Hello All, I have a question. I have RA and Fibro. I recently started having episodes of pain and blurred vision in my right eye, thought the focus of the pain is in the right upper corner. I went to my opthalmologist and he could find a cause for the pain or blurriness in my eyes and was at a loss to explain why I was seeing halos around streetlights. He thought it could be due to the fibro but was not sure. Has anyone else experienced anything similar??
Thanks Tracy
Hi Tracy-welcome. I think you should get a second opinion. I wouldnt take an I dont know for an answer, espicially when it comes to your eyes.Hi! are you by any chance taking plaquanil? That can cause eye problems especially in the beginning of treatment. You could also have blepharitis , a condition that affects the eyelids and makes them red and irritated, or it could be a complication of Sjogren's that can go with RA and causes dry eyes and irritation. Since I've had all these problems myself, my best advice is to go to or at least call your rheumatologist and let him know what's going on. Another opinion is in order.
Did they do the little strip of paper test to test for dry eye? They could see I had it by just looking through the little thing they use....but they did this test to test the moisture. They were dry as a bone the nurse said.
They put these tiny strips of paper on your eye balls then they turn out the light and close the door for the longest 5 minutes you've ever spent. Doesn't hurt....but you have to keep your eyes open and blink as little as possible. Then after 5 minutes they come back in and take the strips out and look at them.
I wasn't seeing Halo's...but I was having pain in my eyes, light sensativity and mine seemed to water more than usual. They said believe it or not; that's a sign of dry eye. One of my tear ducks was over producing.
I agree with Crunch though. I might get a second opinion on a matter this important. The symptoms you are describing don't sound normal to me.
Keep us updated on your situation. Good Luck.
You definitely need to see a different Opthamologist. You need one that is a doctor, not one that just does eye prescriptions. Obviously, this one did not take you seriously. But he should have.
RA can affect your eyes and you can have Sjogren's at the same time. I have both problems. The blurriness comes from your eyes getting too dry. They can give you eye drops and gels for this. Mine is rather severe and they put eye plugs in which help considerably. Mine has been so bad at times I haven't been able to read or drive at times. It can be very painful. But any sharp pain in your eyes should be investigated throughly.
With the RA, your eyes can actually get inflamed. I become extremely light sensistive at this point and I have had to have cortisone eye drops to deal with it.
If you are on Prendisone, you need to be regularly checked with visual field tests. I developed glaucoma as a side effect of the Prednisone. So that has to be constantly monitnored and I use eye drops for that.
The same thing has to be done if you are on Plaquenil, although the test is slightly different. You also have to have ability to see color tested regularly.
The eye can also become more rigid because of inflammation.
Call your Rheumotalogist to get the name of a good eye doctor. Do tell your doctor what is happening. If you are having a flare, it can make all of this much worse.
Hope this helps.