[Ski]

#1073234

Hi Amy,

I’m SO glad you like the doctor! That can make all the difference.

The eye drops, as long as they’re preservative-free, CAN be used often, but it’s not absolutely necessary unless he needs them that often. For people with severe dryness, or people who are in a very irritating environment (lots of flourescent lights, or working on the computer for many hours at a time), you can use them every 10-15 minutes. Again, not necessary most of the time. You’ll find that drops today can help the eyes feel better tomorrow, so if the doctor suggested several times a day, start with that and try to stay with that, unless his eyes still feel dry. Then you can try using them more and see, after a couple of days, if that’s helping. The artificial tears can be a little expensive, FYI.

I’m so glad you were able to break through and see some compassion from your son. I know it’s been tough on both of you. Handling this as a team is much better. ” title=”Very Happy” />

[amyl]

#1073235

Ski,
Thanks so much for your help!! Hopefully this is the start of happier times ” title=”Very Happy” />

Amy

[Sjefferys]

#1073236

I have 2nd eye decompression March 11th, The 1st surgery went and results very well. The past 3 months experience eye infection, and left eye pain. The Dr. will do decompression, I’m a bit weary…..Pray for me

[dsarmien]

#1073237

SJefferys — I hope all goes well with your surgery. I will pray for you.

Regards,
Dolores

[braddpa]

#1073238

Amy,
Just wanted you to know we are here for you. Please be diligent with your son’s eye care.
I was diagnosed in 2004 with GD and before I had my RAI I was sent to TED specialist to check for signs of any thyroid eye disease. I got a clean bill of heatlh on my eyes…except they found a couple of scratches on my corneas that they wanted to have checked out. So they (the Drs) made an appointment with another specialist for me in 3 weeks. In the mean time I had my RAI and then went on business trip to LA. While in LA my eyes started to itch and burn and I could not wear my contacts. I assumed it was allergies to something in the LA climate…smog/flora/fauna. I just wrote it off as just needing eyedrops and resting my eyes more.

When I returned to Florida and went to see cornea specialist he immediately dragged my down the hall to the TED specialist and both of them worked on me to treat me for Thyroid Eye Disease. It was that quick…from nothing to wanting to scartch my eyeballs out. I went on a very high dosage of steriods for several months. It took a couple of years for it to calm all the way down. I am alot better now…still have eye problems…I am having 1st and hopefully only OD surgery on both eyes on Wednesday, March 11th. YEAH!!

So…the moral is they can tell you what they think will happen…you need to beware of the facts and be ready for what may really happen. As I hated living with myself those 1st couple of years after my diagnoses…I cannot imagine living with a younger child going through this. Just know you are not alone and we are all survivors here. I have read most of the post on this site and I see that just about everyone here has gone through every possible condition or symptom. I feel we are in good hands here. Graves is not an easy disease but…if nothing else it has made me appreciate the little things/triumphs in life and I try to work hard to have as much normalcy in my life as possible.

God Bless you and your family…big hug for your son,

Patty

[amyl]

#1073239

Hi Patty,
Thanks for telling me about your eye experience. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. I’m really hoping my son is spared the eye issues…at least the big ones. He’s been through so much and his symptoms tend to lean toward the extreme. His biggest problem is the nausea…it just NEVER goes away. We have pinned all of our hopes of a cure for his stomach on the RAI. If the stomach issues don’t go away when he becomes hyper….I won’t know what to do. So, I try not to think about it just yet. We still have a few more weeks before the RAI should be showing signs of improvement.
I appreciate everybody that’s given me advice and encouragement. I hope I can do the same for others.
Thanks!
Amy

[Author]

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