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Thyroid Eye Disease Treatment Options

Early Thyroid Eye Disease treatment can help prevent serious eye damage

Thyroid Eye Disease (TED), sometimes referred to as Graves’ Eye Disease, is a serious, potentially vision-threatening condition that can get worse over time, if left untreated. The longer that TED goes untreated, the more likely it is for serious damage to happen to your eyes. The earlier you start treatment for your Thyroid Eye Disease, the better. Read on to learn about your TED treatment options.

Common Thyroid Eye
Disease treatments

Eye-drops

Eye drops or gel

Over-the-counter eye drops may help provide relief from dry, gritty eyes. In some cases, doctors will prescribe a specific type of eye drops to use.

For retracted eyelids, or eyelids that can’t close, a lubricating gel can be used to prevent the eye from getting dry while you sleep.

Steroids

Steroids

Steroids are one of the most common treatments and can potentially provide some symptom relief. People with TED usually start on a higher dose which is slowly lowered.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy

Orbital radiotherapy (ORT) is another approach used to treat TED. This treatment aims beams of energy (radiation) at a precise point on the body. In the case of TED, the area targeted is behind the eye.

Thyroidectomy icon

Surgery

Surgery is often considered after other treatments, like medications, have been tried and the disease is in the stable phase. It may be performed sooner if there is a risk of vision loss.

Surgeries are often done in a specific order.

Learn about TED surgery options
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A different treatment option

Ask your doctor if there's another treatment that may be right for you.

Explore a different treatment for TED

Thyroid Eye Disease surgeries

Once Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) reaches the chronic phase, surgery is sometimes used to correct serious damage caused by scarring.

Surgery may help correct a number of TED symptoms, including bulging eyes, double vision, retracted eyelids, misaligned eyes and other changes to your appearance and vision. While some people with TED may achieve the desired results with the first surgery, multiple surgeries may be needed.

TED surgeries are often performed by an oculoplastic surgeon or strabismus surgeon. These surgeons are eye doctors who specialize in surgery of the eye.

TED surgeries are complex, they usually take place in a very specific order.

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Orbital Decompression Surgery

The goals of orbital decompression surgery:

  • Improve the eyelid’s ability to close over the eye, which means that the eye will be better protected
  • Reduce the appearance of eye bulging
  • Relieve eye pain
  • Release pressure on the optic nerve, which can restore and/or improve vision
  • Improve double vision
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Double Vision (Strabismus) Surgery

The goals of double vision surgery:

  • Correct double vision
  • Help people with TED to have better forward vision needed for daily activities like driving or reading
  • Eliminate the need to wear prisms, which are corrective glasses that help with double vision
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Eyelid repositioning surgery

The goals of eyelid repositioning surgery:

  • Return the eyelids to a more normal position
  • Restore appearance
  • Reduce dry eye
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Face sculpting

The goals of face sculpting surgery:

  • Restore appearance of the eyes

If several surgeries are required, doctors recommend that patients wait 2-4 months between each surgery.

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Treating TED early can help prevent serious eye damage.

Real TED patient. Real TED story.

Watch what a patient living with TED had to say about his surgery experience.

  • Read transcript

    Ron:

    I’m Ron. I have Graves’ disease and Thyroid Eye Disease. I was in law enforcement for 33 years, and simultaneously in the military reserves for 27.

    Vickie:

    We’ve been married for 28 years. We were both in the Coast Guard reserves.

    Ron:

    As a police officer, I periodically would have some blurred vision. Little bit of dizziness. One day I looked in the mirror, my right eye was completely as far as it would go toward my nose and looking upward. I was horrified. I was panicked. I didn’t know what it meant.

    Vickie:

    So I said we do need to go get this checked out because obviously something is wrong.

    Ron:

    The bulging and movement of the eyeballs was compressing my optic nerves. There was some question as to whether I would go completely blind. Not a lot of people knew what was happening initially. Then ultimately an endocrinologist said, “Yes, I know what’s wrong with you.”

    Text on screen:

    After months of increasing symptoms and loss of eye function, Ron was finally diagnosed with both Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease.

    With Ron’s vision rapidly deteriorating, doctors decided they needed to act fast. 

    Ron:

    To save my vision, and prevent me from going completely blind, they had to perform fairly immediate surgery. And they did the first of six surgeries. Living with Thyroid Eye Disease certainly has its challenges. I had to rely on Vickie either to get me to and from work, or to get me to the bus stop.

    Vickie:

    My take charge husband having to rely on me and other people when that was not in his personality, which increased his frustration.

    Ron:

    I was not allowed on a public bus one time because I couldn’t read the destination above the driver’s windshield. And I asked him, “Does this bus go to so-and-so?” And he said, “Read the, the thing!” And I said, “I can’t!” And he says, “Well, then get off the bus!” I said, “I can’t read it because I’m legally blind.” Which I was. There was no bus ride for me that day. My blurred vision and such deteriorated to the extent I knew I could not perform on patrol duty. The Chief and the Captain had me turn over my weapon, and suddenly I can no longer do the things that cops do. 

    Text on screen:

    Today, more than two decades since Ron’s diagnosis, they push forward with strength and gratitude.

    Ron:

    There are days when my eyes will start to cross or wander around and I’ll have dizziness and blurred vision, but I absolutely refuse to be a victim. For anyone who is suddenly having an onset of blurred vision, please don’t wait, don’t take chances, contact an endocrinologist and an ophthalmologist. Both of whom are experience with Thyroid Eye Disease and Graves’.

    Vickie:

    And I would add, that even if you don’t know that those are symptoms of Graves’ or the onset of Thyroid Eye Disease, if you are having symptoms that are significant—and double vision is definitely a significant symptom of something—don’t just pass it off as “I’m tired.”

    Ron:

    Vickie has meant everything to me. All is not lost, it’s just the beginning of a journey that can still be a pretty good journey.

    Vickie:

    We just don’t let any of the good days or bad days stop us from doing anything.

“To save my vision, and prevent me from going completely blind, they had to perform fairly immediate surgery. And they did the first of 6 surgeries.” — Ron, real TED patient

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