With all the attention that we pay to our joints and ligaments, it's easy to forget to keep and eye on our eyes. Most of us see (or should see) an ophthalmologist at least once a year to check for potential PsA-related problems with our eyes.
And another detail: if you are on hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) your rheumatologist should be sending you for eye screenings before, and periodically during, your treatment.
So if you haven't been for an eye check up recently, put that on your to-do list.
Thanks for the information about eyes, Seenie…I never connected the dots of having vitreous detachments and PsA…my eye doctor shrugged it off as something that happens to everyone as they get older. He did say, though, that it is usually a slower process and people usually don’t get the lightning flashes because the vitreous gel dries/hardens so slowly that it doesn’t cause any problems. I first got the lightning flashes in my right eye several years ago and rushed right in for an eye exam the next day. It is scary as hell when you think something serious like a retinal detachment could be happening! On top of the vitreous detachment, I have a slight tear on my retina, but he tells me that’s nothing to worry about, either. Easy for him to say!
I’m the same, Grandma_J. I had a gigantic floater in my left eye and spent the afternoon scared to death at a retinal specialist’s office. Then I got a smaller one in my right eye. My old ophthalmologist did somewhat the same as yours: “kept an eye” on both of them but didn’t say anything about cause.
Then I was diagnosed with PsA. My rheumy is the one who told me about the connection between PsA and floaters. My new ophthalmologist agreed. Unless I think about them (like I am now–moved my left eye and there it was), I usually don’t see them. Optho still monitors and now, after my Graves diagnosis, makes sure he looks for signs of thyroid eye disease. I’ve listened to his speech about call immediately if I have lightning flashes for four years now. He smiles when I say you bet I will.