[RhondaG4]

#1071632

Simon,
Hi once again. I’m not sure about the answer to your question. I have heard that Cannabis is used in Glacoma patients, but I am not sure for what reason, but I know Glacoma has to do with the eyes. Other then that I am clueless. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Maybe if you searched some Glacoma sites, you might get some answers????? Rhonda

[simonb]

#1019434

Hi everyone,

Let me preface this by saying (as I mentioned in my previous message) that I am a 20 year old male currently in university – I imagine not the typical Grave’s patient.

Anyway, my question is about smoking marijuana and Graves disease – I apologize if this offends anyone, but I read somewhere that "the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask", so:

I know that smoking exascerbates eye problems. Does anyone know if this is particular to cigarettes, or just to any kind of smoke inhalation? I image not a lot of studies have been done on this.

Also, what’s the verdict on second hand smoke? How vigilant should I be about avoiding it?

Thanks, and take care all – this board has been extremely informative and I will be perusing it for some time,

Simon

[mamabear]

#1071633

Simon, hello again.

I am not sure what others would say but I’d like to say this;
Not sure if you are asking out of curiosity or if it means you are going to have to give up "something". Either way I don’t want to know since it has no bearing on what I will say and it is a very good question in general since any form of smoking "I feel" can effect your eyes. Whether you have allergies, eye problems associated with Graves’ or Thyroid Eye either way you should avoid smoking in general and you should avoid smoke going into your eyes, including 2nd hand smoke. This isn’t coming from a person who never put a cigarette to her lips. I surely have, I smoked cigarettes for 10 years before quitting and it’s been almost 11 this coming August(yes I celebrate it) since I quit. (yes I smoked at a young age for those who know I’m 35). I’m not one of those reformed smokers that think that oh my you better quit or you’ll die. But I am one that has lost 3 wonderful men in my life due to the effects of smoking(cancer/emphazima).

So in answer to your question, yes I would stay away from smoking and smoke. It is an irritant and anything that irriates the eyes is a no no for Graves’ patients. That is what my eye dr. said. He is a pain in the butt and wont let me wear contacts because he said there was a chance that if my eyes were irritated that Thyroid Eye can happen and he didn’t want to disrupt anything since I haven’t had any issues with it. I have only wore glasses since I was 14, and being as old as I am I wanted to try contacts a few years ago. Eye dr. no, I thought about going to see a different one since I know it’s just my eye dr’s "opinion" and not a proven fact that it can irritate the eyes BUT I decided that he has known me far to long to lead me astray and I trust him so I stay with him and wont try contacts.

Not sure about cannabis for medicinal purposes, I haven’t read anything about it or researched it so i can’t help you there. But I can say that smoke and ANY irritant wont help our eyes so stay away from any forms of irritation to your eyes.

I know you are so young and you are a man who will eventually being caring for a wife and family in the future. I know it is hard to have something like this and you might think that this is "not in your plans" and why me. You will have to change your life in good ways to make sure you stay healthy. I know it might sound inconvenient to have to do this at 20 but making some changes can better your health and keep you strong in case your levels go nuts. Remember that you not only have Graves You have hypokalemic paralysis(HP) so I would keep in mind that a healthy life style and staying fit (but not over working your body due to the HP) is important. This is a lot for a young man to have to go through and I’m sorry you have to go through it. You found a great place to vent and chat and ask questions. And you sure do ask good questions, keeps my mind working that is for sure!

May I ask if you are on meds now and what are they?
Have you seen your general dr. just to make sure your general health is OK. We tend to forget that so please make sure you get your annual check up every single year.

[Ski]

#1071634

No facts on this ~ we had an eye doctor at October’s conference who mis-interpreted a question someone was asking and he said there are no studies to say one way or the other about cannabis and its effect on TED.

As far as cigarette smoke, secondhand smoke could definitely be an irritant (well, either kind of smoke could obviously be an irritant), but people who smoke cigarettes have a higher likelihood of having TED last longer, and of their symptoms being worse, if they get it. That would not be true for someone who was only exposed to secondhand smoke.

[Author]

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