Grave eye disease: I have recently diagnosed... - Thyroid UK

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Grave eye disease

tjeyar1984 profile image
27 Replies

I have recently diagnosed Hyper Thyroidsm.My both eyes eyelids are not same size.My left eye seems like bulging.Does anyone know how to normalize my bulging eyes by exercising or home remedies?Thanks a lot.

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tjeyar1984
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Rush2112 profile image
Rush2112

hi I have the same thing once I was treated there was some improvement took about a year I also had Botox into my upper lids also I had a. Tight eye ask I had to wear at night with like lumps on inside which pressed my eyes did not get onwiththat well which is when they did Botox also was given eye drops as I had dry eyes they made things more comfy and I still use them it hasn't gone away completely but I still have high antibodies so prehaps that's why

eve196 profile image
eve196

Got the same eyelid thing as well but mine remains the same, found no remedy to fix that.I'm hypo with hyper swings.I'm not sure if it's related

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase

I think you will just have to sit it out until your Graves goes into remission and if it bad enough they can treat it with an operation to remove the excess periorbital fat and that should hopefully balance both eyes.

What treatment are you having and is your endocrinologist aware that you feel your left eye is bulging?

The only thing I could suggest is that you try going totally gluten free to see if that can reduce your thyroid antibodies which might in turn slow down their attack on your eyes.

I’ve got Graves and have reduced my antibodies massively by doing that so it might be worth giving it a try.

Millea profile image
Millea

Hello - I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease in 2015 with very high levels of antibodies. I was put on carbimozole by Gp and followed up by care by endo at local hospital. In 2016 I developed TED. Thyroid eye disease is caused by antibodies triggering inflammation to tissue surrounding the eyes. These are different antibodies to the ones effecting your thyroid but will be triggered by the thyroid antibodies. You did not say if you are on carbimozole for your thyroid. If you are, you should be doing regular blood tests through your endo and the aim is to get your thyroid hormone levels under control and stabilised - this will help to ease the eye swelling. If your thyroid hormone levels are not controlled this will continue to trigger eye problems. There are several things you can use to help the eyes while you are working on stabilising the thyroid: ask you Gp to prescribe F M L ophthalmic suspension in liquifilm - these are drops for the eyes and they really do ease and calm the eyes. You should be taking selenium everyday as this will help ease the inflammation too. I take selenium ACE + D - one tablet everyday. I don’t like to disagree with anyone else’s advise to you but please don’t get Botox - Graves’ disease is an auto immune illness - adding Botox to your system (and Botox is a poison) I think is really dangerous. You need to look after your immune system not bombard it with more problems. If you are not under the care of an endo go back to your Gp and ask to be referred and if you are not on carbimozole and doing regular blood tests to monitor your hormone levels - see your gp and ask why?

tjeyar1984 profile image
tjeyar1984 in reply to Millea

Thanks a lot Millea.

Summer64 profile image
Summer64

One of my eyelids is bigger than the other now and I had never thought that this might be because of my Graves. It's never changed.

deesbees profile image
deesbees

My left eye is also a bit swollen but my endo thought it was a detached retina. Still cant see out of it properly and still swollen 18months later. Never seen an eye person so im clueless really. I thought it affected both eyes but im doubtful i was right!

Silver_Fairy profile image
Silver_Fairy in reply to deesbees

Ask to be referred to an ophhalmologist.

deesbees profile image
deesbees in reply to Silver_Fairy

Have asked and been told to leave it and see if it improves. Long story but gp is not great..

Silver_Fairy profile image
Silver_Fairy in reply to deesbees

Do what Clutter has advised O/P to do, if there is something wrong, I'm hoping your GP won't argue with an optician!

deesbees profile image
deesbees in reply to Silver_Fairy

Very complicated and boring saga but did ask for referral and never happened.

Maribee profile image
Maribee in reply to Silver_Fairy

Mine did....I've got the. Green paper signed by the ophthalmologist.....the GP still disagrees.

Silver_Fairy profile image
Silver_Fairy in reply to Maribee

OMG such arrogance (or lack of knowledge) on behalf of your GP!

Maribee profile image
Maribee in reply to Silver_Fairy

Thanks fairy...I've asked now for a woman GP....maybe she won't treat me like a stupid old lady with multiple health problems....and really not worth the 10 mins in the surgery.

ZoBo profile image
ZoBo in reply to deesbees

if it was detached he would have sent you straight to an eye clinic.

deesbees profile image
deesbees in reply to ZoBo

Er, not this gp!

Silver_Fairy profile image
Silver_Fairy in reply to deesbees

Change of GP? He sounds a liability! Go see an optician, try again, explain about your GP. We only have one pair of eyes!

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase in reply to deesbees

If anyone has as much as hinted at a detached retina you need to be seen by an eye consultant immediately although 18 months later is far too late to do anything about it. Can you actually see out of that eye or has the vision gone?

deesbees profile image
deesbees in reply to Fruitandnutcase

The sight is blurry and the eye aches at times but nope, asked but no referral. V long story!

Clutter profile image
Clutter

Tjeyar1984,

See an optician and say that you have just been diagnosed hyperthyroid and are worried you have thyroid eye disease. Optician should recommend referral to opthalmologist if there is any concern. google.co.uk/search?q=thyro...

ZoBo profile image
ZoBo

If you are hyper it is a side effect. Normally as with other symptoms associated with hyerthyroidism. if you are on carbimozole then it shoild settle down to normal. If not you may need to see athyroid eye specialist.

tjeyar1984 profile image
tjeyar1984

Thanks a lot for everyone I am now on treatment for grease disease.Carbimazole-10,Levothyroxine-100.My endocrinologist says if my thyroid is under control,then my eye problem will be better.I have this eye issues for one years.Over one years it's not worsen on reduced.

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase in reply to tjeyar1984

Id say I had eye problems (dry eyes, blurred vision if I read or computed for too long and a double image when looking at credits on TV or writing in the distance) I also had quite a few of the symptoms before I was diagnosed with Graves.

I think it might take eyes a lot longer to settle than it takes your thyroid. To be honest if I were you I would find myself a good local optician (ask around for recommendations) book an appointment, then starting from the very beginnning tell the optician everything you have been told so far.

Write out a time line of it all before you go so that you don’t miss anything out. Hopefully you will come away with a better idea of what is going on - at the very least you ought to know whether you have a detached retina or not.

CSmithLadd profile image
CSmithLadd

Good advice here. If you smoke, please stop immediately. Smoking can and does not only serve as a trigger, but will exacerbate Grave's Ophthalmopathy.

link.springer.com/article/1...

Conventional medicine believes, erroneously, that changing hyperthyroidism for hypothyroidism is no big deal. So they either use RAI (radiation) or surgically remove the thyroid in their thinking that the thyroid is not necessary as it can be replaced with hormone supplements. Wrong. It's not that simple and far from it.

The thyroid is the true regulator of the entire body. Not just regulator of the heart... but everything. Every cell needs ample amounts of thyroid hormone as your body was designed to have. Take away the regulator and your health can become a guessing game of how much to take and when. It's a mess you don't want. No one would, not once they realize how little real knowledge conventional medicine has of the endocrine system.

In your case, RAI should not be an option as your eyes will no doubt worsen. RAI is very harmful to the body and can cause severe changes in other glands (such as the salivary glands). I would not recommend RAI for anyone under any circumstances. It's just too harmful to the body. The narrowing and blockage caused to salivary glands is just not acceptable. But then again, neither is destroying a gland that has dysfunction -- of no fault of its own.

I can't get my chance back to refuse the removal of my thyroid and to instead go with an alternative and natural way of reversing thyroid dysfunction. An alternative that begins by first discovering what caused the dysfunction and then goes about correcting it with natural remedies that work. Most being nutrient replacement so that the thyroid can get what it needs in order to carry out all of its peripheral functions. Those functions keep the entire body in good health.

drruscio.com/natural-manage...

With Grave's Disease, the antibodies are always there, so even after the thyroid is removed, you still have Grave's. Removal of the thyroid does not resolve anything, as you become hypothyroid after its removal. It's difficult to replicate thyroid hormone replacement with synthetic supplements. They have their own issues. Instead, the key is to getting down to the root cause as to why you acquired Grave's in the first place. The same with Hashimoto's. Neither of them just fall down on us from the sky, as conventional medicine would have us believe. They say they don't know why either happen. But that doesn't mean someone else doesn't know.

When the thyroid isn't getting what it needs to regulate the body, it can raise Cain anywhere in the body -- including rendering a person hyperthyroid or hypothyroid, or a bit of both. The antibodies for Hashimoto's and Grave's are astonishingly quite similar. I have both Hashimoto's and Grave's antibodies. I was hypothyroid before Grave's reared its head.

"The relationship between Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis has been debated for decades. Although initially considered to be two separate diseases, the present view is that they represent the opposite sides of the same coin, or the two ends of a spectrum."

academic.oup.com/endo/artic...

Functional medicine understands the entire body as a whole and what it needs to function best. The functional medicine industry is not bribed into thinking pharmaceuticals can replace nutrients -- or that removal of an organ is a solution to dysfunction.

Nutrients are the fuel the body needs to keep the thyroid (and thus the entire body) balanced. Nutrients facilitate thyroid hormone conversion of T4 (Thyroxine) into the active thyroid hormone T3 (Triiodothyronine), providing all the cells of the body with a that which is vital for a body that functions properly. It takes nutrients to do that -- not pharmaceuticals.

Whether hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, the bottom line is that the body is out of balance because the thyroid is not getting what it requires.

Your overall health will thrive as you get your body back in balance with proper nutrient levels, good diet (without gluten or other toxins like refined sugar and processed foods), plenty of exercise and lots of sun before noon (no sunblock!), among other habits that promote good health. Learn more about natural health remedies for everything. Trust nothing on the shelves and pay attention to everything you eat. It may seem unnecessary, just as I used to think, but it will make all the difference with your health as you look into a future of feeling great.

The key is to correct the thyroid issues first and then wait a few years. The eyes will continue to change during that time, and hopefully toward reversal of your symptoms. That was my experience. The eyes have been altered by excess thyroid hormone. It stands to reason that it will take time to see any reversal of that.

I also have GED (Grave's Eye Disease). It's far better now, but it took many, many years to show signs of reversal. I can still feel a lot of pressure, but it's nothing compare to where they used to be.

For now, I'd suggest focusing on getting Grave's into remission and keeping it there. Find a naturopathic or functional doctor for your Grave's who will help you reverse it in a non-invasive way. Your quality of life will depend on how you handle things now. There's no risk to you to explore all your options.

You're asking the right questions in the right place for insightful answers. By continuing to be proactive in your healthcare, you'll find what you need to attain and stay in good health. Kudos!

I truly hope this helps you. Wishing you all the best.

Healing Hugs

Maribee profile image
Maribee

I guess you need your meds looked at again.

I keep getting involuntary twitching in my left eye.......worrying ! My .gp is nit taking this seriously...he is so patronising I'm trying to change my GP......luckily am seeing my Nuerologist in January so will discuss it with him.

ZoBo profile image
ZoBo in reply to Maribee

I follow Dr Berg on Facebook, have a look at him I'm sure he mentioned something about eye twitching recently and why it happens. His posts are short and full of facts generally.

Lora7again profile image
Lora7again in reply to ZoBo

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