Yes, Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) can be very serious, ranging from mild cosmetic issues to severe vision loss, as it involves inflammation and swelling of tissues around the eyes, potentially damaging the optic nerve and leading to blindness if untreated, though early diagnosis and management by specialists can significantly improve outcomes and prevent permanent damage.
Although TED can never truly be cured and doesn't fully “go away” in the traditional sense, it can go into remission. For many, the active phase resolves, leaving behind a quieter, more stable condition. Some people experience mild symptoms that linger, while others find their condition stabilizes entirely.
Causes of thyroid eye disease
This means your immune system attacks your thyroid and eye tissues. Graves' disease is a common cause, but other autoimmune thyroid diseases, like Hashimoto's disease, can also cause it. Even people with normal thyroid function can develop TED.
Most patients think once their medical doctor treats the body's thyroid problem the eyes will go back to normal. This is often not the case.
Symptoms of thyroid eye disease include bulging eyes and seeing double. An eye doctor can prescribe prism glasses to readjust how light enters your eyes, helping you see better.
Consequently, in patients suffering from thyroid eye disease, a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet should limit as much as possible the intake of dairy, proteins, and carbohydrates such as simple sugars. A good anti-inflammatory diet should generally avoid simple sugars/carbohydrates and processed foods.
Surgery. When thyroid eye disease is stable and not in the inflammatory stage, we may perform surgery to improve TED symptoms or cosmetic concerns. Depending on your needs, surgical options include: Orbital decompression: We may remove excess fat or bone to reposition the eye in the socket and treat eye bulging.
The Role of Stress in Graves' Disease and TED
Some people with Graves' also develop TED, a condition where the immune system attacks tissues around the eyes. TED can lead to eye bulging, pain, dryness, and even vision problems. Stress is a major factor in both conditions.
Thyroid conditions are also more common in women. External examination: Observing the eyes allows the doctor to check for bulging, redness, or swelling. Internal examination: The eye doctor can measure eye pressure to evaluate glaucoma risk, which is associated with thyroid eye disease.
Can you drive with thyroid eye disease? In the early stages before damage is done, a patient should have no trouble driving. However, there are some symptoms of hyperthyroidism that would prevent you from seeing properly when driving.
Although both selenium and vitamin D supplementation have been recommended for TED, further investigation is necessary to justify supplementation for patients with TED.
TED is more common in women than men, though men are more likely to have more severe eye disease. The condition can affect people of any age, though it typically occurs in those between ages 30 and 50, and it is less common in children.
Currently, only Teprotumumab is FDA-approved for the treatment of TED. More studies in larger groups of patients are needed to fully understand the safety and efficacy of these newer medications in the treatment of TED. Thyroid eye disease (TED): also known as Graves ophthalmopathy.
About one in every three people with Graves' disease develop eye symptoms. While eye symptoms can occur at any time, they usually appear within the first year of diagnosis of Graves' disease. TED is usually mild and gets better on its own over time. Some cases can be quite severe and can require medications or surgery.
There was a lot of excitement when teprotumumab-trbw became the first drug approved for the treatment of thyroid eye disease in January 2020. The availability of teprotumumab-trbw (Tepezza, Amgen) has changed the landscape of treatment in thyroid eye disease.
The active phase, marked by inflammation, usually lasts from six months to two years. The focus during this stage is on medical treatment to relieve the eye symptoms. During the second phase, or the stable phase, inflammation and other symptoms have subsided.
Eye problems
In thyroid eye disease the tissue around the eye is attacked by inflammatory cells and the result is inflammation, swelling, and bulging of the eye. Thyroid disease and thyroid eye disease both come from the immune system attacking healthy tissue. We now know one disease does not directly cause the other.
To help reduce dryness and discomfort, you can use saline eye drops (artificial tears) during the day. And at night use an eye ointment or gel. Wearing glasses or sunglasses will help protect your eyes from light, cold, and wind. Raising the head of your bed at night will also help reduce your symptoms.
Thyroid hormones are essential for brain function. Low or high levels can lead to issues like anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating and mood swings. Many people don't realize that what feels like a mental health issue could be thyroid related.
An overactive thyroid can affect anyone, but it's about 10 times more common in women than men, and typically happens between 20 and 40 years of age.
Daily habits such as irregular sleep, skipped meals, and stress can harm thyroid function. Improving your routine can offer significant relief and support hormonal recovery.
Prescription drugs or surgery to treat TED
Often the doctor will order an MRI or CT scan of the brain and orbits. In patients with Thyroid Eye Disease, this test will show which muscles are affected and exclude other conditions. Finally, the doctor will check blood work, especially to see if there are thyroid abnormalities in addition to eye problems.
Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) can be confused with a separate condition called Graves' disease. There are a few reasons for this. One reason is that TED and Graves' disease are both autoimmune conditions. Normally, the immune system can tell the difference between your cells and foreign cells, like bacteria.