Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group I'm about sick of my eyes!

SO here is my situation. I had a case of Iritis that I just stopped taking eye drops (prednisolone) for this monday. I had been taking them for about 2 months.

Well for the last few weeks my eyes were twitching (I made a post about that but no one seemed to know too much) it wasn't horrible and I just sort of dealt with it. Well for the past couple weeks my eye has felt strange, like it wasn't open all the way.

Well as of yesterday, my girlfriend finally noticed what I had been talking about and said she could see that my eye wasn't open totally. So I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts about this. Has anyone experienced anything like this before?

Jenks, my right eye has been effected by Iritis several times in the past and it looks like it is not fully open as well compared to my left. People are also telling me that my eyes always look red and I feel that they are irritated alot. I guess it is part of having A/S and some people get it worse than others. I don't know what else to tell you other than make sure you see your eye doctor whenever you feel there is a problem with them. Iritis if untreated can lead to blindness.
Steve

Hi Jon,

Sorry to read that you're having to deal with this. I'd say that if you've just stopped the Pred drops on Monday then it's possible you might not be completely out of the woods just yet.

To be off the drops, your Ophthamologist must be comfortable and confident that there is no sign of any inflammed cells, however, depending on how incrementally you were weaned off the drops and how aggressive the iritis wants to be, there could still be a danger of a rebound attack. Iritis tends to rebound and for some of us it likes to switch to attacking the opposite and previously untreated eye.

I wasn't really sure if you meant that your eyelid is not fully open or if the pupil itself appears slightly constricted, tho both of these would be of some concern. It can take awhile (months even) for your eyes to feel 'normal' again tho, so it may not be anything too worrisome.

Any signs such as twitching, an odd sensation, or not feeling open should be viewed with suspicion, imo. Our ability to gauge when something is stirring below the radar can become highly sensitive, to the point where I could often predict an attack 5 days before the equipment and Ophtho could see any evidence. Due to this, it's very important never to dismiss your own intuition or niggling sense... even when given the "all clear".

I hope this just proves to be the recovery aftermath feeling, but hope also that you have another follow up visit scheduled to gain continued assurance that all is well.

I hope you'll be iritis-free for a good long time!
mig

Thanks for the advice. It is the eye lid actually that is somewhat closed. I decided to bite the bullet and make an appointment with my doctor and he actually is getting me on Monday, so hopefully I can figure out what is going on. I like to believe that is all well, but I have learned that I need to take everything seriously as it all somehow goes back to the A.S.

I think you are right that we can tell things are wrong before any physical signs because I have been able to feel that my eye was night quite right for a while now but only in the past couple days has it looked any different. It turns out that sometimes our bodies are pretty smart... who would have thought??

Yep, our bodies are pretty smart! And I'm relieved to hear you'll be getting in to see your doc on Monday.

Never happened much with me, but in my brother's case it can be fairly noticeable to me when he has, or had, or is on the verge of an attack, since one eyelid will always look ever so slightly lazy in comparison to the other. I've even noticed before he did once and sure enough... iritis again.

If it has rebounded on you, then taking an even more gradual route to wean off the drops can sometimes make all the difference.

Wish you luck that all cells will look happy.
mig

Have you tried moisturizing eye drops. Sometimes the steroid eye drops especially used for as long as you used them can really dry the eyes. Try them for a day or two. If that doesn't help call you doc.
Cindy

Not to give you undue worry but it sounds a little like my Hemifacial spasms started some years back. The ptosis (drooping eyelid) stays with me a lot. My twitches turned into spasms and eventually spread to the other eye also with is Blepharospasms. I see an Optho-Neuro referred by my Optho. I have had chronic Iritis/Uveitis since about 1970. I control that with Imuran now. I get Botox for the spasms and it controls it.

Just something to file away in the back of your head. I am counting on for you the after affects of a long bout fighting the Iritis. You just can't be too careful with your eyes.

Blessings.
Possi

I have had similar problems with the my eyes, that is with the spasms. Sometimes the spasms are so slight that I can just feel them. They are annoying but over the years I have gotten used to it.

Hope you feel better soon.

Well I went to see my doctor yesterday. He could see that my one eye lid was not fully open but he wasn't really sure why that would be the case.

He said it might be some side affect from the Prednisolone, but he said that he had never seen it before, so that it was odd. He told me he wasn't too worried about it, there was no inflamation at all so that is good and why he isn't too worried. He told me to just wait and see.

He did tell me that if it didn't get better or it got worse that there were surgical options to make it look right but he didn't think that it would come to that.

I'm going back in like 2 months to see him again so he can check up on me. So I'm glad that he isn't too worried but I would have liked answers. It seems like all too often with A.S. there just aren't answers...

Jon, thanks for updating us. Iritis is such a concern and a rebound attack can occur no matter how careful we are. I'm glad your opthie isn't concerned, as I'd like to think he'd have told you if it were otherwise.

Take care,

Hugs,