Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Persistent Iritis

Hi there,
Any suggestions for treating persistent Iritis? This is my fourth bout of it since the spring. The opthamologist has been great about seeing me as needed, and I know there have been times when it has been "quiet", but it always comes back within a few weeks of being weaned off the Predforte drops (I also use Maxidex (sp?) ointment), and he weans me off *very* slowly. I hate the thought of continuously using pred. drops.
These days I get blurry central vision in my left eye (I usually get Iritis in both eyes), which worries me a bit because my grandmother lost her sight when she was in her 30s (I am 42). I was told that she had Retinitis Pigmentosa, but I'm starting to question that as she had a bit of peripheral vision and I thought RP caused tunnel vision and destroyed your peripheral vision.
Can't tell you enough how much I love this group! What a fantastic bunch of people!!!

All you can do is what your ophthalmologist tells you. You might look into Remicade as an option, if your rheumatologist feels it's warranted. It is known to be quite effective in helping many people stave off iritis. I know that I haven't had a bout of it since six months before starting Remicade and Mig had chronic iritis for +/- 20 years and hasn't had it since starting Remicade.

That's the only suggestion I can think of.

Hugs,

Hi, Marcat:

There is plenty that YOU can and should do on your own to eliminate the iritis; your eyesight is just too important!

I have compiled some of these things into an attachment I will return for an email request: anzaltopo@yahoo.com.

I HATE iritis--good thing I have avoided over 30 major attacks these previous almost ten years, but I keep my drops at the ready (probably expired by now...).

HEALTH,
John

I usually get iritis yearly within the month of February. I didn't get it one year even though I swore I could 'feel' it coming on, and I think I didn't get it that year because I was going to the gym every other day. I think my working out may have amped my body up enough to stave off iritis. I got it the year afterwards in February and I wasn't working out then. I haven't been to the gym and I while and I feel like crap generally...and it's DECEMBER!!!! so i need to get my [**BLEEP**] together.

Iritis sucks. I'm sorry that it's happening to you at all, ever more sorry that it is happening so often.

If you look at some of my post from months ago on the helping tips forum you will see a lot methods I have used to help me avoid iritis flare-up.

To name a few:
1. I avoid all prescription medicine because it brings the immune system down, especially enbrel.
2. If you do take a prescription drugs check rxlist.com to make sure the medicine does not have any type of starch added as an inactive ingredient.
3. Of course, I also avoid eating any processed foods that say the word starch anywhere as an inactive ingredient on the package.
4. I buy stevia and xylotal in place of table sugar or corn syrup to sweeten food. I avoid soda pop all together.
5. If you drink alcohol, you must avoid all grain alcohols such as bourban, whiskies, vodka, brandy, etc. Drink only mainly, wines,tequila (derived cactus plant), and Rum (derived from sugar cane). Beer and certain expensive vodka's is ok at times if your body eyes can tolerate it. Do not buy cheap vodka's!
6. Avoid tomatoes, barbeque sauce, tomato paste, and cranberries.

Hi John,
Thanks for the offer of info. I emailed you a couple of weeks ago and you sent me your Iritis regimen, etc. Is this the same info you mentioned above? I have implemented some of the changes, though I must admit that starting on the NSD with so many Christmas goodies right now is a huge challenge!
I made a very interesting discovery yesterday: I always knew that my grandmother on my Dad's side of the family had been blind, but had understood that it was Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). When my central vision got blurry in my left eye recently, I had to think of my grandmother, because by the time I knew her she had only about 5% vision and it was only peripheral (not central) vision. I looked online and RP causes peripheral vision loss, and eventually sometimes central vision too. She also had osteoporosis and in later years had quite the dowager's hump. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced my grandmother had AS. She started losing her vision in her 40s, and I am 42!
I'm off to see the ophthalmologist this afternoon for a check and will mention this to him. I also get "flashing" or "flickering" in my right eye, especially when I get out of bed in the morning. Looks like someone is turning the lights on and off quickly, but only for the first few seconds when I move my eye and look from one thing to another. The opthalmologist said it has something to do with the gel in the back of my eye and that it is nothing serious. Any thoughts?
Thanks so much for your input.
Mary

Hey, Mary:

Yes! You have it...it is tough to keep track of all the people I've sent these out to.

Hope it helps.

You are probably right about your grandmother. Most people who have AS will, thankfully, never know about it, but I would think that enough iritis to cause that level of vision loss would be very painful. Perhaps she just got enough pain killers to cover up the problem; one of our biggest issues, too.

I don't know about the vitreous humor causing persistence of vision--that sounds more like migraine stuff, which can be a painless characteristic of timing versus blood sugar, ie early mornings. Who knows? Guess if the ophtahamologist did not think it was a big deal, and it does not cause you continued problems, it is not such an issue.

Yes, the Christmas temptations! I looked at several long-term ESR charts and I don't even need to have the date scale to determine the major holidays.

HEALTH,
John

Hi, Mary

Here is some information I learned from a website I developed:

Flashes most often occur when the vitreous (the gel that fills your eye and keeps it round) pulls or tugs on the retina (nerves at the back of the eye). After this happens, you may see a bit of debris (specks) floating around in your eye - mostly a normal part of aging and no big deal.

http://doctor-hill.com/patients/floaters_arizona.htm

The onset of new light flashes of short duration at night, especially when accompanied by the appearance of many new floaters or a blackening out of part of your field of vision, may indicate a retinal tear or detachment. If this happens, get yourself to an ophthalmologist right away, who most likely will send you to a retinal doctor - as you may be having a retinal detachment. It's completely repairable if you get to it quickly.

Light flashes appearing as wavy lines in both eyes and lasting from a few minutes to half-an-hour, are usually a sign of an ocular migraine headache. Migraine-related flashes are often noticed in a lighted environment.

Losing central vision is often caused by macular degeneration.

http://doctor-hill.com/patients/macular-degeneration.htm

I was told that eating a lot of green, orange and yellow veggies, and not turning bright lights on late at night, is possibly the best thing you can do for your eyes.

www.uveitis.org/
Hi, sorry about your eyes! I've struggled with this, too, and I was lucky to live close to Cambridge, MA where one of the premier experts on uveitis (iritis) is based. Check out the website, especially the online support forum. It seems to me that you need a specialist in occular inflammatory diseases, and the site I suggested will let you know where you can find one who will work with you and your current eye doctor to make sure that you are saving your sight.
Hugs,
Jan

Thanks for your post, Jan.
I have seen that website and have found it quite interesting. I asked my ophthalmologist today about trying something else (other than the Predforte and the Maxidex) and he said he won't consider it. Guess I'll have to talk to the rheumatologist about it next time I see him.
I will definitely check out the online forum and will also see if there is a specialist in my area. I asked a few months ago about seeing a specialist and my ophthalmologist told me there was no point because the nearest specialist would do the same treatment I was already receiving. He assures me that I definitely won't lose my sight and that nobody loses their sight from Iritis these days (at least not in the Industrialized world). I wonder if that is true?