I haven't been on here in a while because I woke up about two weeks ago with my eyes swollen shut. I couldn't see even when I pried my eyes open, and it hurt like hell. It felt like I had glass in both of my eyes and this clear fluid (not tears) was pouring out. Long story short, I was blown off by my usual dr's office and the urgent care doctor. Both said it was pink eye, which I knew it was not. My husband happened to have an appt to get new glasses the day after my prescription for "pink eye" ran out, and before I know it, the optometrist has me in his office. It turns out that I had a virus and needed a steroid. The antibiotic the urgent care dr gave me wouldn't do a thing. I lucked into getting an optometrist that is knowledgeable about RA. He said that we are more susceptible to viruses because RA can dry out our eyes. My tear ducts were blocked and I have to soak a wash cloth in hot water and lay it on my eyes every night for five minutes until they clear up.
I'm just really disappointed in my other doctors. I have had eye problems for over a year now. I have noticed that my eyes really bother me when my RA is bad and it would clear up after I take Humira. This time it didn't. My rheumy didn't even look at my eyes and told me to try artificial tears. He said he had never heard of RA affecting eyes and it was probably allergies, when he could have (and should have) just Googled for 10 seconds. Both general practitioners wouldn't even consider anything other than pink eye even though I didn't have puss flowing from my eyes.
I just thought I would post this in case anyone else is having the same problem.
Well, it is back again but not nearly as bad as before. My eyes are swollen and leaky, but they don't hurt and I can still see. I am sure it is because Walgreen's didn't put the instructions on the label and I was supposed to take it 4 times a day instead of three times. The optometrist called in another rx for me and this time I wrote the directions down. I think it is more than mere coincidence that my RA is kind of bad today and this pops up again, though.
Sjogren's syndrome is commonly associated with RA. That is likely what it is. My mom, older sister, and I all have RA and Sjogren's. IT SUCKS! My eyes feel like they are on fire all of the time and it is really affecting my vision. A lot of doctors have dismissed it so I finally told my opthamologist that I think I might have it and he agreed that it could be the onset. I just started on Doxycycline, an antibiotic that is supposed to help it. I have only been on it for about 2 weeks, but they said it could take up to 8 to work. This was the cheapest option. They also offered Restasis and putting in plugs in my ducts. So this is the starting point, I guess. I'll let you guys know if it helps! :)
Quoting EllieB83:
Sjogren's syndrome is commonly associated with RA. That is likely what it is. My mom, older sister, and I all have RA and Sjogren's. IT SUCKS! My eyes feel like they are on fire all of the time and it is really affecting my vision. A lot of doctors have dismissed it so I finally told my opthamologist that I think I might have it and he agreed that it could be the onset. I just started on Doxycycline, an antibiotic that is supposed to help it. I have only been on it for about 2 weeks, but they said it could take up to 8 to work. This was the cheapest option. They also offered Restasis and putting in plugs in my ducts. So this is the starting point, I guess. I'll let you guys know if it helps! :)
Yes, be sure to let us know. I went back to the optometrist yesterday because I needed new glasses. I wound up opting for contact lenses instead. The Dr said they were designed to help dry eyes, so we will see if they help me. I think it is ironic that dry eyes are causing my eyes to tear up.
Humira/Enbrel/other self injectors
- sillymoo
on Dec. 28, 2011 at 1:19 PM