Eye sight problems?!

Eye problems are very common with Graves disease. The sooner you are diagnosed and on meds, the faster your symptoms will abate. However, even after I was started on Methimazole I continued to have eye irritation. My eyes were extremely dry, irritated and red and my ophthalmologist put collagen plugs in the tear ducts so I would not have such dry eyes.

Do you not find if you go to an Emergency Department that you are referred to a specialist quicker?

Thanks for your reply. I'm starting to think I might well have Graves' disease?!

My appointment for the consultant has come through - the soonest one is in 8 weeks! Do you mean like going to the out of hours doctor or the A&E department? I didn't know you could do at? It's not an emergency is it?

Thanks again

Xx

I am not sure but I think you might live in England? Not sure of the Health Care System there but here in Canada, most major teaching hospitals have Emergency Departments. The symptoms of Graves disease are symptoms that usually would bring a person to the Emergency Department, particularly the symptom of fast heartbeat.

Once seen there, very often you are referred to a specialist if your case requires it. Also most specialities have residents on call to take cases from the Emergency Department. My brother got seen right away this way. He had a kidney blockage that was not diagnosed in his home town after two years of suffering though he went to the Emergency Department there many times. He went to an Emergency Department here in Toronto and they diagnosed him, admitted him, and he was scheduled for immediate surgery. The surgeon wrote a scathing letter to his physicians in his home town for not diagnosing this and treating it promptly.

When I was diagnosed, my case was mild. It was picked up on routine thyroid testing which I was getting every 6 months for another reason. I only had to wait 3 weeks to see a specialist but it was another 3 weeks before all tests were completed. In the interim of waiting for tests to be completed, I was put on Propranolol for the fast heartbeat and then when diagnosed, I stopped the Propranolol and started on Tapazole.

Hi, Firstly do not panic, there's is no need to go to a&e. Make an appointment with your optician, tell them you have been diagnosed with an over active thyroid and you are getting blurred vision. They will check your eyes and if you need eye cream they will give u straight away, if u need to see specialist for thyroid eye disease they will refer you. Eye problems are caused with over active thyroid, main reason for this is because your eyes begin to bulge, like fish bowls. This makes your eyelids not shut properly even un noticeably and it dries the surface of your eyes. This cause blurred vision, headaches, scratchy eyes and may be very painful. See your optician when you can as it's good to start cream to keep eyes moist, and if need referral they will do it. :-)

My eyes did not bulge but they sure were dry and irritated. There was no cream, liquid, gel or anything else that helped me other than the collagen plugs. I tried everything.

Often the wait to see a specialist in any medical specialty here is around 3 months. I once needed to see an ENT specialist and was told that it was a 3 month wait. Since I was having difficulty swallowing and sleeping, I went to Emerg and saw the ENT resident immediately who diagnosed and treated the condition.

I sure would not have gone 8 weeks waiting to see a specialist for my Graves and my Graves was mild.

Thank you so much for the replies. I'm going to get more bloods done tomorrow at the docs to see what my thyroid is doing. But the eye problem did worry me this morning. I'll just have to wait and see I suppose . I assume that the doctor cannot test for graves and it has to be the consultant?

Xx

If you were only diagnosed a few weeks ago, keep positive. The eye thing will correct itself and most people go on to make full recover within 6months to a year. And are able to stop carbimazole. If you are not stable and have to be referred to specialist they will diagnose graves. It may not be sometimes your thyroid just becomes overactive and they don't know why after an illness or sometimes severe stress can cause it to happen. But it may go back to normal on its own so try not to worry, keep positive and keep a clear mind, and let gp know if symptoms get worse or change. And def go opticians so they can see your eyes to check all ok :-). Best of luck to you x

I was diagnosed in October with graves. My sight is blurry alot and have the puffy eyes. I have had my eyes checked and just been trying to watch them. I am on Methimazole 20mg

Do you know what your blood test values are? It's always a good idea to get a copy of your lab results and keep a copy of your medical records. I have heard that Graves patients that are treated with Radiation therapy have a worsening of their eye symptoms so if that is recommended for you, I would not agree to getting this done.

I found that adding Acetyl-L-carnitine normalized my blood results very quickly and lessened my symptoms. Also I did not have antibodies after adding this.

My ophthalmologist added the collagen tear duct plugs and that made a difference in my dry eyes. Collagen plugs need to be replaced every 3 months. She offered silicone plugs that do not need to be replaced but I am not comfortable with having silicone anywhere in my body so I opt for the collagen ones and get them done every three months.

Graves' disease causes inflammation and swelling in the soft tissues and muscles that surround the eyes, often causing the eyeballs to bulge or protrude from their sockets. Doctors will complete a physical exam by looking at the eyes for signs of irritation or signs of the eyes protruding. They will also examine the thyroid gland to see if it appears enlarged. Since many Graves' disease patients have an overactive thyroid or hyperthyroidism, diagnosis of the disease is also made based off of blood tests that look for specific thyroid-related hormones.