[Ski]

#1065701

The doctor you need for your eyes is an ophthalmologist, and hopefully one associated with ASOPRS (http://www.asoprs.org), because they have specific training on the issues faced by someone with Thyroid Eye Disease. It’s referred to as Thyroid Eye Disease because it occurs along with thyroid conditions, but it is not caused, or worsened, by your hyperthyroid condition. It is closely related, and as a matter of fact, until relatively recently, TED was most often known as Graves’ Eye Disease. They started finding it along with Hashimoto’s and other thyroid conditions, so they officially changed the name to better reflect its incidence in the population overall.

So, see an ophthalmologist, that’s the right doctor to deal with your eyes.

You still need an endo to deal with your hyperthyroid condition, but they are NOT the experts on the eye disease, and you would not be well served getting advice only from them on that. They may well have a good deal of information on TED, and they probably have patients who have experienced it, but there is a lot going on in the field of TED treatment right now, so you want to make sure you’re dealing with the professionals who are most current in their information.

[countryprincess]

#1018559

Two months ago my physician looked in my eyes with the scope thing and said that my hyperthyroid is now affecting my eyes… i didnt think anything of it until now…. because my right eye as of today hurts like hell. Their is nothing stuck in it, like an eye lash or anything. It just feels dry and it hurts when I blink. It feels sore. Like the muscle surrounding my eye is worn out and sore. IDK how else to best describe it. My left eye has slight soreness but its nothing compared to my right eye. Im going to schedule myself an appointment tomorrow to talk to my physician about getting a referral to an endo because of my Graves’ and hyperthyroid. Im also going to talk to her because, well my insurance doesn’t cover an eye doctor so Im going to ask my physician if she can write my insurance company about my situation and see if they can please please please cover eye care. Trying not to cry from the pain. Talk to ya all later.

[Bobbi]

#1065702

Don’t panic — many of us get "some" eye muscle changes with Graves. Most of us do not get horrid eye disease. That said, Thyroid Associated Opthamopathy is a DISEASE of the eyes and insurance companies should pay for you to see an opthamologist about it. They will not, typically, pay for optometrists or oculists so that we can get our glasses, or get routine glaucoma tests, etc., but this "should" be different. Who knows, really. It makes me furious when my insurance company tries to act like it is a doctor. It was one of the things I was hoping would change with health care reform. Nevertheless, you need to be seen by an opthamologist. Endos do not, cannot treat the eye disease. My own insurance company, long ago when my eye disease was active, tried to tell me that I had to see an optometrist for it. I suggested to them that next, they would be making shamen or other none MDs the "gatekeepers" to their clients medical needs. The idiots. They paid for my opthamologist, but I switched companies at the first possible moment.

Next. If your eyes are feeling dry, and hurting with it, you need to be using artificial tear drops. A huge percentage of us with Graves have to do this. For whatever reason, thyroid disease can change the consistency of our tears. They become more watery, less viscous, and do not sit on the eye long enough to truly lubricate it. The eye dries out, even though we can be seeing lots more tears than usual. The type of drop we need is readily available in drug stores and supermarkets (typically). It is not the "get the red out" type of drop, nor is it the type of drop that is used for allergies. There are several different brands, and they are "artificial tears." There is a couple of daytime formulas — drops and gels. And there is a night-time formula that has the consistency of petroleum jelly. Our eyes sometimes will not close properly at night, so while we sleep the eyes can REALLY dry out, and the thicker goop helps more than the drops do. We are usually told to use the type of drop that comes in single dose dispensers, which contain no preservatives. The preservatives can aggravate the eyes, making things seem worse. It is important, however, to use something because dry eyes can make it more likely that the cornea can become damaged. I got something in my eye one morning, and it took forever for it to heal, because dry eyes do not heal as well as normal eyes do. So, please keep your eyes well lubricated.

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