Question: hi - i'm a 51 yo asian male 5'8" @ 190lbs with a history of Graves Disease treated with radio active iodine in the early 90's. recently suffering from weight gain, general sluggish energy levels and finally now hypertropia/vertical diplopia, i had a blood workup and confirmed that my t count was very low. i'm beginning a synthroid regimen and am trying prednizone for possible edema causing or adding to my vision problem. my question is, mainly because i'm 'out of pocket' entirely, should i consider my inferior rectus/other eye muscles needing certain surgery due to fibrosis or pursue alternative therapies first like eye exercises, patch, or see whether any of the meds actually improve me? i'm 3 days on the prednizone and 3 days on the synthroid with no convincing vision improvement as of yet. an mri is a bit costly, although i realize it may be inevitable i get one. i'm generally healthy and am active in sport and exercise and take no other meds, but i do smoke. my blood-pressure and cholestorol levels are good. any input including a practical cost/time approach to this is greatly appreciated. if i, in the end most probably need surgery to improve my condition, i'd like to start preparing for the costs sooner than later. i've been unable to find data quantifying the statistics on this vision problem. - thx!

ty doctor - a couple of pieces of info i failed to initially include:

I started my quest to fight this problem by seeing my opthamologist who, after testing me, prescribed prism lenses for me. I wore them for about a month with little if any real improvement.

Since, my condition has slowly worsened and i have now moved to an endocrinologist who has me taking the prednizone and synthroid. I realize that i have only just begun the meds 3-4 days ago, but continued worsening symptoms has me somewhat worried that I need to act further and perhaps see a neuro-opthamologist? How long should i expect for the meds to show signs of beginning to stabilize my system?

also, since it has recently averaged 100*degree weather around our area, i'm wondering if this heat is affecting my condition since i am outside a large part of the day?

I am also preparing to quick smoking entirely, but it is difficult for me.

ty doctor - my final questions are: while attempting to bring my condition under control and giving 4-6wks to see any real stability, i should expect my vision impairment to continue to worsen before it gets any better? because this seems to be the case...i suppose i shouldn't use my vision issues as a barometer since i have a metabolic problem that i need stabilize first and it makes sense that it will affect my sight while healing. also, i may be suffering swelling in my orbital areas and while subsiding from the prednizone, this may not initially improve my binocular vision performance?

Thanks for your input - XXXXXXX