I’ve got a under-active thyroid?

[vicmuk]

Firstly, it was nice to see that I’m not the only person around with orange coloration on my eye lids and is interested/intrigued to find out why. When briefly looking into it the main diagnosis I come across is xanthelasmata which is not what the same (you can clearly see that when looking at pictures of people with that condition). There’s also a lot of talk about under active thyroid, which if I’m honest, does not match my body type, if anything I have a overactive thyroid in terms of weight gain. I was intrigued to read about the copper toxicity syndrome and will look into the more so thank you for posting that article. Being a fit healthy 35 year old woman I don’t feel going to my GP to look into this as yet, our NHS services are stretched as is it is, but I will bring it up the next time I’m at the doctors. I just wanted to make the point that as someone with a overactive thyroid I still have this so the other diagnoses pointed to this may not be right? I could may be something simple like a skin pigment and maybe nothing to worry about, but like the rest of you I still would like an explanation. Hopefully we’ll find out the reason why some way or another.

[DawnD]

Hi Vicmuk. I also have yellow/orange eyelids - I asked about it on here before, but didn't reach a conclusion. I do have an underactive thyroid. My doctor didn't know what caused the discolouration, and was not bothered by it (she was a very good doctor, not one who couldn't be bothered!). As I also have CMT (inherited peripheral neuropathy) it might be connected to that, although it is not listed in a list of symptoms. Who knows?

[Ruby1]

As a toddler my daughter’s skin changed hue because she ate so many carrots. Unrelated I’m sure, but thought I’d mention it.

[greygoose]

It's a myth that all hypothyroid people put on weight, and all hyperthyroid people lose weight. It can just as easily be the other way round. But the only way to know for sure, is to get tested: TSH, FT4, FT3, plus TPO antibodies for Hashi's (autoimmune hypothyroidism) and TSI or TRAB for Grave's (autoimmune hyperthyroidism).

One thing is certain, though, hypos tend to have high copper (and low zinc), so if your discolouration of the eyelids is down to high levels of copper, then you're far more likely to be hypo than hyper, no matter what your body shape. But, once again, the only way to know is to get your copper tested. If you don't want to bother your GP, you could always get private tests. But speculation is unhelpful to everybody.