Hello from the UK

[Clivia]

Hello all – I am Austrian, 53 years old and live with my English husband in the UK.
The first time I got Iritis was about 16/17 years ago. I read in the forum that his is quite a common age for female to get it the first time.
( I am now past menopause , never had any problems with the menopause nor any hormone problems at all )
Ever since I had it about 8 to 10 times. And about a month ago my left eye got hit pretty hard – it’s one of the hardest attacks I can remember. A couple of times I did not even bother to go to an ophthalmologist – I just used pred forte and cyclopentolate – btw the attacks varied between right and left eye.
When I read some of the stories hear I consider myself pretty lucky – as it’s generally gone after 3 to 4 weeks – only this time it took longer – the inflammation is gone now but it’s the first time that I felt a hint also on the right eye – so I used pred forte and I think I caught it just in time. Also the pain subsides normally after a couple of days – it’s just an uncomfortable feeling.
It’s the first time, that a doctor suggested the blood test for HLA B 27 ( I have not got the results yet )
Thank you for the list of specialists – unfortunately none of them is in Leeds. However I consider to go to one of them in Birmingham to talk about my condition. Is there any specialist you can recommend particularly.
Generally I am a healthy person and so is my family on both sides.
I have not found a pattern yet why and when the iritis flares up.
One little thing is new this time – for about 10 days I have very occasionally on the outer side of the left eye a sparkling sensation.
Thank you so much for a very informative and helpful web side

[Mike Bartolatz]

the sparkling sensation might be related to traction on the retina from the vitreous trying to detach. get in for evaluation right away if this worsens, you see a lot of new floaters, black blobs or a curtain comes over your vision in the eye. these are signs of bleeding inside the eye and is an emergent situation. flashes of light can also sometimes be linked to optic neuritis.
your long course of recurrent iritis/iritis may be linked to the HLA B27 gene, if your initial bout of iritis was preceded by urinary tract infections and was bilateral then a condition called TINU might be linked: this is tuberointersitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome (sp).
there are many other conditions depending on systemic symptoms that you might have as well linked to other inflammatory conditions especially if your uveitis is granulomatous in nature. Were you tested for Anti Nuclear Antibodies, ANA? do you have skin rashes? neuropathy? arthritis? hearing loss etc?

there is an excellent online support group in the UK at http://www.oliviasvision.org I highly recommend it for you to help you find proper care. the Best OCular immunologist in the UK is professor William Ayliffe in London/
the list has other specialists but most require a referral from an eye hospital. Ayliffe takes patients privately as well as through NHS referral.

hope this helps,
Mike