[Anonymous]

#1077690

OK. I don’t think light sensitivity is on any list I’ve seen of symptoms of TED. Many of us are super sensitive to light while hyperthyroid, even without the eye disease being -part of things.

There are some changes to the eyes that occur with thyroid disease, in general, and light sensitivity may be one of them. The other change is in the quality of our tears. Normal tears are thicker, more viscous, than the tears of those of us with thyroid disease. AS a result, our eyes are dry. This seems contradictory, because we seem to have lots of tearing action going on in the eyes. The problem is our tears are runnier, and do not lubricate the eyeball well. So wearing contacts may become impossible. I experimented with special contacts made for dry eyes, and I could only tolerate them for an hour or two. You may have better luck, but be very, very careful. With the dry eyes, it becomes much too easy to scratch the cornea, and the dryness makes it much more difficult for the cornea to heal.

Bobbi — NGDF Online FAcilitator

[Anonymous]

#1077691

I know this has probably been asked before but I cant remember anything these days. I have had my thyroid removed. I was never diagnosed with TED prior to this. Does this mean I should be safe from this? My eyes have been feeling kind of burning lately and I really havent read to much on it as I never really had a problem before.
Katie

[Anonymous]

#1077692

If your eyes are “burning”, it is likely to be dry eyes. Dry eyes, as I mentioned earlier today, has more to do with “thyroid” disease than with “eye” disease, as far as I know. Getting your thyroid removed does NOT eliminate the dry eyes necessarily. Try artificial tears, to see if that relieves the burning sensation. If it does, good. Use them. It will protect your cornea from scratches. If it doesn’t, please seen an eye doctor. Even if it does, it might be a good idea to see an eye doctor (at least once).

As for whether or not you can develop the eye disease. Unfortunately, yes. It is not at all likely that you will. Most of us do not develop horrid eye disease. Most of us do not even exhibit lesser symptoms of the eye disease (although there may be some eye muscle changes). Getting the thyroid removed, via whatever means, does nothing, as far as I know, to reduce the risk of developing eye disease. IT is a separate autoimmune issue.

Bobbi — NGDF Online Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1020579

I have read with interest the postings on TED. I am six months post-RAI and have had uncomfortable eyes the last month. My left eye has been escpecially blurry when I wear my contact lenses. I have had to stop wearing contacts and eye make-up. My eyes are sensitive to sunlight when they never were before. I see my regular opthamologist next week. Thank goodness my optician and endo recommended that I get a baseline exam a year ago. I have noticed that my left eyelid is slightly retracted but no one else does.

Most of the postings talk about surgery as treatment. What are the other options?

Honestly, there are times when I feel like what else can be thrown at me? I guess that we’re only handed as much as we can deal with.

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