Blurry vision

Post here to exchange iritis general information and support with others.

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Purplehorse
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2017 2:54 am

Re: Blurry vision

Post by Purplehorse »

Dear Silverstar

I read with interest your posts and would like to add my experience

I also have had the situation where I know the iritis has flared up,and visit the eye clinic to be told there is nothing there!. Three days later- more pain- and hey ho- they can see the flare up. Consequently I now wait a couple of days longer to avoid this situation. I usually get iritis annually and have done for about 17yrs!

I also get the 'improved' vision in the eye thats being treated- to the point that my prescription glasses do then not work. the ophthalmologists do not seem to believe me. However-It is comforting to know that other people are experiencing the same things, so thank you for sharing your experience

I am now on a second flare up this year- only three weeks after the first. this time, I think I am reacting to the steroids, as my vision is blurry. After two weeks of treatment and despite the inflammation now being down to below 1+, I was told yesterday to increase the frequency to two hourly for another week! This seems counterintuitive- I'm afraid I'm reducing as the blurring is very concerning and affecting my ability to drive.

Silverstar wrote:Hi all, me again.

So this cleared up at the end of last year, which was great.

I woke up yesterday with the same eye feeling achy and mildly photosensitive again, as well as starting to get a little red around the iris. Obviously, I immediately was concerned that this was coming back again, so after umming and aahing for an hour or two, took myself off to Moorfields Eye Emergency room to get it checked out.

They did all the usual tests - pressure, dilated my eyes, slit lamp - and I explained that I was concerned it may be iritis again as it felt very similar to last time. However, apparently, they were unable to see anything wrong with my eye - no inflammation, no cells or anything. They also couldn't see any infection or damage that might explain the issue either. I've been told that there is nothing wrong with my eye as far as they can see, and to just not wear my contacts for a few days and it should be fine.

My question to you all is: once the eye starts to ache and become photosensitive and so on, should it be obvious to the doctor who is examining my eye? It does feel very similar to last time. Is it possible to have iritis, but for a doctor who is specifically checking for that to not see any signs of it? Therefore, is it possible that this IS iritis, but that even though there are outward signs, it's not progressed enough to show up when being examined?


Or should I just work on the assumption that it isn't iritis, and just wait for it to wear off?

I'm just concerned that if it is a flare-up of iritis again, I want to start treating it immediately.

Any help gratefully received.
vancouver
Posts: 153
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:04 pm

Re: Blurry vision

Post by vancouver »

Purple horse, read your post but your experiences are different than mine.

1. Steroids don't blur my vision much. They improve my vision by reducing cell count.
2. My eye is solid red and tons of floaters before I feel any pain.
3. You feel pain and go to doc and doc says zero cells.
Weird.
4. You say you are down to 1+. I never go above trace now
Because mine is easy to catch early by monitoring red.
Yet, you say you can detect before any cells in chamber.
For me, the drops halt the inflammation in its tracks when
Caught early. I mean, I don't get any worse.


Hmm, I guess steroids don't halt your iritis immediately.
Twice hourly is a lot of steroid. My iritis is stubborn if I catch it late. 1+ is very late for me. Several weeks of hourly drops to get it down to trace.

If you are not improving, doc has to increase steroid dose.
You want to get to trace.

I would not deviate from docs treatment plan. Blurriness could be cells. See if you can correct vision by touching
Your eyelid, changing cornea shape or different glasses.

One of my eyes improves with iritis. Could be my synechiae. Eye pressure changes. Could also be the anxiety. Anxiety certainly whitens my eyes. This eye is near sighted.

Anyway, see doc to rule out pressure increase.
Purplehorse
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2017 2:54 am

Re: Blurry vision

Post by Purplehorse »

Thanks for your reply vancouver- sorry I may have read a couple of different posts and combined the two!

That sounds horrible about the redness and floaters! Definitely weird how everyone has slightly differing experiences of iritis. Usually if mine is quite inflamed I get the cyclopentolate as well for a week- plus steroid ointment which obviously does blur the vision- so I dont really know whether it is normally blurry with just the steroids, but I'm pretty sure not.

Normally. after a week, the redness goes and the pain goes, then Its like I don't have any issues apart from having to wean off steroids. this time however, it was not severe enough for any dilation or ointment. For the first few days, I swear I could see cells as floaters- this went the same time they told me the cell count was very low- but the blurriness if exactly the same- which is why I feel it is a side effect of the steroids. My pressure were checked just last week and were fine.

Appointment again this Thursday
vancouver
Posts: 153
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:04 pm

Re: Blurry vision

Post by vancouver »

Blurriness is tricky. If cell count is going up u might see corresponding increase in eye redness. I detect iritis at around trace by monitoring subtle redness in eye twice daily.
I can tell when I'm down to trace as most red is gone.
For my most recent episode, I only needed a day of steroids to get to trace cells and then it went to zero after few weeks. Compared to months of hourly steroids when I did not catch early. I had no problem driving with one blind eye. Good luck on Thursday.
vancouver
Posts: 153
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:04 pm

Re: Blurry vision

Post by vancouver »

How did it go?
Mushroom1975
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2017 3:12 am

Re: Blurry vision

Post by Mushroom1975 »

Hi Silverstar, I was diagnosed with iritis 2 weeks ago, I’ve been getting the exact same symptoms as yourself. I stopped taking the pret forte eye drops a week ago after the inflammation went down and I’m still getting blurry vision in my left eye. I’m also getting better vision close up but worse far away,the total opposite to my good eye now. Also doesn’t seem as bad in bright lights like in work or during the day outside, but in the dark and ambient lighting it’s very noticible. My optician and optometrist can’t see any damage in my left eye to understand why it’s blurred. They think it’s more to do with the dilation drops at the start of my treatment than the steroid drops. Can you kindly tell me how long it took for your vision to go back to normal in your left eye after you stopped taking the steroid drops please?

I’ve now been diagnosed with uveitis in my right eye, my optician dilated it and gave me more steroid drops which I’ve been taking since yesterday, bizarrely my vision is still fine in my right eye.

Having blurred has been a real shock for me, I’m nearly 43, my vision has always been perfect.
I’ve never needed glasses before, if it doesn’t improve I will need them
Kind regards
Jack
vancouver
Posts: 153
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:04 pm

Re: Blurry vision

Post by vancouver »

Mushroom1975 wrote:Hi Silverstar, I was diagnosed with iritis 2 weeks ago, I’ve been getting the exact same symptoms as yourself. I stopped taking the pret forte eye drops a week ago after the inflammation went down and I’m still getting blurry vision in my left eye. I’m also getting better vision close up but worse far away,the total opposite to my good eye now. Also doesn’t seem as bad in bright lights like in work or during the day outside, but in the dark and ambient lighting it’s very noticible. My optician and optometrist can’t see any damage in my left eye to understand why it’s blurred. They think it’s more to do with the dilation drops at the start of my treatment than the steroid drops. Can you kindly tell me how long it took for your vision to go back to normal in your left eye after you stopped taking the steroid drops please?

I’ve now been diagnosed with uveitis in my right eye, my optician dilated it and gave me more steroid drops which I’ve been taking since yesterday, bizarrely my vision is still fine in my right eye.

Having blurred has been a real shock for me, I’m nearly 43, my vision has always been perfect.
I’ve never needed glasses before, if it doesn’t improve I will need them
Kind regards
Jack
Iritis(when caught early) is not going to result in permanent change to your vision. Iritis occurs in the front of the eye. My vision did not fully recover for 3 months because I had swelling of the cornea and a synechiae. Your right is fine because you caught the iritis early. Blurry vision is not that significant I'm at 20/80 as I speak (normally 20/20) because of a tired eye. The main reason your eye goes foggy with iritis is the cells and proteins block the light entering eye. Of course the cells drain few hours after attack ends. It's common to have blurry vision after cells gone. I assume it is dilation over extended period or some other factor but it is always temporary.
The main thing is to detect iritis early and get the steroids in early. The earlier you begin the less steroid you need.
When I first had iritis I had the impression that the eye was damaged in each attack but this is wrong. Some people have severe attacks and the retina swells. That is real potential damage but is rare. Study the red in your eyes each day and also try to tune into any sensations that accompany the early stages of iritis so u can detect early.
Don't wait for pain. Iritis is almost always recurrent.
Iritis is an emergency. It has to be treated quickly by qualified doctor.
Last edited by vancouver on Fri Dec 22, 2017 12:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mushroom1975
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2017 3:12 am

Re: Blurry vision

Post by Mushroom1975 »

Hi Vancouver,
Thanks for the feedback, that makes me feel much better knowing that.
I woke up this morning feeling as if Iritis was back in my left eye again after being off of the steroid drops for a week, I took your advice and got the drops into my eye straight away. My optician confirmed I did the right thing, I’ve got an appointment to see him tomorrow
Kind regards
vancouver
Posts: 153
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:04 pm

Re: Blurry vision

Post by vancouver »

Mushroom1975 wrote:Hi Vancouver,
Thanks for the feedback, that makes me feel much better knowing that.
I woke up this morning feeling as if Iritis was back in my left eye again after being off of the steroid drops for a week, I took your advice and got the drops into my eye straight away. My optician confirmed I did the right thing, I’ve got an appointment to see him tomorrow
Kind regards

Thank you. With two eyes affected, you learn faster.
Some people only have an episode every few years and never really learn to detect it. There is a learning curve and first timers are told to see doc before taking steroids.
Some people have eye pressure problems with steroids but you have taken steroids long enough to know you are safe. I just want to emphasize that you have to see doctor quickly if you start steroids on your own initiative.
I'm glad you are learning fast and taking this serious:)
Mushroom1975
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2017 3:12 am

Re: Blurry vision

Post by Mushroom1975 »

Hi Vancouver,
Don’t worry, I ran it past my optician after my first drop. In future I would need to contact the optician anyway as it’s prescribed. As I’m already using steroids for my right eye it was available for me to use.He gave me guidance on how many to take today, I’ve got an appointment with him first thing tomorrow morning.
Thanks
vancouver
Posts: 153
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:04 pm

Re: Blurry vision

Post by vancouver »

Thanks for that. Generally, you should have steroids in the fridge for emergencies. My experience is with stubborn acute iritis where I need hourly drops and steroid ointment at night. If you only need five drops a day
That is a less serious situation. One drop is nothing.
If you can get the iritis into remission with only 5 drops per day for like a week when you caught it late, then it is less important to catch iritis early. The main thing is to stop iritis before the lens starts sticking to the iris causing a synechiae. In most cases, this sticking will cause excruciating pain. If you have mild iritis and the steroids work fast for you, then urgency is less of a factor. The dilating drops are taken to discourage the iris sticking to the lens.
I've been catching my iritis early so I have not needed to use dilating drops. enjoy Christmas.
Mushroom1975
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2017 3:12 am

Re: Blurry vision

Post by Mushroom1975 »

Hi Vancouver, thank you so much for your advice and support over the last few days. You’ve really put my mind at ease with your experience understanding of what I’m currently going through
I hope you have a great Christmas & new year!
Kind regards
vancouver
Posts: 153
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:04 pm

Re: Blurry vision

Post by vancouver »

Happy to hear this. Thanks.
vancouver
Posts: 153
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:04 pm

Re: Blurry vision

Post by vancouver »

Correction. 20/80 is prolly not acceptable. Saw doc. Could not see eye chart. The fill in optometrist screwed up. I'm +2 with tons of floaters. Fibrin sheet formed in anterior chamber. A bit of sticking to lens. I don't feel pain which surprised doc. Eyes dilated.
Hnin Pwint
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:10 am

Re: Blurry vision

Post by Hnin Pwint »

Hi
I have been experiencing blurry vision.
I was diagnosed with anterior uveitis last month. My ophthamologist prescribed pred forte starting with hourly drop. I am still on 2 times a day. The inflammation has been reduced and now I can´t feel pain. But I have noticed blurry vision for far way on affected side two weeks ago. The eye test results got back with -50 on that side and OCT test fining was normal. I am sure there was no vision problem before uveitis.
My concerns have gone after reading your posts. I am looking forwad to the day I comple my predforte regieme and my vision gets better.
Many Thanks for your sharing.
Hnin
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