Hi.
I am not sure if you had your eyes measured when you or some doc first noticed that you eyes were protruding. There is a normal range of protrusion for eyes, and you and others can pretty much tell if they are really bulging, cause that is pretty noticeable. Without measurements. Also, because more cornea is exposed, eyes tend to be more dry,and tear more.
I think your best bet is to try to find an neuro-ophthalmologist for a baseline exam, and discuss your history, and get the best guess (and that is what it will be) if you have TED. THere is such a range of symptoms, from scratchy eyes, eyes that water all the time (and the tears with TED are not as effective as normal tears) if you are light sensitive. The symptoms I just mentioned, are mild TED symptoms.
When eyes protrude, it is ’cause it is getting crowded in the orbit, and they have no place to go but OUT! The reasons for this are that with TED, more orbital fat is produced. The six eye muscles get thicker which in this case, means the muscles are less able to expand and contract. This can cause double vision. Another thing that can happen with the crowding in the orbit, is beginning to lose part of the visual field, a “blind spot.” The symptoms I have described in this paragraph, represent more severe TED.
From my own experience, and reading on the forum, and from what my multiple eye doctors have told me, the protrusion remains,and eyes do not return to where they were before TED.
Since the progression of TED has two parts, the active or hot phase, when eyes are getting worse, and changing, to the cold phase, or inactive phase, where whatever symptoms we have, are not changing anymore, and the measurements are the same. The surgery for protruding eyes is OD, orbital decompression. With a diagnosis of TED, this procedure is usually covered by medical insurance, but that is of course an independent thing to check. And OD has some risks associated with it, one of them being double vision that may not have existed before.
So-in answer to your question, probably the best response you will get is from a neuro-ophthalogist who really knows TED, or some other eye doc, same situation.
My situation-my eyes did not return to normal. I had one OD, to save my vision from pressure on my optic nerve. My other eye bulges, but I am sick of surgeries, and don’t want to take the risk of another OD cause I can live with it they way it is.
Shirley
