iritis advice appreciated

[raspellious]

Briefly had iritis now 9 years which at first would get very bad before the doctors will even think of referring me to hospital. Once I get there I get prescribed predforte told ill get an appointment in 5 weeks and thats the last ill hear. Fortunatley its cleared itsself by then.. this time around 4 months ago got a flare up was given drops for 4 weeks but it flared up again so was given drops again for 4 weeks but its not cleared it I feel. Eyes not red but I have floaters my vission is getting blury so for the last 3 weeks ive been takin 1 drop a day not sure if I should be. The hospital eye dep will not see me as they are full even though they are supposed to be treating me the doctor cant do anything opticians say they couldnt see anything but should really go to hospital...in grimsby oh and hla b27 positive..any thoughts appreciated ..pretty much blind in my left eye and unforuntaley always geting iritis in my good eye...

[Mike Bartolatz]

you need to go private right away and see an Ocular immunologist. there is absolutely no excuse for the way they are treating you. go to the hospital and CAMP out if you must to see an ophthalmologist right away. no red eye and increased floaters would indicate that you might have intermediate or posterior uveitis rearing it's ugly head now which can cause other changes to the eye. there is a list of specialists at http://www.uveitis.org located in the ABOUT THE SUPPORT GROUP section of the site. click on SPECIALISTS on the list to the LEFT column of the page. then select your country etc.

where do you live?

I can suggest the closest specialist for you that is worth a damn too.

can you take Non steroidal anti inflammatory medications taken at prescription strength for your HLA B27 related uveitis?
Naprosyn can break the recurrent nature of this. talk to your primary care physician about this.

wish you the best,
mike

[raspellious]

Hi thanks for the reply, well I headed to the hospital and into A & E.. took a few hrs but by midnight had check up opthamologist. she was amazed i was unable recieve follow up treatment from hospital or that the gp was unable to get me in. Wish I had realised a long time ago you can bypass the whole trying to persued doctors u have iritis and to refer u to hospital and go straight to A & E and get seen that day.. even late at night.. Another lesson learned... She tested with the slit lamp but said she could not see anything and that maybe the drop a day I have been taking was keeping it in chk and that was why she cannot see anything. The floaters she says maybe ive always had them and just never noticed before now although 2 weeks of chasing little dots sure I would have noticed in 37 yrs.. said maybe the blurred vision was my glasses needed changing..made me laugh I kind of know when in 2 days my vision had gone blurry, without glasses too. but said see how vision goes and maybe have other checks, xray or something if its no better in 3 weeks.. I asked her about alternatives to steroids such as nsaids I have read about on here she referred to them as herbal remedies and said the only treatment is steroid. glad theres no major flare up then, using predforte again 3 x a day , then 2, then 1, then try get that review this time.. floaters and blurred vision I hope is going to go in time..
I live in Grimsby (uk) if u know of any one u can recommend..
The nsaids i mentioned to the doctor before he tells me only steroid will treat my iritis.. never been told anymore than this or tested for any reasons for my iritis only the back xray i insisted to my doctor i have for a/s as my uncle is crippled with it and sufferes iritis too.. it was clear thankfully although my uncle did mention it took them years to diagnose his correctly..

[Mike Bartolatz]

you may have the HLA B27 gene associated with iritis and ankylosing spondylitis and other seronegative spondyloarthropathies such as psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, and the enteropathic arthropathies crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (GI) diseases. this is termed 'autoimmune' uveitis and it can be controlled with NSAIDs such as Celebrex, Dolobid, naproxen etc as they are anti inflammatory medications not herbal medicine. your doctor is in error on this and this is the first line of a corticosteroid sparing approach to treatment used internationally by the international uveitis society. the next step on a step ladder approach after NSAIDS would be use of DMARD medications for recurrent or chronic uveitis. the type of iritis that you most likely have will 'ping pong' between eyes. you will get one eye quieted down and the other eye will be affected over and over in extreme cases.

I know of now specialist in your town. there is a list of specialists in the UK at http://www.uveitis.org here in the USA that has been developed by the Worlds best Ocular Immunologist C Stephen Foster MD who is a professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard University. go to the link above and then click on ABOUT THE SUPPORT GROUP at the top of the page, then click on SPECIALISTS in the list of hotlinks on the left side of the page. then select INTERNATIONAL SPECIALIST LIST AND THEN YOUR COUNTRY ENGLAND.

it can take time to get into one of them

[Mike Bartolatz]

I have given you the name of Professor William Ayliffe in London, he takes patients privately as well as through the NHS system. your PCP can refer to him so that the NHS system will pay for an evaluation. others at this site from the UK have been able to do this.
sadly many individuals in England have a terrible time getting to an EXPERT as many of them will only take patients through A and E etc and the local doctors refuse to do so as their EGO"S get in the way even though they cause individuals to go blind from inadequate care using only corticosteroids to treat this stuff.

you must manage your care doing whatever it takes to get care. there is a support group in the UK http://www.oliviasvision.com (may be .org.uk) google Oliviasvision and you will get the link. people there will confirm what I have told you and can help you maneuver through the NHS. your vision requires immediate attention if the uveitis returns. the floaters are there from iridocyclitis seen in Ankylosing spondylitis and are often in the anterior vitreous humor shed from the ciliary body which makes the fluid that nourishes and fills the aqueous humor and iris.
the doctors comment that they 'may have been there ' may be correct and uveitis may have been present many years ago.

[Mike Bartolatz]

the link is http://www.oliviasvision.org

[raspellious]

Thanks mike knowledge is power and from what im learning is giving me the confidence to push the doctors for further treatment. I will insisting we start to look at nsaids and will certaintly follow your lead to try to get to see specialist. Thank you for your time its very much appreciated..

[Mike Bartolatz]

good luck,

mike