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Hey everyone! I have a question that somewhat relates to my eyes, but has to do with another health issue as well. I don't know who else to ask for advice, so i thought i might explain my situation here in hopes of figuring out what i should do, so bear with me. Any advice would be great.
About four years ago when I first started having problems with my eyes my doctors and opthalmologists were trying to figure out why i had gotten SLK and dry eye at such a young age (17 at the time) and thought there must be a root problem to my eye issues. One doctor then discovered that I have Raynaud's as well and thought that I should get my thyroid checked as a reason for my eye problems and Raynaud's. It turns out that I have a history of hyperthyroidism in my family and I have always had problems with keeping weight on me, so it all seemed to make sense that hyperthyroidism was the reason for all the random problems I was having. Unfortunately, the blood work for my thyroid tests came back normal, so the doctors just figured that the symptoms were all random and unrelated. They never came to a conclusion of why I have the eye problems that I have.
Since then, I've just been trying to take care of my eyes, and always stayed really healthy so I never really thought about getting my thyroid checked again.... until a few weeks ago.
In May I went to London to study abroad, and two days into my trip I became extremely sick (throwing up, fever, to put it nicely- other digestive problems, the whole shabang). I NEVER get sick, so it was all very unusual for me. I went to the doctor in London, but the doctor just figured that I had a stomach virus (which i agreed with) and gave me some anti-nausea medicine. As the month continued, the vomiting stopped, but I began to have horrible heart palpitations, I was constantly shaky, was always incredibly hot (my skin- especially on my thighs for some reason- was very hot to the touch and would get incredibly red), I was loosing weight although I was eating a ton, and I was unable to sleep at night, which i don't usually have a problem with. I just figured that maybe my immune system was still weak from getting sick and I wasn't recovering because I was constantly doing school work and traveling. The last week in June though, all of a sudden, I being throwing up and having diarrhea again and could not keep anything down. After a few days, it got so bad that my roommate had to take me to the emergency room (i was so weak i could barely walk at this point) and I had to be given two iv's to replace all the fluids I had lost. The doctor figured I had just unluckily caught another stomach bug. It was discovered that I had lost over 1/10th of my body weight in just a few weeks and he couldn't get my heart rate below about 115 beats per minute. This happened to be the day before I flew back home to the US, so as soon as I arrived home, I went to see an American doctor. They did a bunch of blood work, which I assumed was routine, and low and behold- they discovered that my thyroid was overactive.
My doctor then went on to explain that all the symptoms and health problems that I had while I was abroad (and the problems i've had with my eyes) are symptoms of hyperthyroidism and that it all made sense. As much as I hated to know that there was something potentially wrong with me it felt good to hear that there was a reason behind all the strange health problems that I had in Europe, not to mention the problems that I have with my eyes, my weight, etc. It was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel- after over four years of eye problems, maybe i would finally get them under control. She suggested I get more blood work done, just to double check things, but she felt almost 100% certain that i had hyperthyroidism. Unfortunately, the next blood work that I got showed that my thyroid was normal once again. I was very frustrated to say the least.
Then today, I had to go get a routine physical here at my university. The university doctor said that I had incredibly high heart palpitations (just like I did in Europe) and couldn't get them down. I am so incredibly frustrated with the random health issues that I am suddenly having.
Is there anyone here on the DEZ that has eye issues due to hyperthyroidsim, and if so, did you have some of these other symptoms as well? Even though the second set of blood work said that my thyroid was normal should I go see an endocrinologist to get to the bottom of this, or would that be wasting my time? I apologize for the lengthy email, but I am just kind of worried. Thanks so much.
About four years ago when I first started having problems with my eyes my doctors and opthalmologists were trying to figure out why i had gotten SLK and dry eye at such a young age (17 at the time) and thought there must be a root problem to my eye issues. One doctor then discovered that I have Raynaud's as well and thought that I should get my thyroid checked as a reason for my eye problems and Raynaud's. It turns out that I have a history of hyperthyroidism in my family and I have always had problems with keeping weight on me, so it all seemed to make sense that hyperthyroidism was the reason for all the random problems I was having. Unfortunately, the blood work for my thyroid tests came back normal, so the doctors just figured that the symptoms were all random and unrelated. They never came to a conclusion of why I have the eye problems that I have.
Since then, I've just been trying to take care of my eyes, and always stayed really healthy so I never really thought about getting my thyroid checked again.... until a few weeks ago.
In May I went to London to study abroad, and two days into my trip I became extremely sick (throwing up, fever, to put it nicely- other digestive problems, the whole shabang). I NEVER get sick, so it was all very unusual for me. I went to the doctor in London, but the doctor just figured that I had a stomach virus (which i agreed with) and gave me some anti-nausea medicine. As the month continued, the vomiting stopped, but I began to have horrible heart palpitations, I was constantly shaky, was always incredibly hot (my skin- especially on my thighs for some reason- was very hot to the touch and would get incredibly red), I was loosing weight although I was eating a ton, and I was unable to sleep at night, which i don't usually have a problem with. I just figured that maybe my immune system was still weak from getting sick and I wasn't recovering because I was constantly doing school work and traveling. The last week in June though, all of a sudden, I being throwing up and having diarrhea again and could not keep anything down. After a few days, it got so bad that my roommate had to take me to the emergency room (i was so weak i could barely walk at this point) and I had to be given two iv's to replace all the fluids I had lost. The doctor figured I had just unluckily caught another stomach bug. It was discovered that I had lost over 1/10th of my body weight in just a few weeks and he couldn't get my heart rate below about 115 beats per minute. This happened to be the day before I flew back home to the US, so as soon as I arrived home, I went to see an American doctor. They did a bunch of blood work, which I assumed was routine, and low and behold- they discovered that my thyroid was overactive.
My doctor then went on to explain that all the symptoms and health problems that I had while I was abroad (and the problems i've had with my eyes) are symptoms of hyperthyroidism and that it all made sense. As much as I hated to know that there was something potentially wrong with me it felt good to hear that there was a reason behind all the strange health problems that I had in Europe, not to mention the problems that I have with my eyes, my weight, etc. It was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel- after over four years of eye problems, maybe i would finally get them under control. She suggested I get more blood work done, just to double check things, but she felt almost 100% certain that i had hyperthyroidism. Unfortunately, the next blood work that I got showed that my thyroid was normal once again. I was very frustrated to say the least.
Then today, I had to go get a routine physical here at my university. The university doctor said that I had incredibly high heart palpitations (just like I did in Europe) and couldn't get them down. I am so incredibly frustrated with the random health issues that I am suddenly having.
Is there anyone here on the DEZ that has eye issues due to hyperthyroidsim, and if so, did you have some of these other symptoms as well? Even though the second set of blood work said that my thyroid was normal should I go see an endocrinologist to get to the bottom of this, or would that be wasting my time? I apologize for the lengthy email, but I am just kind of worried. Thanks so much.
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