Eyes

[Clmartin80]

Can thyroid or vitamin b12 affect your eye sight? I've had to get new lenses after 9 months.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Yes - eyesight is very much affected by thyroid.

Thyroid hormone levels can affect the muscles used in movement, focussing and pupil control.

Thyroid hormones can affect the rods and cones that detect light and the rest of the retina.

Thyroid hormones can affect the optic nerve.

Thyroid hormones can affect the brain's ability to interpret what is seen.

Thyroid hormones can affect the pressure within the eye.

Thyroid hormones can affect floaters.

Thyroid hormones can affect the brain's ability to control the eye.

Quite likely thyroid hormones can also impact vision in many other ways!

If I understand things right, Vitamin B12 can affect all nerves.

These are names given to symptoms. Since they are symptoms of neuropathy (death of nerve cells, or at least destruction of the myelin sheath so the nerve cell doesn’t conduct a signal), the cause of the neuropathy needs to be found. We don’t have the research, but there are probably many cases where neuropathy is caused by B12 deficiency and nerve function can be restored by supplementing B12 by injection. Certainly, cases of facial paralysis, shaking limbs and head, eye twitches and lazy eye, difficulty swallowing and other neuropathic symptoms have been relieved with B12 replacement therapy. Of course it doesn’t work 100% of the time, so you still need to go and get a diagnosis, but B12 works on some cases and doesn’t do any damage in the others.

b12d.org/b12-deficiency-fre...

Rod

[PaulB]

Sure can. I lost colour vision and developed a dilated pupil. Both have resolved with thyroxine. But when I get tired it is noticeable.

Paul

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to PaulB]

Good one Paul - yes colour vision also deteriorates.

I felt that my ability to appreciate full 3-dimensionality also reduced.

Rod

[henrythewasp]

Its strange that i have just found this post.As long as i can remember my sight in my right eye has been very poor and i have needed glasses for reading and distance,if it wasnt for my left eye i would be in BIG trouble lets put it that way.A few months ago i was diagnosed Hypothyroid and have been using Levothyroxine.Just today i noticed the sight in my right eye seems to have improved a little,i wonder if this is possible.

[Max1234 in reply to henrythewasp]

Hi you don't have to put up with this you can improve your long distance vision with laser surgry. You would still need reading glasses. I have an under active thyroid had laser surgry 4 months ago 20/20 vision. No problems what so ever. I am 41 my reading vision is great but will get worse by about 45/50 years of age. Or you can have lens replacment which will give you good vision for reading and long distance. I no a husband and wife had this done together in there late sixties. They are both over the moon with the results. The technology is there to be used if it improves your life then it is worth doing. Only having an over active thyroid the laser surgery will not be done.

[Stourie in reply to Max1234]

I thought that if you had autoimmune disease that it wouldn't be done. My friend had laser surgery about 4 years ago and she got me loads of reading material and it said that no surgery with autoimmune. But maybe things have changed now.

Jo xx

[Max1234 in reply to Stourie]

Sorry Joanna I don't no about autoimmune disease. Laser surgery has changed a lot. New technology more accurate than ever before. Less issues and problems. Not every one is suitable anyway in depends on your general health of you eyes. The only way to no if people are suitable is going to a consultation.

[siannie]

Interesting post .

I have been taking but b12 now for 3 months .

My right eye for the past 3 days is constantly twitching and feels sore any ideas ??

[Marylyn in reply to siannie]

i am sure you will find celated magnesium will cure this.Most thyroid patients are VIT D & magnesium defecient.

[ffran]

Hi this is interesting, as I have been on thyroxine for 20 years. And six years ago I was diagnosed with glaucoma, an unusual type where the small channels that drain the eye get blocked by cell falling off the iris. (!)

No one i am related to has ever had glaucoma . I asked if it was anything to do with

thyroid condition and was told it wasnt, there again, noone wanted to know about my thyroid problem, in the eye dept. it seemed.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to ffran]

There have been several posts here - though with the search not working very well, they can be difficult to find. For example:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

and

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Rod

[ffran in reply to helvella]

Wow thanks for this, so many people have these eye problems yet I cant understand why the eye hospital doesnt want to consider the link to thyroid ...!!!! Argh!!!

[wano in reply to ffran]

So glad I found this post!

For the last 2 years I've been watched for glaucoma - some doctors saying I don't have it (my eye pressure is fine and has been), and other doctors insisting I have it.

I now have permanent damage in my right eye. My optic nerve has a "dip" and I have a blind spot. I am 43 years old, healthy (other than the hashimoto's, diagnosed this year). No history of glaucoma or eye disease in my family (other than my grandparents getting cataracts). I've been on .05 Synthroid for about 5 years. This past week, after meeting with an endo and two doctors to ask about switching to NDT and/or T3 and being turned down, I've started slightly raising my Synthroid dose to see if that helps my eyes.

It's terrifying. Every month passes and I notice a bit more blur of vision, loss of sight. It's irreversible damage, they tell me. And yet, despite the mountains of visual field test results I have (4 now), they continue to tell me to wait 6 months and come back.

And recently, this past summer, I was jogging and my left eye started to blur. The next day I went to the optometrist: I had a bleed in my left eye. She couldn't tell me why.

I keep hearing the same thing: you're asymptomatic.

I ask each one: could my hypothyroidism have anything to do with this?

No.

Looking for advice! Where do I go, what do I ask the doctors, which kind of specialist do I see? I live in the UK now (from Canada originally). I'm happy to pay if not NHS.

Thanks everyone.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to wano]

And I am glad that you found it!

I too have been told there is a bit of something not quite right around where the optic nerve is. Trouble is, they are not really in a position to know if it was always like that. Days before eye photos, there would be no record.

I really don't know what to suggest. In my area (and some elsewhere in the country) the ordinary local opticians/optometrists are able to make a direct referral to opthamologists. That is what I had. Our local GPs would almost always send us first to an optician.

I suggest trying to find out if a local optician has a particualrly good reputation. I don't think I'd be keen on the super-large national chains, but they are probably better than a bad one-man-and-a-dog local outfit.

Best of luck. And do, please, feel free and welcome to start a new post to let us know how you get on. These old threads, useful though they are, can easily get missed.

[wano in reply to helvella]

Thank you so much. I started a new thread!

[alangardner]

there is a recognised condition known specifically [ generally ] as 'THYROID EYE DISEASE ' which encompasses all that rod has stated ------ my lady is currently being treated by 'moorfields ' in London ....... we were refered to them by the endo at st.barts indeed tomorrow she will be having the full 'ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY ' tests which relate to colour blindness muscle function etc .....hope this helps ....alan

[fiona]

I have sicca syndrome causing dry eyes.

I get blurred vision or loss of clarity due to eye muscle fatigue. As its the muscles not vision in the traditional sense or prescriptions, I doubt laser surgery would do much, as my vision is variable depending on how I'm feeling.

Strangely this has improved since I've been taking gabapentin.

I'm on an annual recall yo the opticians. Last year they tried me with reading glasses for the first time, as I could see to read at fist with my distance pair, then it would go blurred.

This year I've got occupational glasses, half reading, and half for the computer as varifocals, she also changed my distance prescription.

When my health was worst I had light sensitivity in shops.

Interestingly ME research UK magazine mentioned about vision problems in ME too.

[princessze]

A few years ago I went to the optition as I had what was like looking through a black cloud bottom right hand quater of right eye, option put drops in to have a good look, then sent me straight to hospital for MRI , can't remember exactly, but behind was swollen and pail, sign of brain tumor or ms , wasn't that, was told not enough blood supply to optic nerve, still no idea why, was kept an eye on ( lol), for a few weeks, end of story, but I have lost my field vision in that quater. I would just like to say also, when I take levo the higher the dose my eyes are so bad, I did stop taking it( long story) and found it was like a new set of eyes, clear bright fresh felt great .

[wano in reply to princessze]

Princessze, can you elaborate on this?

Did your eyesight (and lost field of vision) improve when you stopped taking levo? or did you lower or adjust your dose?

What are you taking now, and is your vision continuing to deteriorate?

What have doctors said about your eyes and relation to hypothyroidism?

Thanks!