Guest guest Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 This is a subject near to my heart, as I worked and later managed the office for an ophthalmologist for 9yrs. He is actually the one that originally set the wheels in motion to get my sarcoidosis diagnosed. It had shown up as iritis in both eyes. Prednisone tablets will not help iritis. Predforte drops-- when used with a medication to keep the eye dilated will help. When you first develop iritis or uveitis - you will have alot of light sensitivity. You may also notice that your eyes are red, and iritated. Whenever I get the first signs of my eyes going into another bout of iritis, I hit the predforte drops and homatropine drops. The Predforte is just like any other prednisone in that once you start it-- and at the beginning of a flare- your MD should have you using the drops every 2-3 hrs, then WEAN you back off it over weeks-- so that your iritis or uveitis doesn't rebound back. If your finding that by self treating (even for those of us that have had it for years) it's important to get it checked each time you start suspecting a flare. The reason is that if your eyes are light sensitive, and the iris or uveal tract is inflammed, then intra-ocular pressure sky rockets. This becomes "acute angle-closure glaucoma" and is the sight killer. Early detection can save your vision. The Homatropine drops are what dilates the eye. This keeps the pupil from forming adhesions to the iris. (If I can get my son's scanner to work, I'll send a couple of pictures of my eyes because I do have the adhesions.) These adhesions make it so that the iris doesn't open and close correctly, and the risk of glaucoma becomes even higher. Homatropine can make your heart race-- like crazy. It is only used 2 times a day or so. You can and should continue to use artificial tears to keep the eyes lubricated, and that iritation of red eyes will get better, and your vision will be much clearer. It doesn't "wash" the homatropine or predforte away- if you wait 30-40 min. after the medication drops have been used. You can use artificial tears as often as you need them. If you think of it this way--- just as our lips get "chapped" so do our eyes. So take care of those eyes, and those lips. Any sign of ongoing problems with your eyes-- and because of the meds we are on-- stay on the safe side- and get the problem checked out. Take care, Tracie NS Co-owner/moderator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 Tracie,You gave a better explanation than my initial eye dr did about the steroid eye drops. It is strange that I did NOT have narrow angle glaucoma couple of weeks ago when flare began and then on Tuesday I did. I'm wondering if the sarcoid flare could have caused this? The flare did start in my left eye (never went to my right eye but then never does) and then hit my joints, etc. The glaucoma is bilateral. I also have mild cataracts probably r/t to the oral pred use for 2+ yrs. Super scary is that I almost had general anesthesia for the AICD without knowing about the glaucoma which could have blinded me per the eye surgeon.Thanks,Beckytiodaat@... wrote: This is a subject near to my heart, as I worked and later managed the office for an ophthalmologist for 9yrs. He is actually the one that originally set the wheels in motion to get my sarcoidosis diagnosed. It had shown up as iritis in both eyes. Prednisone tablets will not help iritis. Predforte drops-- when used with a medication to keep the eye dilated will help. When you first develop iritis or uveitis - you will have alot of light sensitivity. You may also notice that your eyes are red, and iritated. Whenever I get the first signs of my eyes going into another bout of iritis, I hit the predforte drops and homatropine drops. The Predforte is just like any other prednisone in that once you start it-- and at the beginning of a flare- your MD should have you using the drops every 2-3 hrs, then WEAN you back off it over weeks-- so that your iritis or uveitis doesn't rebound back. If your finding that by self treating (even for those of us that have had it for years) it's important to get it checked each time you start suspecting a flare. The reason is that if your eyes are light sensitive, and the iris or uveal tract is inflammed, then intra-ocular pressure sky rockets. This becomes "acute angle-closure glaucoma" and is the sight killer. Early detection can save your vision. The Homatropine drops are what dilates the eye. This keeps the pupil from forming adhesions to the iris. (If I can get my son's scanner to work, I'll send a couple of pictures of my eyes because I do have the adhesions.) These adhesions make it so that the iris doesn't open and close correctly, and the risk of glaucoma becomes even higher. Homatropine can make your heart race-- like crazy. It is only used 2 times a day or so. You can and should continue to use artificial tears to keep the eyes lubricated, and that iritation of red eyes will get better, and your vision will be much clearer. It doesn't "wash" the homatropine or predforte away- if you wait 30-40 min. after the medication drops have been used. You can use artificial tears as often as you need them. If you think of it this way--- just as our lips get "chapped" so do our eyes. So take care of those eyes, and those lips. Any sign of ongoing problems with your eyes-- and because of the meds we are on-- stay on the safe side- and get the problem checked out. Take care, Tracie NS Co-owner/moderator How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.