[WWWI2]

#1059576

I’ve been to an eye doctor that said since he can’t see the white’s of my eyes when I look at him straight on that means I do not have Graves’ Opthomopathy. Not sure if that’s actually how Graves’ eye problems are identified one way or the other. But that’s for another day…

Some days, one or the other eye will be bright red/bloodshot. Usually it’s only one eye at a time. However, I wake up every morning and it’s like I have a mild case of conjunctivitis, but I don’t. And then pretty much daily, my eyes are red and sensitive and feel gritty.

Is this common? Other than buying non-preservative “tears” is there anything to do about it? And most importantly, can this be a precursor to Graves’ Opthomopathy/Eye bulging? Does anyone else experience this and if so what have you found helpful?

Thanks!

[Kimberly]

#1175898

Hello – Eye involvement does *not* necessarily include lid retraction or bulging, which will cause the whites of the eyes to show above/below the pupil. Other issues can include dryness, grittiness, swelling, and sensitivity to light.

TED really runs an unpredictable course, so there is no way to say what will happen for sure. One presenter at our San Diego conference said he believes that most Graves’ patients have *some* level of eye involvement, although most will never get the worst of the symptoms like severe bulging or double vision.

In the meantime, preservative-free drops can be helpful. Some common brands of drops that Graves’ patients use include Genteal, Systane, and Refresh. There is also a prescription product for dry eye (Restasis), but I’ve heard mixed reviews from patients on this option.

Take care!

[vanillasky]

#1175899

For years, my eyes have been sensitive to light. Is that a sign of Graves’? I have mostly problems under flourescent lights or halogen lights. I’m okay at home or outside, but in the supermarket, sometimes, I feel there is a “fog” in the distance. Things seems blurry and recently, I couldn’t read the labels on products in the market.

Had an eye exam a few years ago and dr. said I suffered from dry eyes. I use Visine or Murine

[smtucker]

#1175900

I was diagnosed with the eye disease about 8 months ago. My eye doctor specializes in people with TED. My initial eye exam lasted 90 minutes. First I spent 30 minutes with a tech who did the dilation, did the letter tests, color-blindness, etc. Then I had a resident who did lots of measurement with medieval looking tools. There was a teardrop test, and then even more measurements. By the end of this comprehensive exam, I had a full eye chart mapping all my eye’s characteristics. [Teaching hospital, so then an intern repeated all of the tests while I let him know if the measuring devices felt the same as when the doctor did it.]

Her conclusion was the I did have mild bulging, something I don’t see and a lack of tears. She recommends that I do drops whenever my eyes feel itchy or dry. I haven’t been as good about this as I should be. I hate forcing things into my eyes.

I felt well cared for and have been back to see this doctor once. I will continue to see her every 6 months so that she can re-measure and we can keep track of whatever bulging might be occurring.

p.s. no mention of the whites of my eyes as a determining factor.

[Talley]

#1175901

For the past year I have been complaining about eye sensitivity, redness, dry, sore and tired eyes. I have a feeling it is related to the Graves. My eye doc said my eyes are fine – I am looking for an opthamologist in the area that deals with Graves patients but can’t locate one through Google…I thought I would try one that is highly recommended through our local magazine – I have the phone numbers on my computer and, when I get around to it, thought I would start calling and ask the receptionist if they deal with Graves…I have a feeling that my eye doctor that I see for contacts really doesn’t have a clue.

I suppose, even if there is no eye involvement, it will be good to get a baseline done with a “good” doctor.

[WWWI2]

#1175902

This opthomologist did dilution and letter tests as well. But I had a nagging suspicion that there should be more diagnostic criteria in regards to the relationship with Graves’ related eye issues then simply lid retraction/bulging or by his measure, the “whites of my eyes”. You have confirmed those feelings.

Although I understand that you can provide no absolute reassurance that TED is not in my future, it is really helpful to know that eye stuff, not always resulting in TED, is not uncommon. (that’s a lot of double negatives, sorry)

Thanks all!

[WWWI2]

#1175903

This opthomologist did dilution and letter tests as well. But I had a nagging suspicion that there should be more diagnostic criteria in regards to the relationship with Graves’ related eye issues then simply lid retraction/bulging or by his measure, the “whites of my eyes”. You have confirmed those feelings.

Although I understand that you can provide no absolute reassurance that TED is not in my future, it is really helpful to know that eye stuff, not always resulting in TED, is not uncommon. (that’s a lot of double negatives, sorry)

Thanks all!

[Kimberly]

#1175904

@vanillasky – The light sensitivity is worth mentioning to your doc, as it can *potentially* be a symptom of thyroid eye disease, but there are other factors that can cause light sensitivity as well.

The docs at our conferences generally do not recommend that Visene or any of the “get the red out” products be used for dry eye. The concern is that the ingredients in these brands can be more irritating than helpful. Instead, look for a “preservative-free” or at least a “preservative free in the eye” brand. Common ones are Systane, Genteal, and Refresh.

[catstuart7]

#1175905

Adding my vote in here – I’ve got eye symptoms, redness, sometimes grittiness, sometimes spontaneous muscle pains behind them but only a tiny bit of proptosis on one eye which the doc says could even be normal (I’m not buying it). The redness and uncomfortableness started a full year before the full Graves’ onset and all my eye doctors missed it. Tried to give me Restasis, told me I had allergies. Oddly enough nothing really helped. I used preservative free tears during the day and an oily gel at night.

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