Eye problems and celiac

[Sandra Spradling]

Can celiac disease cause eye problems like floaters and abnormal visual changes?  

[knitty kitty]

Eye problems can result from vitamin and mineral deficiencies which result from the malabsorption associated with Celiac Disease.   

Here are some articles that might be of interest....

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4768497/#!po=18.9655

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4039400/

Hope this helps!

[cyclinglady]

I agree with Knitty Kitty. On a gluten free diet, those eye issues should resolve with time and healing.  But know, that you can develop more than one autoimmune disorder.  See your doctor if you have been diagnosed for a while and have adhered to a gluten free diet.  It might be something else, like MS, Graves or Crohn’s.  

 

[knitty kitty]

I am legally blind due to vitamin deficiencies associated with Celiac Disease.  

[cyclinglady]

10 minutes ago, knitty kitty said:

I am legally blind due to vitamin deficiencies associated with Celiac Disease.  

I am sorry.  Where you diagnosed legally blind before your celiac disease diagnosis?  No chance of improvement?  
 

My eyes were wacky before my diagnosis.  I had a hard time driving at night.  I confess, without glasses, I am legally blind.  I can not see the “E” on the eye chart (20/200).   Within that first year of healing, the night blindness went away. I had to have glasses/contact prescription changed as my vision improved twice that first year and now my eyes are stable.  Not sure if was due to celiac disease or my Hashimoto’s which was swinging wildly (hypo, hyper) the year I was diagnosed with celiac disease.  Definitely, autoimmune.  I also have ocular rosacea which makes it harder to wear contacts.  Thank goodness contacts  are thin and can now fix astigmatism.

I wish my teeth were able to absorb minerals, but they are damaged permanently, like my thyroid.  
 

Hey, off the topic, but were you able to get your roof repaired to you liking?  If I recall you had a nice metal roof, but had some leaks.

[knitty kitty]

Yes, I did get my metal roof repaired!  And the squirrels are out of the attic, too! 

I had near sightedness, but I developed optic head swelling due to thiamine deficiency (described in that second article) during a Celiac Crisis.  By the time the doctors figured out what was going on and I got the official Celiac diagnosis, it was too late, the damage is permanent.  

I can see the big E on the chart if my nose is touching it.  😸

 

 

[cristiana]

14 hours ago, Sandra Spradling said:

Can celiac disease cause eye problems like floaters and abnormal visual changes?  

Hi Sandra

I had strange visual stuff going on before diagnosis.  I had one episode of double vision with temporary loss of peripheral vision that worried my doctor.  I was sent for eye tests but due to a long waiting list wasn't seen for months.  The eyes passed A1 by the time I saw someone.

On reflection, I wonder if it was a type of type of migraine.

Since then I've been put on a regular eye test programme, by way of a precaution.

Before diagnosis I started to get and still occasionally get hypnopompic hallucinations which means I see things on waking, very briefly  - usually patterns.  Usually only when I wake up in a bright room.  My hairdresser (coeliac) also gets these, and my sister too (who isn't a coeliac).  I have had brain scans and all normal.  It has been suggested it is possibly tied in with aura migraines, which I first got with my first pregnancy.

I also have visual migraines affecting one or both eyes without pain.  My centre vision goes sparkly or looks light a heatwave or as if water is going down glass.  Lasts for about quarter of an hour.  Seems to be triggered by peering at black and white lettering, small screens (can't use a mobile), or neck position.  

What has improved is my night vision.  Much better than it was.  

I have had floaters since a child but they are a bit worse now.   I also get flashes but I think this is all to do with ageing.

Not sure if you have any of this and how much I can blame on being a coeliac. 

C.

 

 

 

[Awol cast iron stomach]

I have a floater that develops with nutritional deficiency. This also causes my vision/prescription  to change get more blurry until I heal. I am nearsided. When I heal up, avoid cc, and maintain nutrition my floater subsides . I also during my gluten challenge and those damaged months after got ocular migraines. Ouch.

[knitty kitty]

I also get Opthalmic Migraines or Ocular migraines. 

Here's an article that explains....

https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/understanding-ocular-migraine/

Triggers include computer screens.  My ophthalmologist said the flashing or refreshing of computer and tablet screens are registered by the optic nerve, overwhelms it, and it shuts down, resulting in loss of peripheral vision or visual field disturbances like flashing lights or zigzag patterns. 

[Posterboy]

On 6/27/2020 at 6:05 PM, Sandra Spradling said:

Can celiac disease cause eye problems like floaters and abnormal visual changes?  

Sandra,

Take you some Riboflavin.....with meals.....I had your problem(s) once upon a time...an Enzymic B-Vitamin might bee good to take too....since B-Vitamins work synergistically...

You might find sunlight is hard on your eyes as well....Riboflavin helps protects our eyes from UV light and why looking into the sunlight (NOT the sun) can cause someone issues when they are are low in Riboflavin....

It is also why it will turn your Urine into Florescent "Glowing Pee"...when you have taken enough Riboflavin....this might take two or three days to notice a color change in our urine....but after 2 or 3 months it will "Glow"....a sign your body is no longer absorbing the Riboflavin you are taking....but bypassing it through the kidneys...

My eyes used to burn, itch, have floaters..and was bothered by the sun....taking Riboflavin reversed these symptom's...

It is the first signs of a cataract....catching it early....can help you keep them at bay....

Here is some links about this connection....

https://www.webeyeclinic.com/vitamins-for-eyes/symptoms-of-riboflavin-deficiency

they (doctor's) actually use Riboflavin eye drops to treat corneal problems...I would prefer to take a supplement before I needed the eye drops...and let my body tell me when I have had enough....

see this research entitled "Riboflavin for Corneal Cross-Linking"

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27458610/

It can help your migraines too!

See this research entitled "Riboflavin and migraine: the bridge over troubled mitochondria"

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-014-1755-z

But most doctor's will tell you don't need Vitamins....but they use them-self's to help you treat your cornea problems...

Go figure...

I have a friend in IRL...I am trying to help now....but he won't listen....maybe you will...

Research it some for yourself....don't believe me.....but this is a good place to start!

I can only tell you Riboflavin helped me!

I Hope this is helpful but it is not medical advice.

Posterboy,

[Kate333]

I have had some same things others describe, esp. floaters and visual "aura" (VA) or "hallucinations". 

I am very nearsighted (NS) and have noticed/been annoyed by floaters most of my adult life.  I never had VA before until twice last year (once in Sept. another in Dec.).  Both times it came suddenly.  The first time I was so scared, I ran across the street in total panic mode, pounded on my neighbor's door at dusk and begged him to drive me to the ER; I feared stroke and didn't want to drive alone.😵  Mine looked exactly as Cristiana described.  Here's a picture:   https://www.pinterest.com/pin/166492517444760961

The neighbor laughed and said, "Oh yes... Relax, sit down and rest....I've had those...They're only visual 'migraines' and will quickly go away".  He was right.  Thankfully, it only lasted 15-20 min. and have never recurred.  Extreme stress can be definite triggers.  Mine didn't include headaches/no hx of migraines.   

Another common issue is Posterior Vitreous Detachment (PVD), very normal part of aging process that causes floaters and flashing lights.  See https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/hw187090#:~:text=Posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) happens,you are 40 or 50.  

The only other weird vision issue I have noticed, post-celiac disease diagnosis, is seeing very small visual field "snow-like" mists for a few seconds, but only when walking from a dark/low-light indoors room outdoors into bright sunlight.  It rapidly appears, then disappears when I blink, adjust to the bright sun.  It reminds me of how mist looks, evaporating on a car windshield in winter after the heater/defroster is turned on.  I ran to the eye doc the first time that happened and my retinas again were fine. 

My "only other" sense issues are really bad tinnitus/noise sensitivity.  I have had very acute noise sensitivity all my life (HSP since childhood).  But tinnitus occurred shortly after celiac disease diagnosis.  That one's a real nuisance (sounds like a constant freight train in my head) because nothing I do seems to reduce it.  It's worse at night without other "normal day" noise distractions.  Not sure if it's celiac disease or anxiety-linked.  

The best advice I have is to make sure you get regular, thorough eye exams (incl. dilation of eyes and view of retinas) every year and esp. as soon as you notice new/sudden symptoms.