I am nearsighted (myopic with astigmatism) and wear eyeglasses; I got my first pair when I was 10 years old. In my teen years, my prescription continued to worsen, and my glasses got thicker and thicker each year until I finally switched to contact lenses in high school. Back then, lenses were made of glass or plastic (polycarbonate or high index did not exist), and high prescriptions resulted in thick, heavy, unflattering lenses.

In the past few years, my prescription has been decreasing in power, and my lenses are getting thinner each time I get new glasses. Both eyes have dropped 2-3 diopters in power, which is significant. The spherical correction in my right eye has dropped from -8.0 to -5.75, and my left eye from -7.5 to -4.5. I wondered if thyroid levels could affect the eyes, and sure enough, there were some interesting studies. One study[1] on children said: “In all thyroid conditions the eyes of the patient show some abnormal condition. In the hyperthyroid we have the exopthalmus [bulging of the eye] and in the hypothyroid child there is usually found myopia [nearsighted] with or without astigmatism.”

[UPDATE: My October 2018 eye exam shows continued improvement. My right eye is now -5.0 and my left eye is -4.0. This is an improvement of 3.0 diopters in the right eye and 3.5 diopters in the left eye.]

Another study[2] found an association of progressive myopia in children with hypothyroidism. That describes exactly what I had growing up! These children looked completely normal, but had a low basal metabolic rate. Their eyes were healthy (no glaucoma or other signs of disease); they just got progressively more nearsighted each year.

My eye doctor said that most who are nearsighted become less so as they approach the age where they need bifocals, but the change in their prescription is usually much less, not the 2 to 3 diopters I’ve experienced. I think getting on a physiological dose of thyroid hormone (both T4 and T3) has helped tremendously. Pictures of me from just a few years ago, when I was taking about 2 grains of desiccated thyroid, look a little wide-eyed (a deer in the headlights look). Lid retraction is a hyperthyroid sign and could be a sign of overmedication.[3] I may have been taking too much T3 for me at that time, because I have since lowered the desiccated dose and added some T4 to better match normal thyroid gland output, and my eyes look normal now.

[1] Costello, Jos P. “Obesity and ocular symptoms in mentally alert children due to hypothyroidism.” Endocrinology 20.1 (1936): 105-106.

[2] Morrison, Frederick M. “Myopia and hypothyroidism.” Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society 45 (1947): 527.

[3] Grüters, A. “Ocular manifestations in children and adolescents with thyrotoxicosis.” Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes 107.S 05 (1999): S172-S174.

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