when I got diagnosed in December, the rheumy asked if I had a problem with dry eyes and dry mouth. I did have a problem with my left eye and tried Restasis which helped some--had I known, this could have been a first sign of RA. Often wondered why my mouth got so dry as well and now I know that it's not the meds, it's the disease. Best of luck - have a good day

Yes Terri... dry eyes come with the RA territory. Aren't we lucky? My eye doctor has me using non-prescriptive drops (I use Systane Ultra) 2-3 times a day and says to use warm cloths on them as well.

Good luck..

Nancy

Sorry, me too. I used to live in my contacts, now I can only stand them for a few hours a day! Hope you find some relief! God Bless!

I'm also contact-free nowadays due to the joys of RA and dry eyes - I also use Systane Ultra rec. by my eye dr.

I also have to use Systane-Balance for dry eyes. I did try Restasis but it didn't do much at all.

For the itching my GP told me to wet tea bags and lay them on my eyes for a few minutes...it works, don't know why but it does.

I, too, have dry eyes. My opthomologist recommended--in addition to drops--that I take at least 2000mg of omega oil per day. It helps the dry eyes and it's also good for your heart.

Yep, me too. I had the tear duct plugs put in in January. They work pretty good. I don't need to use the eye drops as much now. I had no idea that dry eyes was another symptom of ra. I am on other meds for different ailments that also cause dry eyes, dry mouth. I am constanly drinking water.

Terri,
I am an RA sufferer as well as an optometrist. As others said, dry eye is very common with RA. If you are also having dry mouth, you may have Sjogren's syndrome as well. Several things you can do: 1) drink plenty of water 2) cut out the caffeine, which is a diuretic and leaches fluid out of your body 3) try artificial tears, which are over the counter. I like Systane Balance or Soothe XP. You must use 4x/day, whether or not you are feeling dry at the time. 4)1200 mg of fish oil (Omega 3) supplements per day are helpful - takes about 4 weeks to see any improvement, however. 5) if no improvement after 1 month with these steps, you can get punctal plugs put into your tear ducts. This allows more tears to stay in the eye, and less to be washed from the eye. Other option is the prescription Restasis, which is used 2x/day, like an artificial tear drop. It is quite expensive, however, and again takes about 1 mo to get any relief and doesn't work for everyone. Hope this helps!
Lora

Eyemailme -

THANKS so much for all of that info!! I currently only use my eyedrops when they are really dry, not regularly

Tortoiselover,
Also, make sure your drops are artificial tears, and not any "gets the red out drops" like Visine or Murine as well. Most people want to use them only when symptomatic but they really need to be used regularly to stay ahead of the dryness!
Lora

I put posting up not so long ago when one eye in particular sore - as it turned out I had a minute piece of metal embedded in eyeball! Heavens knows how it got there as I wear specs...But couple of replies made me realise there are nasties that come with RA. 'If only we only had RA"???? This word Sjogrens has begun to crop up and I do get dry mouth as well as eyes not best and I take fish oil tablets too.....Hope the eye drops help you and it is not Sjogrens or any other freebie extras from our You-Know-Who companion...

I am going to try the Systane Ultra Eye Drops. I don't go back to my RA doctor for 2 months. I did put the artificial tears in twice today and my eyes feel much better tonight. I keep fighting a D___ fungus infection. Everytime I think I have it controlled it pops up in a different place. I am getting so tired of all the "surprises" this lovely disease presents us with.