Iritis and Fertility Drugs

[ojenhenry]

Hi there! I'm a first time poster, but unfortunately, not new to iritis. First, I want to thank everyone for all the information that has supported me for a long time as I observed from behind the scenes.

I'm 36 and have dealt with flare-ups for over 15 years. I'm HLA-B27 positive. I have great medical care and have found ways to prolong my bouts throughout the years with an anti-inflammatory diet. This week, however, I entered a whole new territory.

I started my first round of fertility drugs (clomid) this week and within 12 hours had a complete iritis flare-up with pain I haven't experience in a good 8 years, when my iritis was at its peak.

I met with my ophthalmologist this morning and asked about the clomid and its relationship to my iritis. With only about 10 patients in their practice and little research on the topic, I was given an answer that didn’t quite satisfy me. I was told that most likely the clomid gave my body a surge of hormones that it didn’t know what to do with it, and hence a flare-up. The doctor also mentioned that I might be down a “rocky road” with my iritis as long as fertility drugs are in the mix.

I wanted to put this out there and see if anyone else has experienced major flare-ups while on fertility drugs. I’d appreciate any words of wisdom or your own personal story.
Thanks! Jen

[Mike Bartolatz]

Hi Jen and welcome to the group!
your age group is reknown for it beginning autoimmune disease processes especially when the HLA B27 gene is present. Hormones play a major role in this process in women. Iritis often presents early on in the late teens or twenties and then things like autoimmune arthritis and GI problems pop up later on. I don't know if this will happen to you but be vigilant for rashes, digestion problems, constipation or diarrhea as well as arthritis of the low back or neck or even of the shoulders and knees.

wish you the very best,
mike