Eye problems

Anyone heard or had their Crohn's disease impact their eyes
I just went to the eye doctor I have cataracts only 40-ish
I also have a problem with one of my cornea The doctor was talking about a cornea transplant very overwhelmed and depressed right now I was just diagnosed with Crohn's in August
I see the eye doctor every one or two years I've never had any previous issues just glasses and stigmatism

I've been having eye issues...inflammation mainly, some blurring. I am near sighted, have been since I was 8. I'm 40 now....diagnosed with crohns in September and RA in October. I have an eye appt for a few weeks from now.
Hugs to you. So scary!!!!

Hi ye its seems that eye issues can be a troublesome side issue of crohn's. Like we need anything else to cope with. Iv been having itchy eyelids n wondering if it is crohn's related. Probably not but who knows with this disease ...going to try n find out the cause as soon as i get chance.. best of luck to you n hope things improve for you . Take care

DS sees an opthamolologist every 2-3 months to Check for eye issues due to JSpA and Ibd
Plus hla-b27 positive
All can cause eye issues so regular check ups before things go south


Hope things improve for you

I have iritis at the moment, and lost about 60% of my vision. I had my eyes checked at the end of September, and all was fine. Then, in early November, noticed that I was having problems reading. Things were blurry. It came on very suddenly and aggressively. The ophthalmologist has me putting eye drops in every hour, and taking prednisone with the hope of restoring my vision to what it was.

If you feel any changes to your vision, you have to get it checked out. If I'd waited another week, the ophthalmologist thinks I might have lost much more vision and that it might have been permanent because of the scar tissue that forms from inflammation.

Just a cautionary tale!

Take good care,

Kismet

Sorry you have this trouble. Hope the meds help. Take care. Hugs

Big hugs
We were told any change in vision or sensitivity to light to bring Ds straight to the ER.
Thanks to your story now I understand why

Question...would the ophthalmologist or gastroenterologist be the one to see eye issues first??? My GI always checks my eyes but I go through a different health provider for eye care. I tell them I have IBD, but honestly I feel they know nothing about it. They just tell me I have dry eye and tell me what drops to use.

teeny5 said:

Question...would the ophthalmologist or gastroenterologist be the one to see eye issues first??? My GI always checks my eyes but I go through a different health provider for eye care. I tell them I have IBD, but honestly I feel they know nothing about it. They just tell me I have dry eye and tell me what drops to use.

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Hi teeny, most opticians are pretty good at detecting eye issues, but I guess it depends on how good they are. I would always check with Gi as well, as they will know what to look for in an IBD patient best. :hug:

When I noticed changes in my vision, I went to my family doctor, and she referred me straight away to the ophthalmologist. We didn't bother with the GI, and when I saw my GI, he was happy that I was seeing the ophthalmologist. Because this is iritis, it was important for the GI to know because it points to systemic inflammation and that Crohn's is active in my body. The GI is going to see how I respond to the eye treatments before looking to see if he wants me back on biologics.

My two cents would be that with eye problem, the priority would be to see the ophthalmologist, but to also keep the GI in the loop about it.

Take care,

Kismet

Another thing
Opticians are NOT opthamolologist .
Opticians do not have a medical degree .
They can be good with normal eye issues
But crohns patients need to see a medical doctor specializing in eye disease ( opthamolologist )
Good luck

Just put this in the other thread, but last year I saw an opthamologist due to having raised pressures in my eyes and not doing great at the field of vision test. My father has glaucoma so I'm at high risk of this.

I also have a stigmatism and wear glasses for that, though I can see fairly well without them.