Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group my eye isn't getting better

One question about the nighttime ointment. I just woke up and this stuff is still kind of sticky in my eye. Is this something that will just kind of gradually go away or should I flush out my eye? Maybe with a shower it will unglue itself from my eye?

It's not a big deal, it just feels pretty weird.

Hi Root2,

Once you're awake it seems to work itself out on it's own fairly soon. I don't flush out my eye although mine doesn't get as sticky as this sounds. Perhaps you've used slightly more than I do, or the product is a slightly different one with different viscosity. I make sure nothing goes near/in my eye that I don't know is safe and sterile, which can't be said for most sources of water.

Hope you're feeling a little better.

Hi
You are putting way too much in if your eye feels sticky in the morning. We were always taught to pull th eeye lid down and squirt a small amout in that area, without a Q-Tip . You increase the chance of a secondary infection when introducing a foreign object into your eye. Tilt your head back and look at the ceiling and squeeze a small amout is all that is needed .Once the eye closes it will spread.The fact that you are on an oral steroid, will mean that the night dose of Maxidex ointment isn't nearly so important.
When folks suggested this I think they had forgotten you are on daily oral steroids.( At least I think your still on them?)


Keep Getting Well,
Janet

Update: Still blurry. In the last couple days, my vision hasn't really changed much. It gets slightly better and slightly worse, but never really shows any marked improvement. I still have my fingers crossed though.

I'm still on the steroid drops once every hour and the dilating drops once every two hours. That's the schedule I'm to follow until my next appointment. It's starting to get pretty irritating to run off to take my drops every hour, but I know I'm going to have to do it for a long time yet.

The only real improvement I've noticed is that the hypopyon seems to be gone (either that or reduced to almost nithing).

The steroid pills I'm taking seem to be taking a lot out of me. I'm exhausted all the time and I have occasional minor dizzy spells. The fatigue is keeping me home since I can't exactly be a cheery, bouncy elementary school teacher when I just want to collapse. I'm starting to feel guilty for missing a bunch of work...

So, I'm hanging in there, but eagerly waiting for some more significant improvement in my condition. I liked it better when I thought that AS would just give me the occasional back pain...

Root!!

I am soooo sorry you are not feeling better! I wish there was something I could do!!

One thing you might want to ask about is SALINE SOLUTION for your morning eye cake. It is sterile and could reduce swelling but I have only had iritis ONCE so I don't know. I wear contacts and sometimes, if I am not vigilant in taking them out, I use the saline solution to uncrust my eyes in the mornings.

Hope you are feeling better soon!!
Holly

Hi Root,
I am surprised you are dilating every two hours, mine has always been every four hours. The vision will be very fuzzy from the dilating drops. I couldn't drive when I used them every four hours.Maybe you will be off of them by next week.Hang in there, there will not be great subjective changes in your vision until the inflammation is settled and off the dilating drops.


Janet

Hi Janet,

Someone mentioned earlier that there is a different strength dilating drop that is weaker than the one we seem to get prescribed over here. I think Root2 must be on the weaker strength one. I had the same instinct initially.

Holly, I personally leave artificial tears out of the equation at this stage. There is only so much the eyes can absorb and best it be pred drops. They are great for later stages and to prevent the dreaded dry eye that can sometimes follow.

Root2, Janet is a wise lady and I 2nd the sense that you shouldn't expect any noticeable change just yet. The only thing I'd pay attention to is that there is no worsening of any symptoms. Now, it becomes an exercise in patience. Your kiddies will wait. You shouldn't feel an ounce of guilt under the circumstances. Sometimes you have to put yourself first and I can't think of a better time than when busy protecting your vision. Thanks for the update! Take very good care!

Root, honey, if you're still on the dilation drops (especially that frequently) you will definitely not notice any improvement in the blurriness. What you are getting right now is a combination of the inflammation and the dilation drops causing the blurriness. Until you are off the dilation drops and the inflammation has come down, you will have blurry vision. At this point, it really is nothing to worry about.

OK?

Hugs,

I once had it for 6 months straight without any letup. What finally cleared it up was the steroid decadron in the form of drops. Hope you have better luck. J.R.

Hi all, I have had iritis about 20 times in the last 10 years. One time i left it rather a long time to have it looked at, and because of this my lens became stuck.
Luckly the Dr was able to free the lens using steam from a soaked bandage. Each time i have had iritis i have had drops, one for dilation, and one for the treatment. the treatment drop is called Maxidex. Works every time!!
I must say in ten years i have never had "needles" mentioned for treatment. Maybe they dont use this method here in England.