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Does this sound like iritis?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 1/12/2011 2:04 AM (GMT 0)
I can't tell if I'm being paranoid or if I really should be worried. I've never had any eye problems with IBD. Today one of my eyes is red and dry and it hurts and I've got a headache on that side of my head near the eye. The other eye is a bit red and dry, but it doesn't hurt. I was having trouble focusing on a book this morning (although it was fine w/out my glasses)

I am getting over a cold, so at first I thought it was just that, but it feels a bit different. Then I started reading about iritis, and it sounds like you can go blind from it (how long does that take?).

We are having a big snowstorm tonight and practically everything is shut down already for tomorrow. I did email my doc, who hopefully will get it.

Any help would be appreciated.
Posted 1/12/2011 2:28 AM (GMT 0)
I think check it out if you're worried. It might be scleritis or a few other things. There's one - that I think is irititis - that my doctor said you'd definitely know if you had, because it hurts like billy-o.
Posted 1/12/2011 3:04 AM (GMT 0)
I had iritis and had extreme sensitivity to light. I could barely keep my eye opened in normal light...with sunglasses on.

I have no clue how long after getting it you can go blind (in fact, didn't even know that was a possibility) because I went within hours of waking up to my doctor, and started eyedrops later that day.

Hopefully your doctor calls or emails you back.

BTW, stop reading online...it'll just freak you out more. :)
Posted 1/12/2011 5:38 AM (GMT 0)
Becky, ain't that the truth. Thanks for the quick responses. I actually heard back right away from the Nurse Practitioner who works with my doctor -- she said to either go to the emergency room (at Mass Eye and Ear) tonight or to get an urgent care appointment tomorrow. Since we're expecting a big storm, I thought I better go tonight. Long wait, and I'm exhausted, but it's viral conjunctivitis, in both eyes, so not IBD related at all, just a pain.... Everyone there said I was right to come in .... although it's hard to fully feel that when it turns out to have not been an emergency at all (but that's a good thing).
Posted 1/12/2011 10:00 AM (GMT 0)
I suffer with iritis and Ivy is right the pain is excruciating! I am normally on steroid eye drops as well as antibiotic eye drops when it flares and its a major throbbing pain to the point that my eyes couldn't bare any light with out the pain being horrible. Def get off to your doc and get a referral to an eye specialist. Let us know how you go
Doreen
Posted 1/12/2011 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
Glad you got to the doc and found out what was going on. Hopefully within a day and a couple doses of drops you'll be good as new!
Posted 1/12/2011 6:47 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks.... I was a bit daunted when at midnight last night the nurse was telling me I had to change my pillowcases and towels every day, wash down all surfaces with bleach, get two different bottles of eye drops to not cross-contaminate my eyes, etc.... I thought yes, with a flare going on, a cold, and a few other things, this will be a great addition to my life.... but I'm doing the best I can. Amazing how much better the symptoms got when I knew for sure that they weren't serious.
Posted 1/12/2011 9:00 PM (GMT 0)
I was gonna say it sounds like pink eye. Glad you got it checked out though, eyes are never something to mess with! My son has gotten pink eye after or during a cold before. No fun. But at least it's not Crohn's related. Funny how that's always the first thing we have to worry about isn't it?
Posted 1/12/2011 10:19 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, it's so hard to balance between probably just the cold, no big deal, and then just knowing how quickly Crohn's related things can explode.... well, I'd rather feel a little silly for going to the ER late at night for pink eye, than minimize something serious and do damage to my eyes....

Also, Doreen and Becky, sorry you have to deal with the iritis. It sounds awful.
Posted 1/20/2011 9:56 PM (GMT 0)
I just wanted to follow up on this -- so in the last few days I've become extremely sensitive to light (need to wear sunglasses inside, and it still hurts). I asked my primary doc if this was normal for conjunctivitis, and she said no, I should go back to an opthamologist. Got an appointment today, and he took one look and said it wasn't conjunctivitis -- it's something called marginal keratitis. He said in 30 years he's never seen it in anyone with IBD, but it could very well be related, as it's inflammatory ... pronounced me medically interesting.... I would prefer to be so medically boring that my doctors fall asleep thinking about how ordinary my symptoms are....

The good news is that I have steroid/antibiotic drops and he said I should feel significant relief within a few days.

He said I wasn't misdiagnosed a week and a half ago.... that it just hadn't fully presented yet.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.
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