ah yes i like the big font, it's easier for me to read. I have had bad eyes since I was in 1st grade, bad eyes runs in my family. I have to get stronger glasses all the time, so when i get to go to the eye doctor it never surprises me that she says i need a stronger pair of glasses. well for the past year and 5months i've been having these episodes where i cant see anything (everything is very blurry), the first time i went she said i just needed stronger glasses and bifocals....and something to do with I have clogs in my eye vessels or veins or whichever and to do warm compresses on each eye for 2 mins every night right before i lay down for bed, and i do. for the past 3 months or 4 its gotten much worse to where the blurriness is for 3 to 4 hours and sometimes came with a headache. went back this time and had my original eye doctor and told her about the fibro and she said thats whats causing these episodes as i call them, and she told me there was nothing we could do except maybe try closing my eyes for 5 to 10mins when it happens to see if it will calm the flare up.
I said really?? I'm having flare ups in my eyes??? and she said yes, fibromyalgia attacks the eyes as well. I was in tears and she said i really am sorry but ur doctor should have told u this, i said nope, if i have any questions about something that is hurting or new i ask and then he tells me that thats part of having this. i was really upset, and she was very understanding....so she gave me stronger glasses (of course) to help bc she said i am in need of stronger ones and it also may help with the flare ups bc i wont be straining to see... How crazy right??
I also get stronger glasses every time I go. I had to do drops in my eyes for 2 months a while back and the doctor said the vessels in my eyes were inflamed due to my fibro and lupus. I have also had problems with my ears and had to have surgery on them.
I have also been told that fibro is affecting my eyes, I get the blurriness and episodes where I lose the sight on the sides of my eyes for a little bit, also see double at night time - but only with lights and signs etc. they told me my optic nerve also becomes enlarged, and I have ‘dry eyes’.
Hae there CookiesMama. Glad to hear this discussion. I agree. I think it does attack our eyes...as well as everything else. Yes this is a crazy disease.
Another thing to think about is your meds. My dentist actually brought it to my attention. When we use as many meds as we do there is bound to be one that causes dryness. My teeth were suffering from the dry mouth. Got them fixed. Then I went to my eye doctor and he said the same thing. Gave me artificial tears. He also told me there a really simple procedure they can do to help with the dry eyes. I have found that clonazepam (klonipin) is my biggest culprit. My eyes are very dry in the evening. Wash my face and put drops in and I can see again. I wear glasses too and they work so much better when I keep my eyes moisturized.
It does not surprise me that fibro affects our eyes. You are not the only person to experience this. Thank you for starting a Discussion about it so that other members can share what they are going through. I find that my eyesight gets blurry after working at the computer for an extended period of time. Somewhere I read that when working at the computer for 20 minutes you should look away and give your eyes a rest. I have found it to be helpful but I don't remember to do it so I am going to bring my timer(that I use for things in the oven) and set it to ring after 20 minutes and give my eyes a rest and to look away.
I am so glad you posted this discussion! I was about to write about something very similar when I saw what you wrote. For me, sometimes my eyes feel SO fatigued, I cannot continue reading or doing anything else. When this happens while I'm driving, I pray I can get home without my eyes closing involuntarily. I hate this!! I too wear glasses, although it sounds as if my eyesight has stabalized for right now. My eye dr also said I'm suffering from dry eye and gave me artificial tears. When I told him how my eyes feel sometimes and how I couldn't find the right words to describe such an odd sensation, he just nodded and said that most of his patients who also have fibro have described similar feeligs with their eyes. I had no idea that flare ups could happen in the eyes as well! I'm with you, this is CRAZY!
i was checked for lupus as well, and it mine came back negative. my eye dr told me there was nothing to help. I'm am glad they gave u something though! Prayers!
i too have the problems with lights at night time. I stopped driving at night time b/c the lights hurt my eyes so bad that i just couldn't take it anymore, so the eye doc said to have me put in a nighttime glare thing in my glasses. I haven't had the money to do it, but if it helps i can post about it! I have noticed a lot of people have 'dry eyes', thankfully i haven't had that problem! but praying for those of u who do! I wonder if that could be part of fibro to? Seems like everything is caused from fibro.
yes it is a crazy disease. I do take clonazepam, for panic/anxiety attacks...and now also it helps with the RLS at night time. and we've ruled out that it's not the medicine thats causing the blurriness b/c i stopped taking it for 3 weeks (which was not good). so glad to hear that the drops help u!!
hello! yvw! I just wanted to put it out there b/c I didnt know if it truly was something that fibro was doing to me or not, and to see if anyone else had it. Honestly, it feels good to know i'm not alone, but sadly, every one has to suffer with this as well. Yes! I have that same problem with the computer, or reading or even trying to read the tv guide on the tv. doc told me to read a page and take a 20 min break, which u can imagine how hard that is!!, and it doesn't help. I love love love to read, so i just read at night time right before i go to bed so that the blurriness doesn't affect anything i have to do ya know. THank u very much!! Love and gentle gentle hugs :) --Shana
thank u! I'm really glad i posted it now too! I know that feeling!! but mine is normally just when the fatigue hits me and i cant seem to stay awake, thankfully my mom can come and keep my son for a little bit so that I can rest while she's here or i'm there. When ur in the car and that happens again, (fatigue has hit me strong as rocks in the car before) turn up the radio, roll down ur window, start to dance, call somebody if u have to, turn on ur a/c if its cold outside, just do anything u can (especially pray) to stay awake! I had no idea about the flare ups in the eyes either til just recently and it is crazy! <3
Yup, it is and yup, you're not alone with it. I've been continuously putting my screen into bigger print and now it's become very fuzzy even with the larger print. Dang it! YES, fibro affects our eyes! Grrrrrrrr!!!! I hope that eventually this little merry-go-round of "eyes getting worse, getting new glasses, eyes getting worse, getting new glasses," slows down because I want my vision to last! Does anyone know if people with fibro can lose their vision or does the blurry/fuzziness ever settle down?
Yeah, I think that fibro does cause dry eye. Mine are. Sometimes I feel like there's a lash caught in the eye and will rub and rub and rub -- no lash...dry eyes.
As for the glasses, I buy mine online at Glassesshop.com, as they are way cheaper there. You'd need your current prescription plus the pupil distance (they show you how to get it by measuring with a ruler.) You can also "try the glasses on" by uploading a photo of you onto the site then plonking the glasses on the photo. (However, I will say that I did order polycarbonate glasses from them because I only have one good eye and wanted to protect it and my sister's dog got hold of my glasses and chewed the lens and the plastic snapped right in his mouth! Didn't hurt him, thankfully. My last pair that he'd got a hold of really did have the polycarbonate finish and he was only able to put a few chaw marks on the lens.) Other than that, they've been great.
PTL that i dont have dry eye! so prayers to you for taking care of it! Thank you for that site, i am def going to check it out! but first gotta find a ruler for the pupil thing lol. and my dog did that to my glasses once! I had to live with chew marks in them b/c i have no insurance and the insurance i do have doesn't pay for a set of glasses but every 2 years. I'm really happy that him chewing up ur glasses didnt harm him!!!!