Eye complications and headaches

[loves6]

I think my son has crohn's But he has not been diagnosed yet. His sister does have it. For a year he has head headaches. CT and MRI of head normal. Soon after he developed floaters in his eyes and sensitivity to sunlight. The eye doctor said he couldn't explain his symptoms. 3 Months ago he had an episode of bloody "infectious colitis" and recently more abdominal pain sent him back to the doc. Todays colonoscopy "looked OK" ( but final report with biopsy back in a week); 2 questions... Can symptoms of eye complications (uvritis ) present before bowel symptoms ?? can uvritis, or IBD associated inflamation in general, cause chronic headaches ?? ( he never had headaches before and before his sister was diagnosed she had headaches but I don't know if they were related)
He is feeling miserable and I am worried the docs are missing the boat here.. a
tx,
worried mom

 

[DustyKat]

Hi and :welcome:

So sorry to hear that your son is unwell.

My daughter was undiagnosed for 18 months and her symptoms didn't include the classic bowel ones so Crohns wasn't even on the radar. She went with a diagnosis of Abdominal Migraine for quite a while. Her main symptoms were vomiting, stomach pain, headaches, sore eyes and sore knees.

Everyone is different so I wouldn't rule it out. Has he had bloods done for inflammatory markers?

I say go with your gut feeling and pursue until it is either ruled in or out!

Good luck and keep us posted.

Take care, :hug:
Dusty

 

[Rebecca85]

A routine eye check up discovered 'lesions' in my eyes, about 4 weeks before I was hospitalised with my first Crohn's flare. I never did find out what the 'lesions' were, as by the time I saw the specialist I had been put on steroids, and the lesions had gone.

 

[Shake-N-Jake]

I actually had headaches and floaters bad not long before I got diagnosed! throw some anxiety in the mix as well! Got CT & MRI of head and was fine! After some blood work and an ultrasound which showed nothing the docs chalked it all up to anxiety! Well next thing you know I developed a severe case of iritis which finally got me a colonoscopy and my diagnosis!!!!!

 

[loves6]

This info is very helpful. Thank you all. I think we are finally on the right track. I just wish the eye doctor he saw earlier had had a little more of a clue. I have taken this info and sent him back for a second opinion for the eyes: hopefully he can get some relief before he has permanent damage. Thanks

 

[dannysmom]

Hi - I am sorry to hear your son does not feel well - but quite surprised to see so many also suffer with headaches and floaters. My son has a questionable diagnosis of Crohn's disease. He has been sick for over 2 years with fatigue, diarrhea, abdominal pain and lots of floaters. He has microscopic inflammation throughout his digestive tract. For the last 6 months he also has a constant headache too. We have not found anything to help with the headache and it is very hard for him to do school work with his tutors. Has anybody found any medications that helped with the headache?

 

[Sorbys]

3 Months ago he had an episode of bloody "infectious colitis"

Did your doctor diagnose this after an exam? Was your son on antibiotics, or is there probable cause to suspect he was exposed to Salmonella, or other problematic enteric bacteria (E. coli, Shigella, Campylobacter, etc.)?

It sounds fishy to me. When I was 13 I had two weeks of horrendous diarrhea that finally ended with cherry red blood and mucous (probably from internal hemorrhoids, looking back on it) and was scared I was developing Crohn's disease, but my mom assured me it was bacterial and would clear without incident. She was right, it did, and the horrible cramping diarrhea only happened after a two week round of harsh antibiotics. I still get diarrhea from friggin' antibiotics.

I'm undiagnosed with any IBD right now, but it's still a very real threat. I can tell you with confidence that headaches and gut problems are inseparable sisters; not only does the intestinal tract contain immense amounts of serotonin receptors and the like — a neurotransmitter often blamed as a major cause of migraines and stress headaches — but it's also loaded with lymph nodes. Any time my immune system is jacked up, I get headaches, as do many people.

Guts really are the 'second brain'. Or maybe the first, actually.

 

[AndiGirl]

I don't get the headaches, but I have been having a lot of floaters. Those are so annoying!

 

[Rebecca85]

Dannysmom- some people on here have had relief from drug- induced headaches with amitriptylline. it's actually an antidepressant but also works as a mild pain reliever, probably because of the way it effects serotonin.