Pain behind left eye

I’m just getting started on this site. I have PSa and Lyme. I have attributed the pain in my left eye with my Lyme disease. When I have a flare with my Lyme my left eye has intense pain and my eyelid droops. At least I presumed it was Lyme. Hmmm.

About my eye problems…I called my eye doc and explained it. He said since it’s been happening for awhile now and not getting worse, I should just wait and mention it at my routine eye exam later this month. :pensive:

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OK then, but I’m really glad you called.

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Hi everyone, I’m brand new here and joined to ask some questions about my feet (thus my user name lol). But I saw this post and had to comment because as I type this, I literally have an ice pack strapped to my head due to a one sided headache that hurts behind my eye and in my ear. I’ve gotten them for years but they are worse lately. I’ve seen every type of docto and the most logical explanation I’ve received is from my allergist who said that it’s inflamed sinuses. And the only treatment that really works is a short term round of steroids. The pain can be sickening. I wish I knew what triggered them. I have celiac and many food sensitivities… eating poorly sometimes triggers them, as does a change in weather.

Thanks, Seenie! Me, too! :slight_smile:

Hi uglyfeet! I like your name! hehe–but, better be nice to those feet and not call hem ugly…my feet got mad at me for doing that, and now they’re reminding me every day!

Have any of those doctors you’ve seen ordered an MRI? I think that could give you some definite answers instead of the “logical” explanation about inflamed sinuses. If it is inflamed sinuses, wouldn’t antibiotics work to fix it? But, then I’m sure they did lab cultures???

Both my brother and a friend had infected (IDK if that’s the same as inflamed, but I think it could be) sinuses, which supposedly lasted for years. They both ended up on long-term antibiotics to clean out the infection for good.

I hope some members have some helpful advice for you…sounds awful, that headache!!! :worried:

Hi Grandma J, I have not had an MRI… just a scope into my sinuses. I was told I have inflammation (swelling and irritation, but no infection). The low dose steroids help, and fortunately I have only had to take them twice. I probably should ask for an MRI though.

When I chose my user name today I was really mad at my feet lol!! They’ve never been pretty, but boy lately, they look really bad! :laughing:

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Inflammation doesn’t need an infection to be there… we all have sterile inflammation in our joints/tendons… inflammation is the body’s reaction to an infection, all infections should get inflamed and healthy people don’t get sterile inflammation so that’s why the words get mixed up.

You see your infection because of the inflammation. If a wound is infected pretty much everything you see is your own body’s reaction to the infection…

Hi Grandma, just saw your post. I’ve got both anterior and intermediate uveitis (which doesn’t cause a lot of redness)
I have a droopy eye too.
Mine started 6 months ago with painful and watery eye. Blurry vision. Slight redness.
I’ve now been on prednisone both oral and eye drops for 6 months and had an operation to reduce inflammation in the vitreous.
Now I’m on Humira too and it doesn’t seem to be working. Next stop, Remicade.

The point of this is that lots of people that have uveitis have other autoimmune diseases - not sure how many have PsA too but I certainly do.
It’s quite rare apparently and I was told I needed to see a uveitis specialist not just an ophthalmologist.

I hope it’s just an allergy eye or something simple :grinning:

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I’ve also got eye problems at the moment - and I am very concerned that it’s the hydroxychloroquine. I am at the opticians today (third time in seven months!) for yet another test. The problem is that the issues change daily - one day my eyes are fine, the next day my vision is blurred or out of focus - but only at certain distances, which is what makes me think it might not be the meds, as I understand all vision is blurry with that. I also understand steroids can cause these problems too, and that, at least, is reversible. But it’s all worse when I am somewhere which is brightly lit - the lights themselves don’t bother me, it’s the overall brightness. It’s all very strange, and rather concerning.

darinfan have you ever been diagnosed with uveitis? I was given prednisone drops and use them when they get bad. But I think the droopy eyelid and pain behind my eye is different.

So curious to know why we get this pain. I get it more when on certain biologics.

Hopefully it will be figured out!

Cindy

Me too. It’s almost always my left eye that goes blurry at reading distance. But sometime the right acts up too. And it absolutely can have everything to do with steroids (changes the sugars in the body and that changes the pressure in the eye) and I imagine that generally increased levels of inflammation can wreak havoc on every system. My optician has RA and is very understanding. After my third trip last year to tell her she must have $-ed up my prescription and her re-testing me only to get the same script three times, one of those done by her practice partner, we decided the problem was me! My GP who had been on mega doses of prednisone (60mg/day) for over a year counseled me that she had experienced the same thing. She kept different prescriptions of contact lenses on hand to use depending on how she was feeling that day. I haven’t quite gone that far, but at least now I no longer freak out when I can’t see properly! :eye: :eye:

Been there, still am! I start thinking “I’ve treated you well, always bought good shoes for you, and now look how you’re leaving me in the lurch …” That’s gratitude for you, isn’t it?

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HCQ is a prime suspect for eye problems. My rheum wouldn’t even give me the prescription until I’d been to an ophthalmologist.

The person to talk to about uveitis is our good friend “downunder”, @MacMac.

Ugh, I’ve been so out of the loop … MacMac’s already here. Sorry, MacMac.

Well, the results are in. Saw my third optician in seven months today - decided to go somewhere else completely this time as the last guy seemed to not know what he was doing. He might have done, of course, but didn’t demonstrate it to me. This one was familiar with the effects of hydroxychloroquine, and did a thorough examination of the eyes (as well as the sight test part). He also took photos of the retina as well. They show no sign of any build-up due to the tablets, and there is no sign of retina or macula damage. No eye disease. No cataracts. Nothing nasty. He seems to think the change in eye sight might still be an effect of either the hydroxy or the streroids, but is certain that it isn’t a result of damage being done, just a side effect that will go when/if I stop taking them (a bit like throwing up as a side effect doesn’t damage your stomach, I guess?). But I did have confidence in him - especially with the photographs being done as well. That’s concrete proof, which is what I needed. Two new pairs of glasses though. He saw my reading glasses from six months ago and his reaction was “did you pay for these?”, thus suggesting that they were probably the wrong prescription to begin with. But latest health obsession is put on the back burner, thankfully!

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That’s great news. Sounds like the change of optician was a smart move.

Yes, I think so. That’s three visits to the opticians in seven months - at some point you have to believe them!

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A visual field test should be done at least once a year if you’re on plaquenil. Not just a picture of the back of your eye.

I’m not on plaquenil any longer and have only been on prednisone a few brief times. I do have changes in my vision over time, it’s clearly due to inflammation. I tend to have low levels of inflammation in my left eye in particular. . . nothing that can be diagnosed per se, but enough to cause pain and visual changes. Steroid drops are to be avoided. I already have a cataract in that eye, so want to minimize how fast it develops.