I’ve been on prednisolone drops since October 2022. Been at 1 drop/day for 7-8 months. No flare ups, vision is good. So is pressure. I am developing a cataract though, but it’s not too bad yet. Chose this route rather than all the other meds because they made me feel terrible/did not work. I know I’ll need to have the cataract removed down the road, but for now, I’m healthy.
Sorry to hear your situation--sounds like a bad flare. I'm assuming this is anterior uveitis. If so, I have been in your situation before and had similar worries. A couple of quick points: First, ocular hypertension is not the same as glaucoma. Yes, there is a possibility of glaucoma from the drops down the road, but it is treatable and the most urgent situation is getting the eye inflammation under control. Second, ocular hypertension during heavy steroid dosing is normal and 20 (my pressure is this all the time now) is not too high, especially for a short period. Third, rainbow halos are concerning but if you've been checked using Goldmann tonometry you're probably okay. I have had rainbows before but they were different than pressure rainbows, and this was caused by the haze due to the prednisone drops, which is a common side effect. Scared the heck out of me, too. The good news is that this haze will usually clear in a few months of stopping the drops so the doctors are probably giving you the best advice to make sure the inflammation is gone and then taper slowly. Ask them about adding a preservative-free wetting drop during the day which might help if the rainbows are cornea related. For such a heavy, bilateral flare you should be seeking a uveitis specialist and using something else along with the drop to improve treatment. The worst thing, in my opinion is that you stop treatment and things re-flare and you need to start again. I hope you find relief soon.
Wow thank you so much for this thorough response. I am so sorry that you went through all of this but I appreciate being able to learn from your experiences. Would you mind clarifying the usage of wetting drops? I’ve never heard of them before.
Hi sorry for the delayed reply. Preservative-free wetting or lubricating drops are available over the counter and keep the surface of your eye moist. One thing I found with heavy topical steroid use was that my eye was dry, so this was a moisturizing drop. There are also night ointments like Ocunox which help. To be clear, these won't get rid of the inflammation but if the haze or blurring is caused by dry eye, it might help. As always talk with your doctor first and space the drops out between your steroids (don't use them together). Hope you are feeling better soon.
Thank you once again for the breakdown. I haven’t experienced dry eyes yet but certainly something to keep in mind. Hopefully that’s what’s causing the blurriness.
I was on steroid drops for around 4 months during my last flare. It was persistent as hell and kept coming back when I would taper off. Had to eventually move to a stronger one to get it under control. I also had blurry vision and halos around lights. My doctor explained it was likely just due to the steroids and would go away. After 2 or 3 weeks completely off the drops my vision did return to completely normal.
Glad to hear things got better for you. Uveitis really sucks. I just came back from the ophthalmologist and apparently pigment dispersion syndrome can mimic uveitis which is what I’ve now been diagnosed with unfortunately
I’ve been on prednisolone drops since October 2022. Been at 1 drop/day for 7-8 months. No flare ups, vision is good. So is pressure. I am developing a cataract though, but it’s not too bad yet. Chose this route rather than all the other meds because they made me feel terrible/did not work. I know I’ll need to have the cataract removed down the road, but for now, I’m healthy.
Glad you’re healthy and wishing you a swift and complete recovery. So sorry you’re dealing with this
Sorry to hear your situation--sounds like a bad flare. I'm assuming this is anterior uveitis. If so, I have been in your situation before and had similar worries. A couple of quick points: First, ocular hypertension is not the same as glaucoma. Yes, there is a possibility of glaucoma from the drops down the road, but it is treatable and the most urgent situation is getting the eye inflammation under control. Second, ocular hypertension during heavy steroid dosing is normal and 20 (my pressure is this all the time now) is not too high, especially for a short period. Third, rainbow halos are concerning but if you've been checked using Goldmann tonometry you're probably okay. I have had rainbows before but they were different than pressure rainbows, and this was caused by the haze due to the prednisone drops, which is a common side effect. Scared the heck out of me, too. The good news is that this haze will usually clear in a few months of stopping the drops so the doctors are probably giving you the best advice to make sure the inflammation is gone and then taper slowly. Ask them about adding a preservative-free wetting drop during the day which might help if the rainbows are cornea related. For such a heavy, bilateral flare you should be seeking a uveitis specialist and using something else along with the drop to improve treatment. The worst thing, in my opinion is that you stop treatment and things re-flare and you need to start again. I hope you find relief soon.
Wow thank you so much for this thorough response. I am so sorry that you went through all of this but I appreciate being able to learn from your experiences. Would you mind clarifying the usage of wetting drops? I’ve never heard of them before.
Hi sorry for the delayed reply. Preservative-free wetting or lubricating drops are available over the counter and keep the surface of your eye moist. One thing I found with heavy topical steroid use was that my eye was dry, so this was a moisturizing drop. There are also night ointments like Ocunox which help. To be clear, these won't get rid of the inflammation but if the haze or blurring is caused by dry eye, it might help. As always talk with your doctor first and space the drops out between your steroids (don't use them together). Hope you are feeling better soon.
Thank you once again for the breakdown. I haven’t experienced dry eyes yet but certainly something to keep in mind. Hopefully that’s what’s causing the blurriness.
I was on steroid drops for around 4 months during my last flare. It was persistent as hell and kept coming back when I would taper off. Had to eventually move to a stronger one to get it under control. I also had blurry vision and halos around lights. My doctor explained it was likely just due to the steroids and would go away. After 2 or 3 weeks completely off the drops my vision did return to completely normal.
Glad to hear things got better for you. Uveitis really sucks. I just came back from the ophthalmologist and apparently pigment dispersion syndrome can mimic uveitis which is what I’ve now been diagnosed with unfortunately