Iritis & Pregnancy

[STDOFTHIS]

I'm suffering the 3rd bout of iritis in 4 years and am also 13 weeks pregnant with my 3rd child. I am incredibly upset with the specialist I went to see who basically said "choose your level of blindness or have an abortion" and to " go to hell if I think he'd treat a pregnant woman" as he said the drugs used were untested in pregnancy. I was in enormous pain and couldn't cope with any light so I had to rely on my mother and husband to care for our 2 small boys for almost a week. I rang my obstetrician and GP who both said it was crap that steroid drops would be dangerous, so my GP started me on them straight away. Things have definitely improved but after almost 5 weeks, my left eye is still causing me pain (I have it in both eyes) and I'm horrified that this is an ongoing thing and despite what the doctors have said about the steroid drops, I AM worried about their effect on the baby. Anyone else had this bastard of a thing while pregnant?

[Mike Bartolatz]

your GP is correct that steroid eye drops won't harm the fetus. you may also require a dilating drop to prevent the iris from sticking to the lens. where do you live? perhaps we can suggest someone who understands uveitis during pregnancy. you MUST treat the uveitis. there is NO reason that you should have to go without treatment nor go blind from uveitis with today's medicine.

wish you the best,
Mike

[STDOFTHIS]

Mike, thank you for your response. I am going to see my GP tomorrow - he has had me on the dilating drops as well (couldn't see anything for a month!!), and for the past week just the steroid drops. I live in a country area in Australia, so we only have a couple of specialists here. My GP has said that he can see quite a few "floaters" in the left eye at each visit and my vision in that eye does still seem blurrier than the other. Do you know if this blurriness means loss of vision, or is it just a temporary effect from the inflammation? Have you come across any others here that are pregnant with this? Thanks again.

[Mike Bartolatz]

Yes there are others who post here that are also pregnant and have uveitis.
steroid eye drops and dilating drops should not hurt the fetus. Only Oral Steroids or other drugs would cause a problem.
Blurr of vision should go away once the inflammation is under control and you are off the dilating drops and cortico steroid eye drops.

wish you the best,
Mike

[Alison]

hi
I was three months pregnant with my third when I got my fourth bout of iritis. It was by far my worst attack. I was using Maxidex every fifteen minutes as well as dilating drops twice a day. They used cocaine because my eye wouldn't dilate. Make sure you shake your drops REALLY well before using them.
My daughter just turned 7 months old and is in perfect health.
take care

[Jodi]

I am currently 10 weeks pregnant and am experiencing one of the worst cases of iritis in years. (I have been a sufferer for 9 years now, with at least one case per year). I went to the eye clinic here in Heidelberg, Germany last weekend and they put me on the cortisone and dilating drops. (And they did assure me that because they are so "local" it should not affect the fetus). Unfortunately, there has been no change ... and this is what is worrying me (and my normal eye doctor).

Do you know if there are any links that the drops might not work when you are pregnant, due to hormones? If so, what can we do next? My eye doctor is quite concerned as there are many cells visible to him.

I am going back to the eye clinic this week, but thought you might be able to help me too.

Thanking you in advance

[Mike Bartolatz]

Pred forte is preferred to generic prednisilone for control of uveitis. it absobs easier than the generic. you must shake the drops for about a minute to make sure they are thuroughly mixed. then instill them according to directions. then with the head tilted back and the eye closed press in on the inside corner of the eye. this prevents the drops from going down your sinuses. STeroid injections to tissue surrounding the eye are sometimes required to quell inflammation. they won't effect the fetus either from information I have been given in the past. sometimes the inflammation will subside during the third trimester.

I hope this helps,
Mike