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Eye problems afer starting Levoxyl
Can you have eye problems after starting Levoxyl? I had graves disease and RAI 6 years ago, and I had the bulging and pain ful eyes. Then after I RAI my thryoid and eyes became normal. Now I was diagnosed as subclincal hypo and was put on .25 mcg of Levoxyl. I have been on it for a month and notices this week my eyeballs hurt and feel like they are swelling. Can the meds be doing this?
I have Hashimoto's and have dry eyes and a very mucus-y throat which is difficult to clear. My endocrinologist said it sounds like Sjogren's but I've tested negative for that. However, Sjogren's takes ON AVERAGE 6 1/2 years to diagnose. Apparently, one autoimmune disease predisposes you to others. One helpful resource for all of you may be the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation. If you join for $35 you can then access their Products Directory where they list many products for dry eyes, mouth, etc. I've contacted a local Sjogren's support group leader and may go to some of their meetings.
Sorry to hear you are having eye problems. I have had Graves and Graves Eye disease for nearly 3 years. It has "burned itself out" - doctor speak for is no longer active, so I am on to the surgery phase of treatment.
The biggest lesson I have learned from having this very strange, very unknown disease (heck, I never even heard of it until I was diagnosed!) is patience. I am often fed up with the dry eyes and the "crunchy" feeling. I take eye drops with me wherever I go, wouldn't think about going outside on even overcast days without sunglasses, and faithfully use the nighttime gels every night. When I get discouraged, I tell myself it doesn't hurt, it isn't life threatening and so far mine has not been sight threatening. So what if I "freak out" little kids far and wide (I never noticed kids paying that much attention to people's eyes before, but they really do!) That helps me be patient with the process. I thank God it isn't cancer requiring chemo.
I had orbital decompression surgery done to both eyes in March, and got about 4 mm each reduction in the proptosis (bulging) and quite a bit of reduction in pressure. I was scheduled for the upper lid retraction to be repaired in a couple of weeks, but got a sinus infection from the first surgery that just won't go away, so I get to have endoscopic sinus surgery that week instead. The eyelid surgery will have to wait until November 1st. Patience again, for I was really looking forward to being "normal" - if I can even remember what that means :-) .
Good luck with the ophthalmologist next week. At least know you are not alone. I really didn't know what to think at first, as I didn't find this board until late last fall. Even then, it isn't the most common ailment, so there isn't alot posted here. I wish you well.
The biggest lesson I have learned from having this very strange, very unknown disease (heck, I never even heard of it until I was diagnosed!) is patience. I am often fed up with the dry eyes and the "crunchy" feeling. I take eye drops with me wherever I go, wouldn't think about going outside on even overcast days without sunglasses, and faithfully use the nighttime gels every night. When I get discouraged, I tell myself it doesn't hurt, it isn't life threatening and so far mine has not been sight threatening. So what if I "freak out" little kids far and wide (I never noticed kids paying that much attention to people's eyes before, but they really do!) That helps me be patient with the process. I thank God it isn't cancer requiring chemo.
I had orbital decompression surgery done to both eyes in March, and got about 4 mm each reduction in the proptosis (bulging) and quite a bit of reduction in pressure. I was scheduled for the upper lid retraction to be repaired in a couple of weeks, but got a sinus infection from the first surgery that just won't go away, so I get to have endoscopic sinus surgery that week instead. The eyelid surgery will have to wait until November 1st. Patience again, for I was really looking forward to being "normal" - if I can even remember what that means :-) .
Good luck with the ophthalmologist next week. At least know you are not alone. I really didn't know what to think at first, as I didn't find this board until late last fall. Even then, it isn't the most common ailment, so there isn't alot posted here. I wish you well.
Myliljay: We understand exactly where you're coming from. I as well was told I was crazy and/or depressed because of all the symptoms. 4-5 different doctors were practically trying to shove anti-depressants down my throat. I'm a nurse---- trust me, I know a depressed person when I see one! LOL !! Hang in there and keep checking this board. There are some very awesome, supportive, and knowledgeable people in here.
GravesLady, thanks for the additional info on TED. Yes, I've had the blepharitis and myemobian gland dysfunction thing too... already taking fish oil and vitamin E. I'll have to give the grapeseed and silver a try. Have the peas in the freezer, I'll give them a try tonight. Thanks again so much. You're a wealth of knowledge :)
Take care
GravesLady, thanks for the additional info on TED. Yes, I've had the blepharitis and myemobian gland dysfunction thing too... already taking fish oil and vitamin E. I'll have to give the grapeseed and silver a try. Have the peas in the freezer, I'll give them a try tonight. Thanks again so much. You're a wealth of knowledge :)
Take care
Thanks for your info. I am new to this site and it helps to know that I am not alone. It seems like everyone thinks Im crazy and I have all these crazy symptoms. I know it is the thyroid. My eyes feel exactly how you described them, and yes the dry heat is terrible! I went to a regular optomitrist who measured my eyes ( right eye at 24 and the left at 26.) He referred me to an opthomologist and my appt is not until next week, so right now I am suffering with these painful eyes. I also starting to feel some pressure in the neck area, which I called my thyroid doc, and they ordered some labs and told me to keep taking the meds until they get labs and tell me what to do. Ugh! i hate the wait and how I am feeling!!!!!
A person can be Hashi and have TED too. Hashi is autoimmune and so is TED Autoimmune.
Here are a few helpful hint:
You should use Lubricating eye drops with natural ingredients /no preservatives (especially if you have TED)not something that gets the red out those can be more drying to the eyes. And use them liberally (some people use them every fifteen minutes when using the computer or walking in a breeze, anything that is particularly hard on the eyes).
Silver is involved in suppressive functions such as suppressing fibroblast growth and an extremely good reason for those suffering from TED to take a colloidal silver supplement (follow directions on the bottle).. I took 5 Drops of Colloidal silver per day but stopped due to expense.
I switch to taking 450 mg of Grape Seed Extract. It has been reported that taking 100 mg of grapeseed extract twice daily, which is a great antioxidant, protect against free radical damage and, to help improve circulation, strengthen blood vessels and benefit TED . The link between Grapeseed extract and thyroid eye disease is through Antioxidant protection. Its 50 times more potent than vitamin E, 20 times more potent than vitamin C, improves immune responses, allergies, healing, energy, and vision. Grape seeds (Vitis vinifera) are a rich source of flavonoid compounds called proanthocyanidins (also called "OPCs" for oligomeric proanthocyanidins or "PCOs" for procyanidolic oligomers). These compounds have powerful antioxidant properties, which can be beneficial for cells and tissues throughout the body. Although PCOs are found in a wide variety of plants, the best supplemental sources are extracts from grape seeds and the bark of the maritime pine (PycnogenolÂ). Grape seed extracts are commonly standardized for 92 to 95 percent proanthocyanidin content to ensure consistent antioxidant potency.
Omega-3's supplements help dry eye by suppressing redness and inflammation of the eyelids, known as blepharitis, and improving eyelid oil gland function and tear production
There are a few things you can do to alleviate the swelling and pain in your eyes.
First, raise the head of your bed with 4x4 under the head of the frame, and it raises the bed just right. That helps gravity to keep the fluid from collecting in the tissues of your eyes.
Use frozen peas in a ziploc bag to help the pain behind your eyes but don't try to cook them later. Peas work well because they do the best job of conforming to the valleys around the eyes and they give the most complete relief. The sunglasses they sell for cataract patients are great for keeping light out.
Here are a few helpful hint:
You should use Lubricating eye drops with natural ingredients /no preservatives (especially if you have TED)not something that gets the red out those can be more drying to the eyes. And use them liberally (some people use them every fifteen minutes when using the computer or walking in a breeze, anything that is particularly hard on the eyes).
Silver is involved in suppressive functions such as suppressing fibroblast growth and an extremely good reason for those suffering from TED to take a colloidal silver supplement (follow directions on the bottle).. I took 5 Drops of Colloidal silver per day but stopped due to expense.
I switch to taking 450 mg of Grape Seed Extract. It has been reported that taking 100 mg of grapeseed extract twice daily, which is a great antioxidant, protect against free radical damage and, to help improve circulation, strengthen blood vessels and benefit TED . The link between Grapeseed extract and thyroid eye disease is through Antioxidant protection. Its 50 times more potent than vitamin E, 20 times more potent than vitamin C, improves immune responses, allergies, healing, energy, and vision. Grape seeds (Vitis vinifera) are a rich source of flavonoid compounds called proanthocyanidins (also called "OPCs" for oligomeric proanthocyanidins or "PCOs" for procyanidolic oligomers). These compounds have powerful antioxidant properties, which can be beneficial for cells and tissues throughout the body. Although PCOs are found in a wide variety of plants, the best supplemental sources are extracts from grape seeds and the bark of the maritime pine (PycnogenolÂ). Grape seed extracts are commonly standardized for 92 to 95 percent proanthocyanidin content to ensure consistent antioxidant potency.
Omega-3's supplements help dry eye by suppressing redness and inflammation of the eyelids, known as blepharitis, and improving eyelid oil gland function and tear production
There are a few things you can do to alleviate the swelling and pain in your eyes.
First, raise the head of your bed with 4x4 under the head of the frame, and it raises the bed just right. That helps gravity to keep the fluid from collecting in the tissues of your eyes.
Use frozen peas in a ziploc bag to help the pain behind your eyes but don't try to cook them later. Peas work well because they do the best job of conforming to the valleys around the eyes and they give the most complete relief. The sunglasses they sell for cataract patients are great for keeping light out.
Myliljay, I don't have Graves, but do have Hashimoto's and can sympathize with your eye problems. My eyelids are very swollen and my eyes hurt the majority of the time. The pain is typically behind the eyes and yes, they feel very, very swollen--- almost like someone is over-inflating a tire or something. They are also very uncomfortable in the AM and feel like someone has thrown sand into my eyes-- gritty and dry. I do believe that GravesLady is correct= not related to the meds, but to the thyroid condition itself. I see that you live in Arizona (as do I) and I can say that the dry heat out here certainly does not help matters. My opthamologist recently told me to try Systane eye gtts--- they work wonders. Hope you feel better soon. Take care.
Thyroid meds, other than Armour, do not effect the eyes. Antibodies, different from thyroid antibodies, cause the eye disease. Your eye disease was already present before.
TED is going to do what it wants to do, when it wants to do it and as often and as many times as it wants. TED can come only once or visit us many times over our life. We can have multiple flair ups through our lives. Each time we have a hot phase we need to deal with what damage it is doing during that phase.
In autopsies done on Graves' patients doctors have found SOME changes to the eye muscles in nearly every patient whether or not they had already been identified as a TED patient. So the fact is that we all probably have some level of TED but if it's not enough that our eyes are markedly different or uncomfortable, we don't identify it as such. Use over-the-counter eye drop/gel called artificial tears, not the get the red out type of eye drop, keep stress to minimum and stop smoking.
If you haven't already, to an opthalmologist soon as possible to get a baseline readings for your eye measurements so as to have some way to quantify the changes. Doctor probably will take the "wait and see" approach, however, you'll have an established relationship and the doctor will know where your eyes started.
Good Luck.
TED is going to do what it wants to do, when it wants to do it and as often and as many times as it wants. TED can come only once or visit us many times over our life. We can have multiple flair ups through our lives. Each time we have a hot phase we need to deal with what damage it is doing during that phase.
In autopsies done on Graves' patients doctors have found SOME changes to the eye muscles in nearly every patient whether or not they had already been identified as a TED patient. So the fact is that we all probably have some level of TED but if it's not enough that our eyes are markedly different or uncomfortable, we don't identify it as such. Use over-the-counter eye drop/gel called artificial tears, not the get the red out type of eye drop, keep stress to minimum and stop smoking.
If you haven't already, to an opthalmologist soon as possible to get a baseline readings for your eye measurements so as to have some way to quantify the changes. Doctor probably will take the "wait and see" approach, however, you'll have an established relationship and the doctor will know where your eyes started.
Good Luck.
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