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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 4/8/2010 2:03 PM (GMT 0)
Anyone have this? What is it like? My eyes have been bothering me off and on for months and I'm wondering if it could be UC related.
Posted 4/8/2010 2:29 PM (GMT 0)
Get yourself to an Ophthalmologist-It could be Uveitis which can cause blindness. Don't want to alarm you but get in quick. Google Uveitis for info.
Posted 4/8/2010 5:00 PM (GMT 0)
yeah .. that is happening to me now , it cause me a lot of headache . i cant see well with my left eye .i hope it is not uc related disease ,I'm going to see Ophthalmologist as fast as possible ...
Posted 4/8/2010 5:39 PM (GMT 0)
     Yes, it most definitely could be UC related.  I have my eyes examined every year by an opthamologist.  Go ASAP
Posted 4/8/2010 5:53 PM (GMT 0)
Yes it could be. I have Uveitis flare ups every couple of years. Uveitis causes you eye to hurt, sometimes swell, look red, can cause blurred vision, headaches and your eye can also become sensitive to bright lights... It can cause permanent eye damage if not treated quickly. It is linked to UC for many people. Mine always clears up within a few weeks of pred eye drops which is topical and causes no side effects for the rest of your body. The Uveitis is actually much easier for me to treat and control flares than the UC. Best of luck!
Posted 4/8/2010 6:09 PM (GMT 0)
Yes UC can cause eye problems such as uvietis and iritis but it's usually pretty clear that is the case.  Your eyes would be pretty red.  There are a few cases where it can be hard to diagnose and even opthamologists have a hard time diagnosing it.  So I would still see a local opthamologist but if he/she suspects an inflammatory eye process like iritis and uvietis you have to go see an eye doctor which specialty training.  A world renowned one is Stephen Foster M.D.  He has an excellent internet site and there is tons of information on this stuff.  Even if you don't see him he has trained many eye doctors in this stuff.

Do you have dry eyes, have you developted floaters?  I recently developed dry eye and have been examined by 3-4 different eye doctors and they all are in agreement that UC can be the culprit for many of the eye conditions that we UC'ers complain about.  Then again people without UC can develop dry eye, sensitivity to light and get eye floaters.

Hope this helps,

MyUC

Posted 4/8/2010 6:59 PM (GMT 0)
     My eyes have been pretty red in the past couple of days but the pollen here has been awful!!!  So, don't know whether it is from the UP, prednisone, lack of sleep or allergies or all of the above.  I bought some Bausch & Lomb advanced eye relief for redness.  My eyes aren't sore and I don't have any blurred vision.  Had my eyes tested in Oct and they have not deteriorated since the previous year, thank God!  All the prednisone use and flairs have at least spared them another year.  My glasses didn't need any change.
Posted 4/8/2010 7:13 PM (GMT 0)

Scary stuff. I have had some floaters. But they are also itchy, so I was wondering about allergies too. I didn't see anything about itchiness along with uveitis. I did see an optometrist not that long ago. Is it something he would have picked up on? He just gave me a sample of new contact solution.

Posted 4/8/2010 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
To answer your question as best as I can I would venture to say yes.  Any good optometrist whose worth anything should be able to pick up uvietis and iritis and most things associated with UC.  Did you have your eyes dilated and have your retina looked at and posterior chamber?  If you were dilated your optometrist would be able to examine these things.  My optometrist does a more thorough exam than most of the M.D.s I have seen.  He spend about 30-40 minutes looking at me.  Not his assistants, just him.  Assuming the optometrist is decent he would make the appropriate referral to the opthamologist if they caught something. 

So my answer is yes if were dilated and you think your optometrist takes his/her time.  Have you had any flashes of light or distorted vision?  Personally for me I see an optometrist and an opthamologist, each once a year just to make me feel better, 6 months apart.

Again, uvietis and iritis is hard to miss, your eyes would be very red.  Allergies this time of year are notorious.

Hope this helps,

MyUC

Posted 4/8/2010 7:51 PM (GMT 0)
An Opthamologist will be much better at diagnosing Uveitis but if your eyes were giving you problems back in October the Optometrist should have noticed. If you do have Uveitis and your eye/eyes were not flaring when you had your October appointment they likely would not have noticed anything wrong. Like MyUC I see both an Opthamologist and Optometirst once a year but I have a history or Uveitis. My uveitis actually showed up years before my UC. I also agree whith MyUC that your eye or eyes would be red and painful. I have never experienced itching with Uveitis. Itching may be indicative of allergies or even an eye infection though so I would still get it checked.
Posted 4/8/2010 8:18 PM (GMT 0)
Actually I have no redness and very little pain with my Uveitis. First my jaw hurts for a couple of days(there is a lymph node right in front of your ear) and then my eyes cloud over. The prednisone drops work wonders as do the dilating drops at night. (xcept being dilated most of the time makes for interesting driving). My daughter bursts out laughing when I wear my cataract shades.
Posted 4/8/2010 9:04 PM (GMT 0)
Nate - love the shades! I only had to do the dialation drops once - other times mine has been treated with pred drops only.
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