Graves' Ophthalmopathy

Graves' Disease is an autoimmune disease. The antibodies that attack my thyroid also attack my eyes separately. Even if one is under control (my thyroid), my eyes can flare up. I had a tough week on my eyes and have since then taken very good care of them with eye lubricants, lights off etc. They have improved drastically. I asked my endo why it got so bad and she said it could've been too much iodine (I'm not supposed to have iodine).

Key symptoms can include:

-eyelid retraction

-bulging/proptosis

-dryness (YES)

-tearing

-puffiness (YES)

-twitching

-staring

-uneven motion of upper eyelid

-lid lag

-blurring of vision

-reduced color brightness

-double vision

-light sensitivity (YES)

-aching and sore eyes (YES)

There is a 6 level classification for eye problems:

Level 0: no signs

Level 1: only upper lid retraction and stare

Level 2: Soft tissue involvement (pain behind eyes, light sensitivity)

Level 3: Bulging

Level 4: Double Vision

Level 5: Corneal Involvement

Level 6: Sigh loss (due to optic nerve involvement)

So, I am at a level 2.

One study found that over 12 years, more than half had double vision, 28% had reduced clarity of vision, and 60% had bulging.

Here are my well lubricated eyes. It's important to document pictures of your eyes for the ophthalmologist to recognize changes. I don't know if you can see it, but between the iris and the inner part of my eye (right side of picture), I have a small growth. It exists on both eyes now.