[SueAndHerZoo August 27, 2013 at 9:33 am Post count: 439]

#1060157

So what’s with these dark circles under my eyes and the sunken-eyes look???? I have been feeling OK for the past week or two (good and bad hours but mostly good) but whenever I look in the mirror I think “God – you look awful!” I have deep, dark, sunken areas under my eyes and regardless of how many make-up tricks I use to camoflauge it, it doesn’t help and maybe makes it worse.

I was hoping I was being overly critical and it’s not really that bad but since I’ve been in the office today I’ve had several people ask “Are you alright?” and “How are you feeling?” That always leads me to think I must look “not alright”.

Is there any part of our wonderful disease that is causing this or am I just getting old and tired looking?
Sue

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator August 28, 2013 at 10:36 am Post count: 4294]

#1180819

Hello – I do recall hearing from several post-surgery patients about a physical “crash” a few weeks post-surgery, so hopefully, this is a temporary issue. I’m sure that those who have “been there, done that” will chime in with their experiences.

[amosmcd August 30, 2013 at 9:06 pm Post count: 231]

#1180820

Hi, Sue–

I’m sure it’s just a temporary thing. I wake up some mornings and look like a banshee from Hell. 😆 I think it just takes a while to fully recover from surgery, even though it seems like it has been long enough.

Hang in there, I’m sure you’ll be back to your normal gorgeous self soon!

Amy

[SueAndHerZoo August 31, 2013 at 10:38 am Post count: 439]

#1180821

Thanks for the laugh, Amy. I loved your “banshee” reference…. lately when I look in the morning I see a sort of zombie affect. It hasn’t gotten better and now I wonder if I have a cold or something…. lots of congestion, mild stomach upset, and extra tired.

If that’s the worst of my problems I’m a lucky lady. I am also paying close attention to slightly changing vision…. don’t know if it’s a TED thing or if I’m just being paranoid. Having the eyes involved scares the crap out of me.
Sue

[Caffer1962 August 31, 2013 at 1:17 pm Post count: 20]

#1180822

Have you had your thyroid levels checked recently? When you go hypo it can sometime cause TED to develop. I’ve had TED since 2011, it went into remission but then came back and now I’m on high dose IV steroids for the next 12 weeks to stall it. The eye specialist told me to get my levels checked ASAP and my T4 was off so I went from 100 mcg of Synthroid to 125 mcg of Synthroid. An opthamologist would be a good place to start to diagnose the TED, if it’s happening. I know it’s scary but it’s better to find out right away–it can progress in a big way very quickly sometimes. Good luck and keep us posted.

[karenz516 September 1, 2013 at 4:00 am Post count: 74]

#1180823

Sue, I was pro active and made an appointment with a opthamologist to at least get a base line on my eyes. I was there for two hours!!! I presented with watery bloodshot eyes and was beginning to worry. Long story short and after MANY tests and measurements, I have no bulging, slight lid retraction that isn’t visible but her, as an opthamologist can notice it. No optic nerve issues, etc., so the news was good. Have to see her every 3 months to monitor. She gave me eye drops to use 4x a day. She told me the first two years after RAI or TT is the most critical. I don’t smoke, but she said people that due are worse offl

Good luck,

Karen

[ibminlou2 September 2, 2013 at 8:17 pm Post count: 21]

#1180824

Hi Sue,

Pre-op, I had dark circles under my eyes, but now, they’re deeper and darker. And yes, I know, my body hasn’t even truly had its levels “crash”. A friend asked me if I had been crying because my eyes were so puffy and sunken in. My reply? There isn’t anything I am unhappy about today, cause I am one day closer to my body finding its balance.

I’ll let you know if I come up with a make up trick that covers

[SueAndHerZoo September 3, 2013 at 11:14 am Post count: 439]

#1180825

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I don’t think I have any eye symptoms – I think I was just very paranoid and LOOKING for things to worry about. When I am busy and distracted my eyes are fine, when I have too much time on my hands, I start thinking they feel funny. If I notice any symptoms that seem continued or persistent I will definitely see my eye doctor, but I have a question regarding that: I saw him in February of this year because I felt like my eyes “weren’t working together”. If I closed one it was fine, if I closed the other it was fine, but with both opened, I felt like they weren’t focusing together. He did a typical exam and found nothing was wrong. Would he have noticed any GED problems without actually LOOKING for them? I never mentioned GED to him because I didn’t find out I was out of remission until a week later.

Regarding the dark circles, I’m sorry to hear you, too, have noticed your eyes look worse. Misery loves company, but I hope we both find that it’s TEMPORARY. Today they look so bad I thought of calling in sick. And please do share any make up tricks that work…. I’ve tried several and now have another eye concealer on order – hope by the time it arrives I won’t need it.

The journey continues, but I keep trying to appreciate how good I feel most of the time and how much worse it COULD be.
Sue

[popscene01 September 4, 2013 at 6:20 am Post count: 28]

#1180826

I’ve always had problems with dark circles. The best that has worked for me is a primer (Sephora perfecting eye primer or their anti-shine foundation primer is good & cheap) then the BEST cover up w/eye primer I have was with the Kat Von D High Voltage Eye primer. I use it above & below my eyes for the dark circles. If the shading doesn’t blend well with the skin tone, then use your regular foundation on top of that, then I use powder for matting.

It can be time consuming but I would suggest if you have a Sephora or Ulta close to you go in & ask someone to help you & try the stuff out. (Sephora peeps seem better at makeup consults to me.) Little bit can go a long way so they have been worth the $ to me.

I’ve noticed after my TT the circles seem darker also. I really don’t think it has to do with my TED. (Karen, I’m the same way w/my TED) The circles could be from allergies, eczema, thinning skin, rubbing your eyes. So… maybe it could somehow be brought on by the disease.

Know all too well about the “Are you ok?” My supervisor would ask me EVERY DAY and I gave him the same answer EVERY DAY.

Good luck! Amanda

[SueAndHerZoo September 4, 2013 at 7:34 am Post count: 439]

#1180827

Thanks, Amanda….. your comments were very helpful. I think I’m going to have to give up trying to figure out WHY my eyes look so terrible because I / we may never know. I’ll instead focus on learning the best way to minimize the look so that people will stop asking me if I feel alright. I have some new products on their way (mail order) and will practice and play around and if that doesn’t work I will take a trip to a Sephora and see what they can do.

I used to find that the more I tried to cover it the more I drew attention to it but now the darkness is so bad that some attempt is better than none.

Ahhh, the little things other people take for granted. :rolleyes:
Sue

[Raspberry September 4, 2013 at 9:30 am Post count: 273]

#1180828

I wish you luck with the products Sue – I feel for you my eyes have looked “unhealthy” for so long now. I know I’m lucky they aren’t worse, but they used to be my best feature and now it’s depressing. I feel like people do react to my appearance negatively like checkers in stores – there’s a subtle shift in their attitude once they actually look at me even though they don’t say anything. There’s a product I’ve been thinking about trying but haven’t yet, thought I’d throw it out there Earth Sciences azulene eye cream claims to reduce puffiness and darkness. I’ll report back on it at some point.

[SueAndHerZoo September 4, 2013 at 10:58 am Post count: 439]

#1180829

Raspberry wrote:

I wish you luck with the products Sue – I feel for you my eyes have looked “unhealthy” for so long now. I know I’m lucky they aren’t worse, but they used to be my best feature and now it’s depressing. I feel like people do react to my appearance negatively like checkers in stores – there’s a subtle shift in their attitude once they actually look at me even though they don’t say anything. There’s a product I’ve been thinking about trying but haven’t yet, thought I’d throw it out there Earth Sciences azulene eye cream claims to reduce puffiness and darkness. I’ll report back on it at some point.

So what’s with this “unhealthy eyes” thing????? Is it pretty common after TT or thyroid issues? Lord knows our thyroids control hundreds of things in our bodies but I’m not sure I understand this one. I was hoping it was a temporary thing but now it seems like it might be here to stay since my TT.

My eyes were my best feature, too, and I haven’t heard a single person tell me what gorgeous eyes I’ve had in 7 weeks. Instead it almost seems like they are avoiding looking at me when they talk to me so that they won’t say something about how horrible they look. Of course, it may be my imagination, but real or not, it’s sad and depressing.

I hope the product helps and that you’ll share with us but I’m not sure there is anything we can do to fix this from the outside.
Sue

[popscene01 September 7, 2013 at 5:14 am Post count: 28]

#1180817

I actually went to Sephora the other day because I had a groupon & had to pick some stuff up & I guess the Kat Von D line has been expanded so she has this concealer called Lock It Tattoo Concealer, which you can actually cover up tattoos with! Problem is it’s so popular in my light shade it’s not in stock on-line & I had to call around to different stores to find it. finally sound it in the JC Penny Sephora. So now that’s my new thing but I also got more of her eye primer for above the eyes.

But yeah, the Sephora girls were really helpful finding my right shade for me. A friend of mine got mugged once (she was ok but a bruised mess for a while after) & I don’t have permission from her (I wouldn’t even ask her because I know she’s still sore on the subject with how she looked after) but I WISH I could have posted the pictures of her before & after. They did a fantastic job on her & she had some terribly bad bruises on her face. She’s fully recovered now.

As far as “fixes” to reduce puffiness & the circles w/out makeup, if anyone ever finds one, LET ME KNOW. I’ve tried too many things. So many I can’t even remember or list them, nothing ever worked, so that’s when I started experimenting with makeup just to cover it up. I know I haven’t tried the Earth Sciences stuff.

I did a little search also & found this:

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a thyroid hormone deficiency disease. Hypothyroidism may occur at any age and is common in older adults. According to the Merck Manuals of Medical Information online database, obtaining a diagnosis for hypothyroidism may be easier for younger adults, because it may be more subtle or atypical in older adults. You may develop dark circles around your eyes, because hypothyroidism can cause an infiltration of complex sugar molecules in your face, which leads to swelling and discoloration in your face and around your eyes.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/294197-pathologic-dark-circles-around-the-eyes/#ixzz2eCyEgpHY

Hmmm… if that’s the case, how can these “molecules” be treated to rid us of this!? More research needed.

Amanda

[ChristinaDe September 7, 2013 at 11:59 am Post count: 115]

#1180830

Oh! The eyes!!! Another be patient & wait phenomenon…

I’ve noticed that whenever my thyroid levels are on the move, whether toward normal or away – they swell & change appearance. I’ve also noticed that when I’m hyper they do this. And I’ve noticed than when I’m hypo they do it even worse than hyper. My antibody tests are all negative, so this isn’t a Graves’ thing. My eye specialists and endo tell me it’s a thyroid thing. And very common. I’ve been told that once my levels are normal & stay that way for 6 months to a year, that this will all stop & much (or all of it) will reverse. If it doesn’t all reverse, there are cosmetic procedures that can be done to help if it still bothers me. I believe them, because I’ve reached normal levels where my thyroid symptoms have been very minor & my eyes have looked better each time. Until we are forced to make another adjustment.

I’ve yet to find any products that do what I want them to. But drinking more water, keeping my head elevated, getting enough sleep do seem to help a little. The biggest game changer tho, for me, seems to be getting my levels closer to their sweet spot & staying level.

Can’t wait to hear if anyone finds a great product tho! I hate the eye swelling!! I kid around that if the eyes are the window to the soul…and mine have changed…what does that say?

[SueAndHerZoo September 7, 2013 at 12:27 pm Post count: 439]

#1180831

Hi again, Christina.

I’m not sure if your eye thing is the same as mine. I know you said your antibodies are in check so it’s not GED, but mine don’t swell. They seem sunken and I have darkness in the concave area.

Or.. perhaps the tissue of my face is slightly swollen which makes the under-eye area LOOK sunken?

Accck…… if I’m a person who loves a challenge, I’ve certainly got one with this disease!
Sue

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