Hello Elaine,

I wanted to share my recent experience in healing my eyes. My eye symptoms began last March and consisted of:

slight eyelid retraction in the left eye

swelling of the right eyelid (gotta love the asymetry)

and mega eye pain. my eyes would feel very tight, like someone was squeezing the back of them.

then came unrelentless twitching that would roll up and down my eyelids like tiny roller coasters.

I have been reading the book "Why do I still have hypothyroid symptoms when my labs are normal" which is a great read by the way, and the author says that one of the "deal breakers" for healing thyroid is anemia. I remembered that I have been always told over the years that I was "borderline anemic" or "slightly anemic."

At my next doc appointment I had my red blood cell panel done, as well a b12 test. When the results came in, it showed I am anemic, and it also showed that I am severely B12 deficient. My B12 was 226 with a range starting at 400. It may be that I have prenicious anemia (the autoimmune disease that attcks intrinsic factor preventing B12 absorption). As this sort of deficiency takes many years to develop, and only in strict vegans or malnourished. Which I am neither.

I was in the midst of an "eye attack" that I started to call it when I had my first shot. My eyes just hurt real bad.

Several hours later I was in the car with my husband when I litterally felt the pain in my eyes "dissolve" in 3 seconds. "That was weird" I thought. Trying to asses what caused the spontaneous healing.

I pondered it, until I saw another doctor and told him the story. He explained to me that it made perfect sense because quite commonly for people with severe B12 deficiency, it affects the eyes first. It is called "ischemic optic neuropathy" and basically the eyes become starved for oxygen and start to "stroke out" causing pain and increased pressure in the eyes. Eventually you can wake up blind! After you supplement with B12 it does reverse itself, thank god. But scary!

Anyway, I strongly encourage you all to get your B12 test done. B 12 deficiency seems to run tandem anyway for a lot of thyroid folks so...and, it doesn't digest well, so pills aren't the best. B12 injections from your doctor (my insurance covers) or sublingunal are good.

Anyway, my left eye lid is still retracted and I don't think that is B12 related, but hopefully it was just from the initial thyroid imbalance and will continue to come down with time. I don't think the fact that my eyes were not getting enough oxygen was helping anything!

love and peace!