? Iritis

[jojo19732009]

Hi I KC and was diagnosed in 2007 after a long battle with glasses. I have gone past the useful glasses wear, soft lenses, hard lenses and piggy backs. I am now on to the RGP lenses not without hassle though. I work 12.5 hr shifts on a hospital ward. twice a week. I leave my lens wear to these two days. I have had high sickness from work due to iritis which has not been managed well and no one knows why it keeps happening and the severity is great. Has anyone had this problem. My work are very twitched with the amount of time off I have had to have and are being less than helpful at this moment in time. Is there anyone who has had these problems or knows of how to deal with them. Work have started the ball rolling to involve HR and the Ocupational Health and I have the support of the RCN. I am feeling a little cornered at this moment in time. Any help would be great......Thanks.

[jojo19732009]

I forgot to say that I was refered to the hospital re next stage..... intacs or grafting but I am not a candidate for these due to the regular flareup of iritis and the risk of rejection. I find myself house bound at the times of the flareups due to the pain, swelling, tears and the smallest amount of light/ even answering my mobile phone hurts so much with the glare through shut eyes. I never realised I took my sight for granted before but I am not ready to just give up on my job either dispite my consultant saying quite straight faced just get a new job closer to home........ KC thinks its winning at the moment.

[Lynn White]

Hi Joanne,

This is a hard one in terms of trying to give you any suggestions, as it is very much a case of your situation being completely individual. Iritis flare ups can have many causes not related to keratoconus and often the cause is never found. Therefore, anyone here who has personal experience of iritis may not be able to help as the cause of their condition may be different to yours. Additionally, we professionals who contribute cannot help, as we are not your clinician and, in fact, any general advice we give may be completely inappropriate.

It sounds like you have two issues which is lens intolerance and iritis flare up. You don't sound as if you have tried scleral lenses yet - so it might well be useful to explore this option. With the iritis, you do have to go down a diagnostic road to try and find the root cause and also manage it well - as you obviously understand. To do this you need to talk to the professionals who are looking after you.

Lynn

[jojo19732009]

Thanks for your reply Lynn I am at the moment in Scleral lenses and they are great if I could tollerate them more frequently. The Iritis I am awaiting a second opinion from another consultant as my own consultant is stumped with these flareups so has asked for this assistance himself. However this was over 18 months ago. It is so frustrating to be refered for surgery only to have your hopes dashed again. I have a young family and work also. I would like for some stability of sight it just seems as I get to that point something else happens. My optometrist is great they are so understanding and nothing is to difficult. Between us we try everything. I couldnt fault them at all. The more frustrating is the work place I thought there would be a little understanding and a little research into KC.
I have had to give them everything and still it is made difficult.
Joanne

[Lynn White]

Ahhhh,

Yes I understand! KC is very difficult for anyone who is outside the patient/KC professional realm to get to grips with. I have been campaigning for over 2 years now to get official recognition for keratoconics within the vision registration system but it is hard going. One of the major "problems" is that people with KC are such fantastic "copers". They deal with pain and discomfort, struggle at work unable to see, cope with family who don;t understand and still come up smiling (albeit with gritted teeth sometimes). Thus, no-one else can really appreciate the struggles you go through.

I have dealt with many patients with long term iritis issues (non keratoconic) and it is a long process trying to find the cause. We simply do not know the answers.

One thought though - and you are really going to hate me for saying it! - is that in my long experience with this type of inflammatory condition, lifestyle has a distinct role to play. 12.5 hour shifts, even twice a week, throw out your diurnal rhythms etc. The key to solving your issues lie in a holistic approach where you take care of yourself. In my experience, people who nurse tend to give too much of themselves....

You are now welcome to throw things at me!

Lynn

[jojo19732009]

Thanks for that post Lynn I understand that 12.5hr shifts are doing me and my family no good what so ever but I also can not let go of Nursing either. a little selfish of myself I know but just to young to do that yet unless you speak to one of my kids and they consider me to be over the hill........

I am optamistic as to them getting some resolve for myself and my family I just wondered if anyone else had the same trouble and cheekely have I got long to go before my eyes settle down......?????? I just dont like the answeres I get. e.g. we just dont know.
Every one wants to know how long. I guess its true Nurses do not make for good Patients...

Thanks Joanne

[Lynn White]

Well I pretty much had you sized up Joanne....!

I know that nurses are the worst patients and actually optometrists are not that far behind!

I do tell my KC patients:

Use supplements -Lutein and Omega 3 (Ocuvite has both)

Comfort drops every single day

Mange any allergy that you get with oral anti histamines and drops if necessary

Drink plenty of water

Get plenty of rest

Chill out when you can

It is important to balance work with what actually benefits your health, as you surely know. Problem is, most work driven people feel entirely guilty spending any time on themselves.

Lynn