Hello and welcome! First of all, if you are having eye issues, you will want to make an appointment with an experienced ophthalmologist who is familiar with Graves’ disease. Your endo might be able to find a referral, or you can find a search engine for eye docs in the “Looking for a Doctor?” thread in the announcements section of the forum.
Although it’s common for people to take meds for two full years, you should start to see some symptom relief within a few weeks as your levels begin to stabilize. You will still need regular followups during that time to make sure that your dose of medication is correct. (Make sure your doc is using Free T4 and T3 and *not* TSH in determining your dosing changes; TSH can remain suppressed in Graves’ patients and is not a reliable benchmark early in the process.)
Keep in mind that the two year time frame is not hard and fast. Some patients who are doing well on a smaller dose will continue to take medications longer term. Others might opt for a “definitive” treatment (RAI or surgery) sooner than the two years. If your eye issues are still in the active phase when you are at the point of contemplating RAI, it’s important to note that RAI can make eye issues worse. Steroid therapy can reduce this risk, although steroids of course can come with their own side effects. The “Treatment Options” thread in the announcements section of the forum is a great place to get started in terms of understanding your options.
Take care – and please keep us posted!
