TED? and update on labs!

Well, I saw the eye specialist today for my evaluation for TED. He is one that specializes specifically in thyroid eye disease. He lacked bedside manners and was so serious, it made the visit a little uncomfortable. I had all kinds of testing done with my eyes. First, the assistant had me read the letters from a distance with the right eye then the left eye. She then did a color blind test which I passed with flying colors... lol. After that, she took me into a darkened room and checked my field of view... this was a test where I had to push a button every time I saw a spark of light but had to keep my eye looking straight.... I think I passed that one also without any issues. I tried to tell her that I always see floating spots though so I wasn't sure if I was pushing the button for the test or just the usual spots that I always see from day to day. After that, I was taken back to my exam room where she placed a numbing eye drop in each eye which by the way was the most painful part of this whole process. It burned for a few minutes. She then placed two more other drops to dialate my eyes and left me sitting for a few minutes. My eyes felt very tired and she did mention that they would feel heavy. After a few more minutes, another assistant to the doctor came in and ran a few other tests, checked my eye pressure with this weird instrument, and measured my eyeballs. I was then left again for a few more minutes. This time, the doctor with no bedside manners entered. He was all business. He looked thru my file, looked over the results from the assistants, did a couple "hmmm's", then did a couple more other tests that I think the assistant before him did already. He asked me a few basic questions and then said "just one moment". He turned around to the desk, pulled out his recorder, and recorded is dictation. He then turned around and told me to come back annually for an evaluation or come back sooner if I noticed any changes. SO, I asked "Is this allergies?" "Is this transient?""Is this due to my thyroid being removed?""Is this graves attacking my eyes?".... and he answered that it may be transient due to the removal of my thyroid and there is a possibility that it won't get worse but it won't get better than it is and my eyes may remain puffy. I asked if there was anything that can be done to alleviate the puffiness and he said to just monitor it for now... ARGH! REALLY? Seriously? You have got to be kidding me??? And with that, I walked out with blurry vision due to the dialation, paid my copay, and drove myself home 20 something miles in a blur... OH wait.... he did mention some fat he saw behind the eyes but nothing to worry about.... ARGH again! So, here i sit, frustrated, upset, worried, anxious, but slightly relieved but entirely CONFUSED. So, I've decided I will schedule myself for an eye exam next week since I need one anyways and see what the optometrist says that has no clue about TED.... and then I will also get another opinion with another thyroid eye disease specialist the first week of November... and then I'll compare notes and accept what i'm told at that point. I'm no doctor but hello??? Can I get a steroid or an eye drop of some sort to decrease the puffiness??? Moving on... on a brighter note... my new Internal Medicine doctor called- LOVE LOVE LOVE that guy. He's awesome! Got my lab results back from Friday and they read as follows:Free T4: 1.2 (.8-1.8)Free T3: 2.4 (2.3-4.2)TSH: 4.30 (.40-4.50)Looking good aside from my Free T3's being low... I guess my Free T4 could come up a bit and maybe then I'd feel a little better but overall, I feel pretty damn normal ASIDE from the marshmallow eyes :). So, I'm thinking when I lab the second week of November for my endo that if my levels haven't changed much by then, I will request a small dose of cytomel to help bring those Free T3's up.