Hello and welcome – I’m so sorry to hear that you are dealing with all of this.
To my knowledge, acupuncture and bugleweed have no effect on thyroid eye disease. In addition to asking about Rituximab, you might also ask your doctor about radiotherapy. I’ve heard mixed reviews from patients who have tried it, but I do know of a couple who have had success. Here is some info from the International Thyroid Eye Disease Society:
(Note on links: if you click directly on the following link, you will need to use your browser’s “back” button to return to the boards after viewing. As an alternative, you can right-click the link and open it in a new tab or new window).
http://thyroideyedisease.org/radiotherapy/
There was some research done out of Shiley Eye Center a couple of years ago that showed that the *appearance* changes are even more distressing to patients than actual changes in vision! Once the disease stabilizes, there are surgical options that can be utilized if needed to help restore the appearance and function of your eyes. In the meantime, it can be helpful to connect with other patients who have “been there, done that.”
If you do a search on this board for TED or “thyroid eye disease”, you can see that there are many posters here who have struggled with TED and the appearance and vision issues that goes along with it. Shirley (snelsen) had been great about documenting her experiences with TED.
Take care — please keep us posted on how you are doing.
