[simonb]

#1019435

Hi everyone,

My name is Simon. I’m 20 years old, male, and was diagnosed with Grave’s a couple of weeks ago. I have a rare condition that goes along with it called hypokalemic paralysis where I basically become paralyzed from the neck down if I eat too many carbohydrates (my potassium drops low – when I was in the emerg i was dangerously low at 1.6).

I guess the biggest fear for me is the opthamalopathy and especially proptosis. I’m only twenty and I didn’t show any symptoms of the opthamalopathy beforehand, nor do I show any now, but now I’ve started to feel a slight (very slight) bit of irritation in my left eye. It seems to go away sometimes, and only bother me parts of the day.

Am I imagining this? Is it early signs of eye disease that i’m just noticing because i’ve been doing a lot of research on graves? It’s been going on for about a week now so I’m getting kind of worried.

Thanks, everyone,

Simon

[RhondaG4]

#1071636

Hi Simon and welcome to our family. First thing I would do is go have a baseline with a good eye doc that knows about Graves. That way if something does come up, you can go in and have it compared. It is what I did and lots of others on here as well.

Also…if you’ve been doing alot of research, I notice when I am reading or on the computer too much….the eye strain from it will make me twitchy, that could be it, just tired eyes with Graves as a backdrop. Go see a doc and put your mind and your eyes at ease. Your Endo should be able to recommend one that they use.

This is a great site and the people here are awesome. You’ve come to the right place for help and support. You’ll probably get alot of "mothering" seeing as how Graves effects more woman then men. But there are some men here that are awesome….I’m kinda knew here myself as only being Dx in Dec 08. If someone here knows the answer to a question they will gladly share the info, if not alot go out of their way to find out the answers for us newbies that are scared or simply don’t know where to look for the answers. And again, Welcome and ask away!!! Hope this helps, Rhonda

[mamabear]

#1071637

Simon,
Welcome and hello!!! I can’t say if your irritation is from Graves’ or if it is from the environment(allergies/irritants) but either way kiddo you should go see your eye dr..If you dont have one call your general dr. and ask them to give you a number to someone they know and who is in your ins. plan.
I’m not a dr. and I wont pretend to be one but I’ll still ask, did they do the right tests to confirm hypokalemic paralysis? Are you staying away from strenuous exercise as well as watching your diet and temperature changes?

There are a few men on this board that have Graves’, you will learn a lot by searching and by looking at the latest threads that are on here on the first page.

A few things I would suggest to anyone but especially you since you are such a young man is;
Make sure you tell your parents, family and friends so they understand what you are going through. If you need to please tell your teacher and or your employer so they understand what you are going through and if you have an "off" day they will understand why.

[Ski]

#1071638

Hi Simon,

Let me echo the hearty welcome you’ve received so far! ” title=”Very Happy” />

The most common attributes of TED are pressure behind the eye and pain upon moving the eye ~ those symptoms would be very likely for someone who is starting to show TED. Since all you’re dealing with is a slight irritation, it’s possible that this is not TED. Only a tiny percentage of patients end up with the very worst symptoms of TED anyway, so keep that in mind as you go through the process.

One thing that happens with us is that our tears get less viscous, less able to provide essential moisture to our eyes. For some people it’s a slight difference, for some it’s more pronounced. This effect continues even past successful treatment of the thyroid. The best and easiest fix for it is to liberally use artificial tears (NOT get-the-red-out drops). Use the kind in single-use tubes without preservatives ~ sometimes we need to use them quite often (when working on the computer, or standing in a breeze), and the preservatives can be an irritant when we do. Try them and see if they provide some relief. You may not need much, but the drops you use today will help you feel better tomorrow, so if they work for you, go ahead and plan to use them rather regularly. For some people, a few times a day is fine. For others, they keep a tube at their side at all times. The bottom line is that chronically dry eyes can cause other problems ~ corneal abrasions or ulcers ~ and those other problems can lead to loss of sight, so a little moisture can save you a lot of frustration.

It’s a good idea to find an ophthalmologist (these are the doctors that treat TED) ~ first, you can get confirmation that you are (or are not) dealing with TED itself, and second, then your doctor will have a baseline of you "before," in case there’s an "after." NOT LIKELY, so please don’t spend a lot of time worrying about it. I know, much easier said than done. ” title=”Wink” />

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