• Welcome to Crohn's Forum, a support group for people with all forms of IBD. While this community is not a substitute for doctor's advice and we cannot treat or diagnose, we find being able to communicate with others who have IBD is invaluable as we navigate our struggles and celebrate our successes. We invite you to join us.

Crohn's & Neurological Issues

I was wondering, has anyone ever noticed neurological issues associated with their Crohn's?

Lately, I've been getting a lot of headaches. I mean, I've also had chronic sinus issues my whole life, so I kinda just wrote it off as sinusitis. So I took some antibiotics, but they didn't really help much...I suppose it could also be seasonal allergies giving me sinus headaches. The thing is, I also have a history of migraines. And I've had a few weird episodes:

Upon waking up sometimes, when I stand up to move, my vision will just completely darken; I'll be pretty much blind, and I'll feel like I'm gonna pass out. Sometimes this will go away as quickly as it comes on, but other times it has been worse. A few times, it's taken longer for that to go away, and I'd get feeling of pressure in my head, like someone was squeezing it inside. And my ears would start ringing. And my heart rate would increase, and I'd break out into a sweat. And then finally, I vomit, and it all just goes away. Pretty weird, huh?

I went to the doctor about it, and he tested me for orthostatic hypotension (decrease in blood pressure when you change body position) and your basic neurological battery. He told me it was just migraines. Yeah sure. :S I haven't had an episode like this in months, but I keep getting headaches and blurry vision.

Just wondering, has anyone else had unexplained neurological phenomena like this?
 
i get headaches all the time and i have sinus problems too. they are always stuffed and my nose has sores in it. lots of post nasasl drip too.

sometimes when i satnd up i do black out, sometimes totally and sometimes only partially. this is worse when i am more anemic. when my bloods are good, then this symptom is better.
however mine doesnt get as bad as you descibe? enought to make you throw up? thats not a good symptom i think. just to be safe you could go see a neurologist. they could probably help

at any point do you ever have double vision?
 
Yeah, I've been thinking I should go to a neurologist if the headaches keep up and stuff. I've never really had double vision. Just blurry vision quite often, and those few instances of momentary blindness...they were pretty freaky. But yeah, my uncle died of brain cancer. I hope it doesn't run in the family. @_@

It's always possible that it's because of anemia, like you said though. For some reason, I've always had kinda low iron, and it's obviously much worse when I'm flaring. I shouldn't have stopped taking my iron supp, I bet. =X
 
Sounds like it could be a blood pressure issue rather than neurological... but best to speak to the doc, as he/she might be able to link the various symptoms and send you for the right tests or treatment.
I have peripheral neuropathy, which causes some mobility issues. It's a genetic thing, but don't know if it's related to crohns.
I have also had (very rarely, and hopefully never again) ocular migraines... which is a very funky way to spend an hour... if it wasn't so scary.
And finally... currently suffering from a recurrence of labyrinthitis, which causes intense dizziness and disorientation. Now this could be due to neurological reasons, or even from stiffness in the neck causing a lack of blood to parts of the brain (I believe) but in my case is likely to be an inflammation in the inner ear (the most common cause)
Sorry to hit you with all those conditions... but as I said, I'm not sure if any of it is related to crohns, or even if the separate conditions are linked... but it's important to get checked out in case it's part of a bigger picture
 
I get the feeling very faint, blacking out, seeing stars thing when I stand up sometimes, it really is a pain. I've not mentioned it to my doctor yet but really I think I should. I reckon you should go over your symptoms and problems with your doctor again, best be on the safe side. I mean what is going on with you doesn't seem normal and it's not something you should just have to live with.

I did also have a problems with what doctors originally thought was sinusitis, turns out it's something called patulous eustachian tube and it was caused by weight loss associated with Crohn's. I'm scheduled for surgery in the next couple of months to get this sorted, apparently they try to add padding to the eustachian tube to help it close.
 
Top