When I was first diagnosed with UC I know my doctor told me to keep up with an eye doctor due to having IBD. Not sure how true this is. Has anyone experienced dramatic changes on eye sight? I had 20 20 vision then the past two years I started to notice decrease. The last few months has gotten worse. Have another appointment with eye doc but wanted to see if this is common with IBD or maybe unrelated.
Thanks in advance!
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@Scott21, it may be unrelated, but seeing a doctor about any changes in vision is always wise as you’re doing. In my case I was encouraged to see an ophthalmologist when I had active UC because the prednisone I was on at the time is associated with eye problems including increased ocular pressure which I did indeed develop and required treatment with prescription medication to prevent permanent damage to the optic nerve. So it didn’t affect my vision but did affect the health of my eyes, and it was connected not with the underlying disease but with the medication used to treat it. Once I stopped prednisone my eye pressure returned to normal.
Hope this helps and best of luck!
Around 10 years ago, while still in my 40s, I was diagnosed with Central Serous Retinopathy, CSR, the cause of which is unknown, but may be tied to autoimmune disorder. It's a condition in which fluid builds up near the retina:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320606
What characterizes CSR is a sudden vision loss. I recall what happened pretty vividly. I went into a restaurant one day, asked for a menu, and I could not read it. It was blurry. It was totally sudden and confusing to me. I saw an opthamologist, who in turn referred me to a retinal specialist. The retinal specialist did a dye test- I was injected with a dye and then my eyes were photographed once the dye passed through my veins. I reviewed the laser photos with the retinal specialist. They showed assorted pockets of fluid, which she called "blisters" of fluid. And they were close to my retina. They were causing the blurriness.
She explained there were two possible treatments, one is to do nothing, and eventually the blisters hopefully will seal themselves and resolve, and the other is to do a laser surgery to burn out the fluid blisters. She was reluctant to do the laser for blisters too close to the retina as she said it was risky. And in my case I elected to await resolution and they did resolve.
Scott if you are male and age 30-50, this is the high risk group for CSR. I was 47 when diagnosed. The good news is that in my case it was temporary and went away with time. But this is what could be going on here. Good luck with your appointment.
