[Ski]

#1074578

Hi Torri,

It’s possible that what you’re experiencing is early signs of Thyroid Eye Disease (TED), but there is also another eye condition (I’m not sure of the name) that comes with more of the mucus you mention. I’m not sure if it’s related to TED, but I do know that I’ve met Graves’ patients who have gone through it. You’re probably best served by finding an ophthalmologist and figuring it out with them, but in the meantime I can tell you a few things that may help.

First, if your eyes are not completely closing at night, that can cause redness in the morning, and it can be extremely damaging to your corneas if they aren’t protected in some way. If you have anyone who can check for you, you should ask them to look at you while you are asleep and let you know whether part of your eye is exposed to the air. If not, the way to know for yourself is if the redness shows up in a clearly defined line across your eyes ~ if it does, there’s a good chance your eyes are NOT closing all the way.

Second, when we have Graves’ Disease, our tears become thinner, and it’s harder to maintain the moisture on our eyes. The way to combat this is with regular applications of artificial tears (NOT "get-the-red-out" drops). You should look for single-use applicators without preservatives. We typically need the drops often in order to maintain the comfort of our eyes, so the preservatives can prove irritating over time. Use the drops liberally ~ when working on the computer, every 30 minutes is not too often. Consider breezes, flourescent lights and computer screens as especially drying, and use the drops more frequently when you are exposed to these. We use the drops in something of a preventative way ~ the drops you use today will help you be more comfortable tomorrow. If you don’t use them until you are feeling uncomfortable, you can find yourself behind the curve and it can take longer to get relief.

Since your specific issue seems to be in the morning, you may want to invest in some thicker gel-like product for the eyes that you can put in just before you go to sleep. It can promote healing overnight ~ but you don’t want to use it if you intend to SEE, so make sure it’s immediately before you plan to sleep.

The ophthalmologist will be the best source for information about the specific issue you have right now, but hopefully these ideas will help until you get to that appointment. Let us know how it’s going!

[torri33]

#1019853

Hi everyone I am new to this site and glad to find it. I was diagnosed with GD about 4 months ago, and my levels have been going up and down ever since. I have a new symptom and I am not sure if it is allergies or Graves. When I wake up in the morning my eyes are extremely red and sometimes filled with mucus. At first I thought it was pink eye but the symptoms don’t continue into the day. The redness usually resolves after a couple hours. Could this be a dryness problem? If anyone out there has some answers I would appreciate it.

Thanks

[Author]

Posts