Hi everyone.
Last Saturday I attended the second patient and family Graves' Disease conference held at the Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan. As some of you may know, this is where my eye specialist is and where I have been a patient for six years now. It was a wonderful morning full of detailed information about Graves' Disease. And best of all, I saw familiar faces from the last time I was there (about 90 days ago) when they held their very first conference for patients and family members on Graves' Disease.
The question came up, why is it the eyes remain stiff even after some/most/all of the eye issues are gone? Even in my case, my right eye still feels some measure of stiffness, especially in the morning. Some days are worse than others. Some days it's not so bad.
The reason? According to Dr. Cesar Briceno, M.D., the eye muscles get fibrosis and scar tissue that can result in stiffness that we feel, and that stiffness can at times even prevent movement.
I also learned more about the autoimmune process in Graves' Eye Disease, specific to the eye issues/swelling. According to Dr. Shivani Gupta, MD, MPH, (she spoke at the event), there can be either muscle involvement (usually in older people), or fat expansion (more prominent in younger people). I didn't realize the swelling can present itself in two entirely different ways.
For anyone residing near Ann Arbor, Michigan, I encourage you to attend the next patient / family forum in about three months or so. Check back for the date, which I'll post here, when it is published. A lot of people come from out of state as well. Let me know if you're coming next time and I'll look forward to meeting you there.
