New here and I'm glad I found this site

[Lori R]

I was first diagnosed in January of 2011. A few weeks before, I noticed some pain in my left eyelid but I went to sleep and it was gone in the morning. Right before my first flare up, I had been to a local casino on a Saturday night. I had been there maybe 8 hours playing the same machine (winning). When I decided to leave, my vision felt funny. I closed my right eye and I noticed that the vision in my left eye was somewhat impaired. At home, I removed my contact lenses and the left eye was really red. The next day, I went to work but I didn't wear my contacts thinking maybe I scratched my cornea. Monday morning, the left eye was on fire with all the textbook symptoms. My primary care physician immediately sent me to the opthamologist where I was instantly diagnosed with iritis. Steroid drops every hour, Nevanac 3 times a day and constant pupil dilation. A couple of weeks later, I was seeing the retina specialist and it was uveitis. Saw the rheumatologist and nothing there. Right eye eventually became involved but not as awful as the left eye.

Eight months later, I was finally off the drops. Six weeks later, on a Saturday night, I visited the casino. Spent about 8 hours there playing the same machine and on Monday morning flare up. Three months later, off the meds. Six weeks later flare up. I didn't pay too much attention to the preceding couple of days. That's been the pattern, except for the last flare up. That was only three weeks after the discontinuation of the drops. Interestingly, I then saw the doctor on Friday. The left eye was doing nicely and he was beginning to wean me off the Lotomax. The right eye was perfectly clear. Saturday, I had to work 13 hours. I probably stared into my computer monitor for 8 hours or so. By Monday morning, the right eye was involved and the left eye had regressed. That's where I am now.

I mentioned this to the doctor. Maybe there's a connection between staring into a screen and my flareups. Apparently, he's not willing to pursue that possibility. I saw the rheumatologist yesterday and he wants to put me on Methatrexate. I have absolutely no symptoms of any auti-immune and I'm really worried about this drug. I just want to ask questions and I don't know what questions to ask. Waiting for blood test results before I start the drug but I'm sure that all the tests will be negative.

Thank you for reading.

[Mike Bartolatz]

Lori R,
your rheumatologist is correct in his drug choice for recurrent and almost chronic uveitis that you now have. what is occurring is what frequently happens with this and it has to be treated systemically as them immune system that is attacking your eyes is also impacting the rest of your body. you can have inflammation in other organs etc. and not know it too. as long as doctors have ruled out potential systemic diseases and viruses and bacteria and molds etc that cause uveitis they are correct in wanting to use DMARD drugs early on in your care. often uveitis strikes women just before menopause as hormones are changing. get tested for thyroid and parathyroid levels, serum Calcium and vitamin D3 levels as these things are linked to sarcoidosis. also get tested for the HLA B27 gene linked to uveitis and several autoimmune disease processes, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis, and IBD conditions : Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis.

has the uveitis also produced cells in the Jellylike substance that fills the eye causing vitritis? damaged the back of the eye with blind spots or new blood vessel growth, neovascularization or damage to the optic disc or optic nerve head?


wish you the very best,
Mike