Graves disease exophthalmos
Common Questions and Answers about Graves disease exophthalmos
graves-disease
It depends a lot on what is causing the exophthalmos. The most common is Graves Disease as a part of hyperthyroidism. There are other causes some quite serious. I cannot answer your questions since I don't know what's causing the problem. I suggest you see a oculo-plastic surgeon (find one in the USA at www.aao.org).
Regarding the first part, exophthalmos is a fancy medical term for bulging/protruding eyeballs, more commonly secondary to infection/inflammation (including but not limited to entities such as Graves' disease of thyroid) versus less likely neoplasm (cancer). You should follow-up with your PCP for additional workup and management.
Regarding the second part, lacrimal glands are the glands that produce tears.
Prisms can be incorporated into the glasses or stuck on all the back surface of the lens "fresnel prisms" Tape won't cut it.
I have Exophthalmos from Graves Disease. I have been having eye pain, sometimes severe. An MRI was done and there is extra-occular muscle enlargement which was determined to be associated with the Graves but I was told it did not appear to be severe enough to be causing the severe pain (pressure around the optic nerve at the annulus of Zinn). When you have extra-occular muscle enlargement can the extraocular muscle swelling VARY throught the day causing pain.
t enlarge like the soft, rubber like sclera of youth. Graves Diease with exophthalmos can be very difficult to diagnosis and 'regular' thyroid studies can be normal. You really need to discuss this with your physicians. These cases are so unique that I can't generalize anymore.
Yes, its a common problem. It's called "Exophthalmos", the most common cause by far is Grave's Disease associated with hyperthyroidism. Next most common are "orbital pseudo-tumor" and lymphoma.
Because there are a number of causes and you do not state what the cause it it is not possible to offer you advice on surgery. There are also different types of surgery: biopsy, lid retractor recessions, orbital decompression.
I was put on antibiotics - in the end I had courses of amoxycillin, ciprofloxacin, and then a month of doxycycline (GP was concerned I may have Lyme disease and test was not back yet).
Over the next 4 months I continued to have all these symptoms. I would feel well for a couple of days and then terrible again for about a week (sometimes having to take to my bed). Over the past month the cough and sore throat have subsided mostly.
It should be pointed out that, especially in the US literature, the term ‘hashitoxicosis’ is sometimes used to describe an autoimmune thyroid disease overlap syndrome of Graves’ and Hashimoto’s disease. In this article the term is strictly limited to the ‘leakage’ symptoms of active Hashimoto’s disease."
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Excerpts from the book: Thyroid Disorders and Related Health Conditions by James M. Lowrance...
You can have thyroid exophthalmos without frank thyroid disease. You need to have a work up (scan) to determine the cause.
from "endocrine web":
"
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (also called autoimmune or chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis) is the most common type of thyroiditis. It is named after the Japanese physician, Hakaru Hashimoto, that first described it in 1912. The thyroid gland is always enlarged, although only one side may be enlarged enough to feel.
Graves is an autoimmune disease and unfortunately for life. Controlling whether they raise or suppress is key to beating the symptoms of the disease.
If you are on Levo now - your labs must be abnormal and now lean towards hypoT levels. You would feel like cr@p right now with the swinging patterns you have been on.
"Once Graves.... always Graves" is the saying here. But I am positive your endo or ???
I have been going to an Endocrinologist for almost 1 year. He has done several ultrasounds showing that I have 5 tumors on my thyroid. I have a biopsy which showed they were benign. I recently had another ultrasound which showed one of the tumors had shrunk but another one appeared.
Optic neuritis does not cause an eyeball to change size or sink in (inophthalmos) or push out (exophthalmos). Discuss with your ophthalmologist.
Have you been tested for thyroid antibodies to make sure you do, in fact, have Graves disease and are not simply in a hyper phase of Hashimoto's? Both Graves and Hashimoto's are autoimmune.
While Graves is always connected with hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto's is most often connected with hypothyroidism, however it's not uncommon for one to have periods of hyperthyroidism in the beginning stages.
You should ask for thyroid antibody tests.
If you don't mind. I see you posts starts out as Graves Disease and you are looking for a surgeon?
While I would have to do some checking around on this can you post the reason for the removal? - Is it for Graves disease?
Has your doctor told you, you have Graves Disease? Yes, your TSH is extremely low and your FT4 is extremely high, indicating that you are hyper, but your antibody tests indicate Hashimoto's. TSI is the definitive test for Graves Disease and I don't see that listed.
Have you been put on antithyroid med?
Did I develop neutropenia from the Graves disease and how do I stop the neutropenia from getting worse? Also, what are some things that I should avoid as a result of my neutropenia? In addition, my heart rate ranges from 120-140 and I feel very tired and confused. Are these feelings a result of my heart rate? Thank you in advance.
I am glad I found this site, I found out today that I have graves disease, I also have a multinodular goiter and I had a thyroid scan and it showed a cold area, so I have to have a biopsy. I am so scared, I have never really been sick and now all of a sudden I get this. Has anyone had a biopsy on a nodule and how long does it take for the results to get back? Any help is greatly appreciated!
ve been having these severe migraines for over 2 months now, my eyes hurt terribly from all the pressure, im not sure if its the pressure in my nerves from all the spasms and intense pain and weakness im having in my limbs but im scared that its ocular migraines, i could not read properly with having bad pain in my head, i have graves disease but with my doctors appoinment yesterday at the endocrinologist the doc says im 'normal' when im everything but the muscle weakness is so sever i
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