starting new treatment

[Tammie]

Hello Mike & everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I followed up w/ my rheumatologist and will start Imuran (azathiaprine). I will start taking the med in a few weeks when we return from a family vacation & rodeo. I've continued to experience eye pain & pressure in my rt eye that is not r/t iritis. My opthamologist sent me for MRI of head & orbits and results were negative (which is good) but still am left wondering what the pain is associated with. I am scheduled to have a visual field test and some blood work (ESR, c-reactive protein) and then scheduled to see an optic neurologist.

[Mike Bartolatz]

Hi Tammie,
lets hope the Imuran kicks uveitis butt for you lady!
you deserve a bit of a rest too so enjoy that vacation. optic neuritis can be a cause of pain inside the eye so sending you to a neuro opthalmologist will be appropriate. I do hope that you can get rid of the pain soon as that can be very distracting and difficult to cope with. I used to take codein tablets years ago to stop pain and then this would only take the edge off of it.

have a great vacation,
Mike

[mtbargeman]

I've seen a neuro optho for this myself. They will check your vision field, visual acuity, color perception and dilate your eyes very wide to see the back of the eye and optic nerve with a very strong slit lamp. The exam is not too bad or painful, just be sure to wear dark shades and a hat for a few days . I got a massive headache from not having enough protection like this. Now I wear what my husband refers to as a "boonie hat" I got at the men's dept.. at Wal-Mart in addition to my deep green glasses. It has made a HUGE difference.

Hope this helps, and I hope you see it b/f the Dr. Appt.

Mary