[Anonymous]

#1020253

Hi, Standingfirm. I’m sorry you got no referral help from your GP. I remember how terrified I was when I started to get some changes to my eyes, so I understand your feelings. There are a couple of things that might help.

First, even when you do see the opthamologist, the most likely suggestions are going to be “wait and watch.” The treatment options for the eye disease are so full of bad side effect possibilities, that our doctors prefer to wait before using them. Most of us get “some” eye changes, but the majority of us do not go on to develop horrid eye disease issues. So while it is important to see an opthamologist if you are getting indications of the eye disease, waiting an additional week or so (to satisfy your GP that you do not simply have a “virus”) is not likely to make any difference whatsoever in the treatment of your eyes.

That said, take time to look at something distinctly red. Bright red. Cover one eye and look at the object. Then, cover the other eye and look at the object. If you cannot distinguish the color red with one or the other of your eyes, then you should see the opthamologist as quickly as possible even if you have to pay for it yourself. Losing our perception of red has been suggested here as a test for possible optic nerve compression. So, if you can see the color red, do not panic at this point in time.

Regardless of whether or not you have TED, thyroid disease changes the quality of our tears. Normal tears have a higher ‘fat’ content. (Keep in mind that I am an amateur, so I’m not using the proper medical terminology: I’ve dumbed it down so I could understand what I was being told.) Think of the difference between cooking oil and water. Normal tears are more like cooking oil. Thyroid eye tears are more like water. Normal tears stay on the eye longer and lubricate. Our tears just run out doing very little lubricating at all. So, we experience the totally contradictory experience of having our eyes water a lot, but FEEL dry and itchy. Well, they ARE dry and itchy. And it is not a virus. They need additional lubrication, and many of us need to do it fairly constantly all day long to prevent scratching occuring on the cornea. I found our the hard way that getting any type of even minor scratch on the cornea takes eons to heal when the eyes are too dry. There is a product sold over-the-counter called “artificial tears.” It is not the type of eye drop that “gets the red out” or that is designed for “allergy” issues. It is designed simply to add tears to the eyes to lubricate them. There are any number of products out there that do this, and do it reasonably well. A pharmacist could help you find them if you have a problem. So while you are waiting for your endo appointment and your opthamologist’s appointment, you could start using this product, safely. Most of these products come “without preservatives” which is how MY opthamologist told me to take them. I think that is the safest bet, although it is a bit more expensive than the “preservative free in the eye” ones. I do not know if there is any difference, really, but I give you my doc’s recommendation, at least to start. If your doctor eventually says to do something else, you should follow those instructions.

In the ‘it could be worse’ category: my former health insurance insisted that I had to see a optometrist annually to get a referral to an opthamologist, despite the existance of the diagnosis of TED. Optometrists are superb for finding out what type of glasses I need to wear, but they have little to no medical training required. I likened it to having to see a chiropractor to get a referral to a obstetrician when I fired that insurance company. ; )

Wishing you a good day,
Bobbi — NGDF Online Facilitator

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