NEW members, post here first!

[Mrs. P]

Hi All!
My name is Missy and I live in MA.  I'm 29 years old and was diagnosed with JRA when I was 8 years old.  When I was younger, I was very sick with this disease and was even in a wheelchair at one point.  However, with the help of some amazing medications (i.e. Enbrel), my arthritis has been under control for the past 10 years.  I'm not currently a mom, or even pregnant but my husband and I will be trying to start a family sometime in the near future.  I want to educate myself on everything from what to expect during my pregnancy, to tips, tricks and products to make my life a little easier when raising children.  This website looks like it has a wealth of infomation and I am very excited to have found it.

Thanks so much! 

[cavandad]

Hi Missy!

I'm glad you found us!  Did you see the main part of our site at momswithra.org?  You may find some useful information there too.  I'm so glad to hear Enbrel is working well for you.  Please feel free to write some more and let us know how things are going.  If you have anything to add to the tips and tricks, we'd sure love to hear about it!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Lori
MomsWithRA.org

[Camijo]

Hi!  My name is Camille and I was diagnosed a couple of months ago with RA. 

A question that I have is: does RA affect your vision?  I just had my vision checked back in February and the doctor said that it had not changed much in the past year.  Since my checkup, I have noticed that my vision has gotten worse.  Does this sound familiar?

Thanks,

Camille

[Mrs. P]

Hi Camille!

I dont know if RA causes vision problems, but i DO know that some arthritis medication can cause vision problems.  for instance, i'm on Plaquenel and that can cause damage to your vision so i have to get my eyes checked every 6 months to make sure there are no changes.

I dont know what types of medication you're being prescribed now that you've been diagnosed, but you may wanna look to see if any of your meds list "loss of vision" as side effects...

I hope this helps :-)

[cavandad]

Hi Camille,

I've never heard of RA doing anything to vision, although that doesn't mean it can't.  Some medications can affect vision (you should have your eyes checked for glaucoma when on hydroxychloroquine).  Other drugs I'm not sure, but I'm sure you could looks your medications up online.

Now, with all of that said, I notice that I seem to have occasional temporary vision changes when my fatigue is really high.  I particularly notice this when I am off my typical schedule and am really tired.  This didn't seem to happen before my RA, but it could be aging too, I suppose (I'm 37).  It seems to be pretty significant (really hard to focus my eyes), but always resolves with a good night's sleep.

I hope that helps.  I'd check out your medications, then talk to your doctor.  Let us know if you find out anything.  It helps other moms looking for the same information.

Thanks for posting 

Lori
MomsWithRA.org

[cavandad]

Hi Camille,

Interesting that I just got an e-mail about future advances with RA.  One of the things it was talking about was better knowledge over which RA patients will develop further issues such as heart disease and eye problems.  Of course, it didn't way what KIND of eye problems.  I'm wondering if it was referring to Sjorgen's Syndrome (not sure I spelled that right).  That is another autoimmune condition that can affect the eyes.  I think it causes dry eyes/lack of tears and might be higher with RA patients.  I really really really think you should talk to your doc about any vision changes you are having.  Now I'm wondering (as I do) about what I don't know!  You might just need a simple phone call to ask. 

Lori

[irish]

Hi Camille

I have Psoriatic arthritis and i also have secondary sjorgens syndrome .  this causes extra joint pains and extremely dry eyes and sometimes - although i don't have it - dry mouth and nose.  i have been told before than when your eyes are dry it can temporarily cause vision problems which i have found to be true.  i have plastic plugs in my lower tear ducts to keep the moisture in my eyes so it is more comfortable and also have to use eye drops just to lubricate my eyes.  you should maybe speak to your rheumy about it and see.

good luck
Denise

[Doxymee]

Hi everyone!, I didnt get the earlier note about posting here first when your new . Anywho my name is Deb and I have been diagnosed with RA for about 6 years now right aafter I had my first child. I have been on the plaquenil, and have noticed some slight eye changes myself, like Lori have excused it as age (39 and holding). I will surely ask my Rheumy about that also.

[cavandad]