Has anyone with an underactive thyroid had problems with sore eyes?

[claire27seven]

Hi, Has anyone with an underactive thyroid had problems with their eyes? I've had an underactive thyroid for the past 3 years with the usual symptoms, tiredness, weight, depression, im on 150 mg levothyroxine, although I've never really thought my symptoms have improved much my blood tests have came back 'normal'

However the last few weeks I've had sore, itchy eyelids and swelling under the eye, I've not been to the doctor yet, was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Yes - I have. It is, unfortunately, quite common.

If there is nothing else wrong, I suggest something like LacriLube at night (a bit like vaseline), and ViscoTears or another thick gel up to four times a day.

I found that the thin artificial tears/drops actually made my eyes worse due to a) not lasting more than about 20 minutes; b) having a preservative which seemed to irritate my eyes even more. The sngle-dose unit forms of the thick gels are preservative-free.

You should see an optician (choose the one with the best reputation in your area). To be hinest, might as well go straight to optician and skip GP. Your GP may be willing to prescribe the above products once your eyes have been seen by optician. They are available over-the-counter.

I have found that I can go through periods of eye sensitivity (weeks or months), then they are OK again for a while. Could be to do with precise levothyroxine dosing? I really am not sure.

[claire27seven in reply to helvella]

Ok thanks, I did ask in the pharmacy and they also suggested vasaline which does help with the eyelids, I'm just a bit worried about the swelling under the eye as it is quite tender and a bit painful which makes me think it might be infected.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to claire27seven]

That is why you should see someone who is an eye specialist. If it is bad, is there any possibility of making your way to an eye hospital? Quite a few have walk-in emergency clinics which could be appropriate - the largest cities usually have one.

For entirely non-thyroid reasons, I have had to make use of such services several times and they have been a god-send.

[Clarebear in reply to helvella]

Me too - I am a regular patient at Bristol eye hospital and can't rate them highly enough.

It sounds like you may have a blocked meibomium (sp?) gland. I get his quite frequently and the solution is usually to put a hot compress over the eye and then massage the lid. I would definitely get it checked out ristorante though. Xx