I went to my ophthalmologist today for my annual eye exam and to chat with him about TED (which I was told by the scheduler that he treats.) My concerns were a little swelling in my upper left eyelid, which is causing the lid to droop onto my lashes. Not noticeable when wearing glasses, but it bugs me. The same eye feels irritated and dry. My eyes are blurry off and on, first one then the other. Really bugs me when reading.

What I found out is that (surprise!) this doc does not treat TED, nor has he seen a patient with TED for quite some time. He said he doesn't think I have it and there's nothing that could be done at this point if I do. I have no idea if I have it, I was really more curious than worried, but I figure he really has no clue if I did! He said my endo would be the one to ask about TED.

He did suggest a warm compress over my eyes at bedtime and then massaging my lids to increase the release of oils that will naturally lubricate my eyes. He also says that my vision in my left eye has changed more than the right, which accounts for the blurriness.

So I'm not quite sure what to make of it all. I'll get a new pair of glasses (haven't had a change in 2 years) and see if that helps. I'm feeling tired today. Hoped to get more done, but ran out of steam. I hope this fatigue doesn't mean I'm getting hypo. I just need to wait for the labs.

Thanks for listening!

Amy

Hi Amy, well, you tried to be sure your eye doc was familiar with TED. It is not correct that the endo is the go-to person if you have TED. But, as you plan to do, take it a step at a time, get the new RX for your glasses, and maybe that will be the end of your eye troubles. Sometimes, and quite frequently, Graves' people have minor eye symptoms, dry eyes, itchy eyes, etc., and warm packs really do help, as well as some eye drops without preservatives. There is plenty that can be done if a person has TED, but in the active phase, it primarily treating the symptoms, as I described above, plus wearing sun glasses when the sun and bright light bothers your eyes. I hope you are not hypo, but that can be resolved, too. Unfortunately, everything with TEd and Graves' takes TIME.

If you have increased eye symptoms, I can suggest a referral to a doc who does not TED, send a PM.

I hope your glasses make a huge difference in a positive way, and that is the answer.
Shirley

Hi, Shirley–

Thanks so much for your post! Yeah, I was rolling my eyes when he was talking about who to see about TED when he doesn't even know much, if anything, about it. But like you said, at least I got a new Rx for glasses and we'll see if that helps. I'll take in my Rx tomorrow, and hopefully will have them soon.

The hard part about warm packs and massage is that I usually fall asleep watching TV (I work late and can't fall asleep right when I get home.) I wonder if doing this in the morning instead will help the same? I can see relaxing with a cup of tea when I first get up!

Macular degeneration runs in my family, although I have no signs of that at all, so I always try to wear sunglasses to limit my UV exposure if I'm outside when it's bright. When I got my eyes dilated yesterday I had to wear them even inside the house for a while.

I'm not the most patient person in the world, and I felt bad for decades with many, many hypo symptoms that doctors wouldn't treat, although I had antibodies for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, because my labs were “normal.” Finally was treated and felt like I understood how other people managed to get anything done. To then turn around and less than 2 years later find out I was hyper and with Graves antibodies has been tough for me. I don't like how the Methimazole makes me feel, even if it's reduced the hyper symptoms, because I've lost so much energy. The last month has seemed like an eternity waiting for my labs to get drawn in another 2 weeks.

I know I'm very lucky to not have major Graves symptoms, but I did have major Hashimoto's symptoms and truly I'd rather feel a little hyper than hypo!

Anyway, thanks for listening to me rant, Shirley. You've been very kind.

Amy