so doc says to me.. 'well, why do you think its your thyroid that makes you struggle to swallow?' .... i reply, 'well, i have nodules you know... i can feel things getting stuck as they go down, especially tablets,' .... 'oh she says, thats nothing to do with your thyroid!' doh!
so i say, 'my eyes are terribly sore, i get pressure and headaches, and my eyesight is rubbish almost overnight' so she says... 'oh, thats not your thyroid, thats another problem altogether..'
so i say, ' well i have many symptoms of hypothyroidism' .. and she says.... (altogether now...) oh... well its not your thyroid.... what makes you think its your thyroid?'
well call me stoooooooooooopid, but i have been coming here for 12 months with crazy blood results, and screaming symptoms...
nooooooooooooooooo.... its fibromyalgia, or chronic fatigue... so i say 'well arent they some of the symptoms of hypothyroidism... well she says, ' i dont want you to be disappointed if its not your thyroid , what are you gonna do if your t3 comes back normal.... sigh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yes,i am gonna try and start scraping the dosh together... disgusting that we have a fab NHS and yet we cant get the tests we desperately need on it....
There is another reason for dry gritty itchy eyes which still needs drops to help with and I feel sure having Hypothyroidism makes it worse. But many years ago, a long time prior to my hypo diagnosis, I was working in an office with a group of girls and we all decided we were fed up with wearing specs and wanted to get contact lenses. We all made appointments with various places.
When I went for my appointment, the optician was very thorough, put drops in my eyes for this and that and asked lots of questions. Eventually he asked me if I knew that I slept with my eyes open! I said to him how would I know that if I'm asleep at the time? He asked has no one ever seen you asleep, I told him no ones mentioned anything.
So he explained that my eyes haven't been wide open while asleep, but there is a small portion at the bottom of the eye left exposed because the eyelids have not swept down and closed altogether. The eyelids usually sweep the tear fluid over the eye surface and keep it moist and clean. If the tear fluid doesn't make it to the bottom of the eye surface, you end up with a very dry line across the cornea on both eyes which over time develops tiny calcified spots. Also he ascertained from other tests that for some odd reason I have a very low 'blink rate'. So again less tear fluid sweeping the eyes.
Fast forward many years and I notice the low blink rate more and more since I use a computer screen most of the day at work and use my lap top in the evening for a fair bit of time and I find I do look at the screen in concentration without blinking for fairly long periods of time.
So if you use a computer quite a lot, its worth moving away from the screen frequently (at least 5 to 10 minutes within every hour) to give your eyes a rest as screen use will dry your eyes considerably. Try also to ensure you're blinking frequently. In fact if your eyes become itchy, try a long set of blinks before using drops. I use drops every morning and night now, sometimes wake up with eyes closed and very difficult to open.
A simple tip for dry eyes. If you can do this several times a day, that's even better, but aim to do it at least twice a day.
Soak cotton-wool pads in hand hot water, one for each eye. The water should be hot, but not hot enough to burn you!!!! Squeeze them slightly so that they are still very wet. Take a towel with you and lie down, close your eyes and place a warm pad on each eye. When the pad starts to cool, turn it over to get the last of the warmth. The towel is for the drips that will run down the side of your head.
This feels wonderful and when my eyes are gritty, this seems to solve the problem for me. A couple of days treatment and my eyes are fine - until the next time.
I have suffered for a number of years with dry eyes and I've tried every eye drop available. The best ones are Hycosan. Not on prescription so has to be paid for. Cost is £10.00 but they last six months unlike most which last for one month. Boots are the only supplier. Use twice a day and you should be fine.
Some specsavers stores selling them too- I got some from my local store. They are brilliant. I use hycosan plus
The warmth is wonderful for your eyes, thats a very good tip TammyNorry. Also another optician told me once that if you use an eyebath with water in which was previously boiled (to sterilise) but cooled and put the teeniest bit of bicarbonate of soda in it and wash your eyes with it, it is very soothing. I was very sceptical but tried it and it soothed my eyes no end. I still use this method now if my eyes are particularly bad or if you happen to get a bit of shampoo in your eyes perhaps which makes them sting.
I had to wear glasses as well, I had no problems until this thyroid business, the nurse I worked with told me to ask them to check for fibromyalgia, but my doc didn't want to hear the nurses suggestions, some GPs are very frustrating and they come off childish, I had to tell mine, I'm about to lose my job before they did anything, and it's still not enough. I was given a new doctor recently, I told him about the swallowing and my neck swelling (goiter), and swollen tonsil, he checked me for strep and mono, which I knew I didn't have, they came back negative, I asked for my test results and have not received them yet. You may need a new doctor as well.
thats the way i think i am heading... even told the daft bint, and she never even commented... probably thought i would be saving her doin the job... disgusted
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Why do u have underactive thyroid?
Highly Illogical Captain. A GP explains why he relies on Thyroid Stimulating Hormone to measure thyroid performance.
"No Thyroid Issue if you don't have Hashi's"
