[Anonymous]

#1075751

Hi, Bossylady:

The sandy feel to your eyes suggests that they may have become too dry. This is very common to individuals with thyroid disease (any type of thyroid disease). The quality of our tears become thinner, runnier. They do not “sit” on the eye for any length of time, like “normal” tears do. So, our eyes dry out. It is hugely ironic, as well, that we seem to have lots of tears, but they are not as efficient at lubricating the eyes as normal tears. It is imperative, if your eyes are dry, that you use drops to protect your cornea — artificial tears type of drops (as opposed to “get the red out” types of drops). You may have to use these drops several times a day.

My opthamologist and endocrinologist told me to use single use packages which come without preservatives. You will need to consult with your own doctor about what type to use.

Good luck with your RAI.
Bobbi — NGDF Online Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1020020

Hi Bossylady,

I love that name, by the way.

Graves’ Disease is an autoimmune disease, and as such, it is something that no one knows (at the present time) how to “cure.” Still, autoimmune diseases are extremely specific. We develop a damaging type of antibody that attacks healthy tissue, for a reason no one understands. That particular antibody can cause a lot of trouble, but it’s only a threat to the specific tissue it targets. The Graves’ Disease antibody attacks the thyroid and mimics TSH, so the thyroid believes it is being told to produce more T4 and dutifully does as it is told, rendering us hyperthyroid. Once the thyroid tissue is destroyed, the antibodies still exist, but what harm can they do? None. So ~ here we are again at the question. Is Graves’ cured then? Not exactly. First, while RAI (even the ablative dose) is intended to destroy thyroid tissue, the dosing “calculation” is far more art than science, and patients are routinely left with some active thyroid tissue, at least at first, and sometimes for much longer than you may think. As a result, we are still somewhat prey to the effect of the antibodies, though on a much smaller scale than we experience when our entire thyroid is reacting. I’m not sure there’s a good way to know when our thyroid tissue is completely gone, so we need to be aware of our thyroid hormone levels and continue to manage them throughout our lives. Other factors also affect our thyroid hormone replacement needs (age, activity level, weight, stress level), so we can’t say that there is any particular day when we’re SETTLED. It DOES get easier the further removed we are from the RAI, I can tell you that for sure. Still, it requires a level of management. Second, there are some parts of having Graves’ that seem to persist anyway ~ my eyes are still more dry than they were before, my emotions are still tough to reign in, and my memory/recall is not as good as it was before Graves’. There is much left to discover about Graves’, so we don’t completely understand why certain parts continue even after the thyroid is “handled,” but it happens.

In addition, there are “satellite” conditions (the eye disease and pretibial myxedema ~ a nasty itchy rash, usually on the shins), which require independent treatment. The antibodies are different, so they have different targets, but they are believed to be related because they occur much more frequently in Graves’ patients. Treating the thyroid disease does NOT treat either of the other conditions. It is true that RAI can temporarily aggravate the eye disease, so you should speak with your treating doctor if that is a concern.

I could wax poetic for weeks, so feel free to ask any questions you have. I’ll check back in later today.

~Ski
NGDF Assistant Online Facilitator

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