Lyme + hypothyroid + eye stys

Hi folks, I just posted the following in the hypothyroid forum. However, I just read a post here on the lyme forum (which I also have) by Trav talking about swollen eyelids and possible connection to thyroid issues.

So, I hope it's okay to also pose this question here... since, again, I'm dealing with lyme also.
Maybe eye sty's are also related to lyme ? At this point, I wouldn't dis-believe anything.

This is so frustrating.


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Hi All,

I was diagnosed with hypothyroid in 2011 and put on Armour thyroid, working up to 90mg, 1x / day.

Maybe a month or so prior to being diagnosed, I began getting sty's on my left eyelid... several sty's, one next to the other. Once I went on Armour the sty's disappeared and did not return... until the first week of October, this year.

I read somewhere on stop the thyroid madness website that in 2014, Forest Labs had been bought by another company and that Armour had been reformulated. Assuming that it might take time for the previous version of Armour to make it's way through pharmacies, I'm guessing that I got a bottle of the reformulated batch in September / October, and now the sty's have reappeared.

The first sty lasted a full month (all of October), getting to the size of a pencil eraser, before it finally broke open and drained. In that time, I saw two MD's and an eye doctor, all of whom did not want to lance it but, offered me antibiotics instead. The problem is, I'm allergic to most antibiotics so, I rely on anti-microbial foods like: raw garlic, ginger, tumeric, etc to fight off things like sinus / ear infections, and in this case sty's.... which are supposedly staph infections.

Unfortunately, after the sty drained, that's when I saw that just like 4+ years ago, there were two more sty's under and / or next to the first one. So, the first sty last a full month, and the remaining sty's are still there. Three months total.

I have an old bottle of Westhroid that I tried two different times, for two days each time, taking only 60mg... and by the second day, I get severe brain swelling type headaches, racing heart rate (140 bpm), and panic attacks. Similar to how I feel when on antibiotics. Which is weird because I tried Westhroid for a few months back in 2011 when I was first diagnosed hypo and didn't have those kinds of symptoms when taking it.

My question for you folks is: Has anyone else with hypothyroid noticed that they had sty's prior to going on NDT ? Has anyone on Armour noticed that their sty's have returned since Armour was reformulated ?

I google searched "sty's hypothyroid" and only found one other thread on another health forum, back from 2005, with a few posts on it. So, I think there may be others out there with the same issue but, it doesn't appear to be a common theme. And the MD's I've seen have "zero" knowledge about it. *sigh* I've had the worst luck with MD's during my 45 years of life. I much prefer naturopaths and nurse practitioners.

Hoping you folks can provide some insight. Thanks. :)

I didn't start on Armour until after they had reformulated it, but I never had any issues. I was able to ramp up fairly quickly and easily with no side effects.

I used to be very prone to stye's before I healed, but they aren't directly related to these infections, even though Bart is known for producing eye symptoms for some people, as stye's are due to a blocked gland:

"Chalazion (or stye) is the result of a blocked meibomian gland orifice (*a special gland @ the rim of the eye lid); patients with blepharitis and rosacea are at higher risk for this condition. Patients describe an eyelid lump and erythema with spontaneous drainage in some cases. On examination, there is a subcutaneous nodule in eyelid with surrounding erythema and edema. The nodule may come to a point where yellow material is seen just beneath the skin. The patient should be referred to an ophthalmologist if there is any question that the nodule may represent something other than a chalazion. Warm compresses three times per day for ten minutes each time will lead to drainage and resolution in the great majority of cases. If warm compresses do not lead to resolution after one month, referral to an ophthalmologist is required for incision and drainage. In cases of recurrent chalazia, treatment of underlying, predisposing conditions such as meibomian gland disease may be necessary."

Found 3/4 of the way down this page: www.antimicrobe.org/e34.asp

And there is a lot of information about Meibomian gland disease online - with alternative treatments - available online, if you find that you match up with those symptoms.

I hope you find some relief soon. I hate styes!!

sknight - STTM site said Armour reformulated, again, in 2014?

Armour did this back in 2009 too (it was better before) and actually went off the market for three months. This messed up many people, and the reformulation was not as good. Many left this brand.

I gave the new NP thyroid (by Acella) a five year market "test" before I started to use it, so far so good.

I've had eyelid cracking (maybe from candida?), but not styes.

For hypo thyroid I would try Ashwagandha, but be very careful to check your hormone levels monthly. After several months of daily high doze, my fatigue was completely gone but then it has put me into hyper-thyroid and had some pretty bad eye issues, you can read the entire post here:
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=3550177