About a month ago I saw myself in the mirror and saw my eyes were different. Months prior I was experiencing dryness and watery eye with wind. Last month I was exposed to second hand smoke and I noticed my eyes a few days later. Could this be TED? Ophthalmologist says dry eye. Will see endo this week for second opinion. Second picture was eyes before graves.
I was officially diagnosed March 2025 and have been taking methimazole since then. I’ve had stable labs for over 6mos on 15mg taken once daily. I feel pretty good. I’ve gained a lot of my strength back and I’m back to my normal pre graves weight. Currently though I’m struggling with my eyes. I’ve noticed over the last month one of my eyes has a slightly higher lid than the other making it appear bigger. I saw an ophthalmologist who said it’s just dry eyes and to use eye drops. I have an endo appointment coming up and will ask about my eyes again. My question is, I know my only chance at remission is to come off the meds, and 15mg is still a relatively high dose for someone to take. I haven’t really changed my diet. I truly think my graves was triggered by stress. I also think my eye symptoms were triggered by stress as well. I’ve considered going the functional med route and looking for root cause, but it is a pricey alternative. Have any of you found out your triggers came from food or toxins?
I’ve been on methimazole for over a year and doing well for the most part. Earlier this year I have had a great deal of physical and emotional stress. A kidney stone in January, followed by a cold, and a breast lump scare in February that was classified as benign in March. Towards the end of March I noticed my eyes looked different. One eye is wider and more open and the other looks a bit droppy but overall smaller than the other eye. Ophthalmologist just said my eyes are dry, but I’m scared it’s TED.
I don’t know what to do, I started selenium, use preservative free eyedrops and warm compress. I’ve read a lot of people say it resolves on its own, but I’ve been on meds for over a year and my labs are stable. 😞 TSI still elevated though.
Any words of encouragement, advice, or anything would be greatly appreciated.
I’ve been on methimazole for over a year. I was diagnosed March 2025 after feeling unusual symptoms for almost a year and being brushed off my doctors.
Once I started methimazole I quickly felt better. I was at my pre graves weight, no tachycardia, tremors, anxiety. Life was GOOD. I had my first long stretch of labs in December 2025 after being stable on 15mg for 3 months, my doctor said repeat labs in April 2026.
Some time in March 2026, I was doing my makeup and I noticed one of my eyes looked different. I took a picture and sure enough one eye was wide and round the other was smaller and almond shaped. I had my labs thinking maybe my levels were off but they’re all within normal range. My TSI is still elevated at 238% (normal is less than 140%) but a good decrease from 332% when it was tested in June 2025.
I went through a series of unfortunate events earlier this year. I had a kidney stone that landed me in the ER in January, and a breast lump scare in February that turned out benign thankfully. I think that definitely added a lot of stress. I’ve read a lot about iodine and gluten free/dairy free and honestly I have not restricted my diet. I had negative celiac test in June 2025. I’ve consumed occasional sushi. I actually had sushi in March, right before I noticed the asymmetry.
I’ve seen my ophthalmologist who said I just have dry eyes and no TED. He said my asymmetry is normal but there’s just no way. There is no obvious bulging, only one wider eye (no white showing) and one more closed lid. When I first noticed it, I felt like the smaller eye was trying to close shut involuntarily. I need to know there’s hope for me.
I’m sleeping with my head elevated, taking selenium (one week in), hot compresses. I see my endo next week and he said he’d check my eyes too.