my GP was quite insistent I had one, but in fact the Optrician was quite laid back about the Hydroxy/eye issue!

DD - thanks for the offer of the swearing on my behalf .. yes please, I'll take you up on that!

I had a good appointment at the Podiatrist too this afternoon - but they couldn't give me a local anaesthetic in my toe because I had already had one in my eye and apparently you can only have a certain amount of local anaesthetic in any one day, because it does something to the liver!! I didn't know that..

Whew - I' think I'll sleep soundly tonight!

Marion xxx

skezier

Hi Marion,

Glad it went ok but.... Kinda thinking I have a whole chunk of local in the neck and shoulder.... Just as well I don't drink eh?!

I really hope your toe will settle and recover. Toes can hurt so much.

The hydroxy is something you have to have regular eye tests for I think? Before I forget how is the increased mtx doing for you? me nothing though it might have tightened up the hold on the crohn's and I think its helping other bits but the bones.... they seem impervious.....

You take care and hope you got a good night. Smacko's for the girls who I hope are behaving? Luv and a ((((( ))))) Cris xx

speedalong

Hi Marion,

just seen your thread. Ooh your eye treatment sounded horrid - you brave thing you! I don't know how you managed to keep your eye open with the needle fast approaching. They use an eye test machine at the opticians that blows a puff of air into your eye - it takes me loads of goes, cos I blink everytime ... Your eye must be much more comfortable without the calcium deposits.

Is your toe improving? Do you have a blue badge?

Dear me, you are in the wars.

Speedy

marion1952

Hi Cris

Have had nothing but problems (dry cough, urinary infection, toe infection) since going onto the 17.5 mg - so have been stopping and re-starting it!! Just did a 15 mg injection last night though, so hope that will start to work. The Rheumy Nurse phoned me on Friday night and is arranging for me to see the Consultnt this week - hooray! I really fancied a glass of wine on Friday night, but knowing now about the local anaesthetic and the liver stopped me having it!!

Dogs are really good, apart from leaving chunks of fur everywhere..

x


Hi Speedy

I'm not brave when it comes to people messing with my eyes either but I think sheer fear of the needle made me keep still!! I've got a blue badge, thankfully, but had a really long trek around the HUGE new hospital, so my new hip is 'making itself known' to me again... should settle down soon, I hope.

X

Thanks again everyone .. I'm having a lazy day today - couldn't understand why the television programme timings were haywire this morning though - until I saw the news at 12 noon and realised/remembered the clocks had changed last night!

Marion xx

dreamdaisy

I am glad to hear that things are improving. I have been swearing regularly, efficiently, in a variety of languages and with increasing venom for a while now. Please may I stop? I have nearly run out of all the swearie words I know. DD

marion1952

Oh DD - thanks very much indeed - yes you can stop now!!

Marion xx

ironic

Hi Marion,

I do hope the drop to 15 mg will do the trick and give you less side effects. It’s great news that you are getting to see the consultant this week. Fingers crossed that you get some answers at last. Perhaps he will be able to inject your toe by then.

How is the eye now? A lot easier I hope.

Lv, Ix

marion1952

Thanks Irene

Hope you are OK?

My eye seems OK now and the infection in my toe seems to be clearing - am seeing the podiatrist on Tuesday to have the sliver of nail extracted!

I'll be glad to see the Rheumy Consultant ..I seem to deteriorate very quickly now if I miss even one dose of methotrexate.. and my little finger has dislocated numerous times today!

Will PM you tomorrow evening about the hot paraffin wax kit. I have found mine really helpful and it's easy to peel the wax off the hands (it's just a thin layer of wax..)

Marion xx