The summer has been interesting to say the least. Got off the pred at the end of Jun and had a very mild flare up about a week later and was back on the meds again. I should be off them later this week after I see my doctor here in town (I'm down to 1 drop a day).
I also had oral surgery twice to take care of a nasty tooth infection that was helped along by the predfort This was after 2 prior root canals on the same tooth!)
My new doctor is the good news. There is a practice here in Phoenix with people trained by the Jules Stein Eye Cljnic in UCLA. The name of the practice is the Cornea Consultants of Arizona. I am seeing Dr. Robert Gross. He is working with the clinic in LA to manage my case. It sure beats spending all that money to go to LA. Dr. Gross seems to be right on top of things and is very knowledgeable about iritis. The other doctors in the practice are Dao and Suedekum.
Dr. Gross wants me to be tested to see if I have a tendency towards diabetes. Have you heard of a link between the two?
Here's hoping I stay in remission after I get off the meds. I'll let you know what happens after Wednesday's appointment.
there is a link between type I diabetes and uveitis. i have type II diabetes which is not related to uveitis that I am aware of. often oral coritcosteroids can bring on type II diabetes that goes away once they are withdrawn while treating uveitis. being prone to type II diabetes increases this risk and then blood testing would be needed while on the oral corticosteroids so that medications could be prescribed to keep blood glucose levels in line.
The appointment went well. Dr. Gross has me taking the drops every other day for the next couple weeks then off totally and we cross our fingers.
Left another question today. I found some old papers in file cabinet that point strongly to my having been tested for Dyspraxia as a kid about 30 years ago. If indeed I had that I'm wondering if there is a link between that and iritis as one of the symptoms is a difficulty with stress also a contributing factor to iritis.
There are other symptoms that I also match very strongly, in fact strongly enough that I am going to have a talk with my GP about it.
Hi Brian,
I hope your slow taper off of the eyedrops goes well for you. many of us have to very slowly taper off the steroids or we flare up. glad you are happy with your new opthalmologist too and I hope you can return to a steroid sparing approach to treatment
as to your movement disorder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developmental_dyspraxia
I had to look it up. I am unaware of a link to uveitis. the NIH article mentioned photophobia and difficulty moving eye muscles and the need to make sure that Multiple Sclerosis isn't part of the picture. I mention this because MS and some other autoimmune diseases can have movmement disorder as a component depending on which ones are present of course.
most of the things related to uveitis are triggered by a pathogen and I didn't see a pathological cause of the disorder you mentioned. I'll have to do some more investigation into movement disorders and uveitis as this is an interesting topic.
I have developed a problem with control of my hands and other muscle groups similar to Dystonia but not as severe, I will reach for a glass of water and as my hand nears, it will move to the side and knock the glass over for example. when really fatigued and typing, my back will spasm and contort. since taking Gabapentin for neurological pain these things have lessened in frequency.
This was after 2 prior root canals on the same tooth!)