Hypo blurred/double vision.

[DonnyJam]

Hello everyone.

Since before being diagnosed hypo and after on and off I've had blurred/double vision but only when I try to focus on something in the distance.

Close up my vision is perfect, I can read small text in books or small print on anything really.

I've always Just put it down to thyroid hormones never being 100% because it comes and goes or increases/decreases in severity but recently I have noticed something a little more troubling about it.

If I squeeze my eyes shut tight for a few seconds and then focus on things in the distance I can see clearly for a couple of seconds before things go back out of focus.

Does anyone else have this or have any idea what it is?, I shouldn't speculate but I can't help but think I have swelling behind my eyes which may be moving my eyes out alignment or something.

I've decided I'm going to see my GP about it and hopefully see if I can get referred to the eye specialist but I thought I'd see if any of you know anything about this while I wait for a doctors appointment.

[bantam12]

Sounds like Thyroid Eye Disease. You could go to a good optician who can check your eyes properly.

[beh1]

I get blurred vision when my levels drop too low. Got it checked out by optician-all ok.

Get it checked, but don't get too worried in meantime. Are your t3 and t4 levels good?

[Helena877]

Hey it's always worth getting your eyes checked out. A good optician is your first point of call. Thankfully they're easy to come by, easy to get an appointment with and either free or cheap.

I have driven myself crazy in the past over weird stuff going on with my eyes. Dry eyes and tiredness made me see halos on the street lights at night. Cured by eye drops. If I don't sleep for 24hrs I see black shadows out of the corner of my eyes. During my period my peripheral vision goes and I bump into door frames etc...

You know if I make a circle with my thumb and fore finger and peer through it, I can see clearer than normal. If I decrease the shape - my vision significantly increases!

Book appointment with - an optician. I don't know off the top of my head but I think there is a branch that is more qualified to diagnosed than the other.

Don't go out of your mind worrying, but when it comes to eyes - don't mess about waiting for a doctor's appointment!!

[helvella Administrator in reply to Helena877]

I agree - go to optician/optometrist first. Most GPs don't have any equipment suitable for proper examination of eyes - beyond their all-purpose torch-with-a-lens-thing.

In some areas opticians can refer directly to ophthalmology services.

My optical history is minimal compared to Helena877. But it did include the oddity of occasional and fairly brief monocular diplopia. First time I had it, I looked with both eyes and couldn't quite understand the birds in the sky. With left eye only, nothing odd at all. With right eye only, twice as many birds.

[Stourie in reply to helvella]

Hi, I had something like that too. It was as if my eyes were seeing the birds at different times but just by a second or so. It was quite scary but since being treated for hypo thyroid it doesn't happen.

Jo xx

[Helena877]

I should have added that these I mentioned are all common. Every time I mention them to the opticians they all tell me so - especially the finger thing. It's something to do with creating a lense and re-focusing of light.

[DonnyJam]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to see if I can get in at the opticians. I was reluctant to go down that route because I don't think my problem is failing eyesight that needs correction with lenses and didn't think they would be qualified to diagnose anything else but now I see they are. I'm not sure where my nearest is but I know it'll be easier getting to see an optician than my doctor. Thanks again 😊

[Glynisrose]

I have giaucoma because of being hypo. The pressure in my eyes is not normal my sister who is also hypo says it is like trying to look through a heat haze.

[DonnyJam in reply to Glynisrose]

I think I have experienced something similar, it was kind of like my vision was trembling.

I thought that may have been blood pressure. What I have now is different though, it's more like images particularly writing and numbers or faces in the distance have a slight ghost image.

[Glynisrose in reply to DonnyJam]

Go and see your optician.

[Achilles_Pain]

I have a similar issue when my medication isn't sufficient. First my eyes feel strange, like they're under pressure and about to pop out, then comes the double vision. The opticians said it was common in patients with hypothyroidism and I should get my GP to increase my dose of levo - they were quite shocked when I told them my (previous) GP had taken me off it because I "was cured". The problem went away as soon as I was put back on it by my new GP. When it started to come back again he arranged another blood test to make sure it wasn't something else, then increased the dose when he saw the results and the problem went away again. It started to return when I changed from 2x50mcg tablets to 1x100mcg tablets, but as soon as I told the GP he changed me back to 2x50mcg tablets it's all ok again.

[DonnyJam in reply to Achilles_Pain]

That's strange with the 50 and 100mcg tabs isn't it.

I take ndt and t3 but used to take levo. I've tried changing my dosages up and down and it has no effect on my vision although back when I was on levo at really high dosage I think it briefly went away.

I'm going to see what the optician says.

[Achilles_Pain in reply to DonnyJam]

It wasn't just the eyes that went strange on 1x100s, all my symptoms came back, and all are going now I'm back on 2x50s. It's only been three weeks so not back to normal quite yet, but getting there.

[DonnyJam in reply to Achilles_Pain]

It's probably no use jumping to conclusions but that would suggest that the 100s were either under dosed or have different fillers that react with you or maybe the 50s are over dosed.

[Achilles_Pain in reply to DonnyJam]

Yes, that's what I thought. But the GP Practise has just (30 seconds ago) phoned to say that based on last week's blood test the doctor thinks I may be over medicated and they are reducing my prescription to 75mcg with another blood test in 2 months. At least this GP isn't just saying there's nothing wrong with me, I have sciatica! Maybe I should be on 87.5? Who knows!