Graves' Disease Support Group
Graves-Basedow disease is a medical disorder that may manifest several different conditions including hyperthyroidism (over activity of thyroid hormone production), infiltrative exophthalmos (protruberance of one or both eyes and associated problems) and infiltrative dermopathy (a skin condition usually of the lower extremities). This disorder is the most common cause of...
Hi everyone,
Hope you are all doing well. I'm so glad this community exists for us Grave-ians (or whatever you call us).
I wanted to ask for tips to improve the appearance of under-eye bags. I'm sure you all know what I mean, the classic GD bags under the eyes. I've only just turned 30, but I look like I'm over 40 because of these damn bags! I've only had GD since my mid-20s, and never had any issues with my eyes before, but it was like overnight I had circles and these bags.
I was extremely overmedicated with MMI and dropped into hypo-hell, and it took a while, but I changed endos and was able to dig myself out of the hole. I think Elaine may have mentioned that when you're overmedicated/hypo, it makes the bags worse because it's fluid build-up or something. The good news is that my GD is finally under control now, but I don't see much improvement with the bags and it's been 10 months now.
I'm wondering if any of you ladies have anything that helped you? Home remedies? Or will the bags never improve?
I would very much appreciate any advice! Thanks!
Hope you are all doing well. I'm so glad this community exists for us Grave-ians (or whatever you call us).
I wanted to ask for tips to improve the appearance of under-eye bags. I'm sure you all know what I mean, the classic GD bags under the eyes. I've only just turned 30, but I look like I'm over 40 because of these damn bags! I've only had GD since my mid-20s, and never had any issues with my eyes before, but it was like overnight I had circles and these bags.
I was extremely overmedicated with MMI and dropped into hypo-hell, and it took a while, but I changed endos and was able to dig myself out of the hole. I think Elaine may have mentioned that when you're overmedicated/hypo, it makes the bags worse because it's fluid build-up or something. The good news is that my GD is finally under control now, but I don't see much improvement with the bags and it's been 10 months now.
I'm wondering if any of you ladies have anything that helped you? Home remedies? Or will the bags never improve?
I would very much appreciate any advice! Thanks!
Thanks so much for the tips. This is very helpful :-) I'll definitely try elevating my head and the Omega 3.
And congrats on the remission! That is so great. How long have you been in remission for? Do you still have symptoms at all? How do you get your FT4 to rise again when you fall below your sweet spot? (I have that problem too -- my sweet spot is 1.3-1.4, but even at 1.2 I start feeling "off".)
I've been in remission for about 10 months now. I wasn't diagnosed with TED and was fortunate that I didn't have any severe issues with my eyes, but I still have the dryness and the damn bags. Has it improved at all for you?
Sorry for the many questions, but I love being able to compare notes with someone who's in a similar spot in their GD journey :-)
-Lu
Thanks again for the help. I've since looked up your profile and saw everything you've been through with GD and TED and everything else. My hat's off to you! You are an amazing, strong woman! I'm so glad that you're in remission now and that you're doing much better :-)
I suspect that I may be very slightly hypo, but my FT4 levels have been more or less stable around 1.2-1.4 for quite a while now. My TSH hasn't been over 1 since stopping meds, but it's been slowly creeping up (at 0.62 now), so I'm hoping things will normalize.
In your experience, does it take a while before you feel completely "normal" once you're in remission? My endo has actually agreed to give me a small dose of Levothyroxine, if I want it, but I've been waiting it out because I don't feel terrible most of the time now and my symptoms are on/off and not clear-cut. (A few months ago after having a couple weeks of feeling "off", as soon as I decided to go through with the Levo, I started feeling better and my FT4 went up a tiny bit.) Not sure if it's worth experimenting with? Or if I should just wait it out.
Big hugs to you too!
-Naomi