Hobbies
Have you had to change any of your hobbies since being diagnosed with thyroid eye disease?
Which ones? Do you have a new hobby or make changes to one you previously enjoyed? Tell us more in the comments below!
I spend less time with people, I used to go to many more social gatherings. now I avoid them because uncomfortable to show my face too much. I do read more, to fill in time and to look for inspiring stories.
Hi there. Thanks for taking the time to share so openly. You are not alone in how you are feeling, unfortunately. I'm glad to learn that you do have some hobbies. What kinds of books do you enjoy reading? -All the best, Lauren (Team member)
Yes, some people with thyroid eye disease reduce screen time or avoid bright light hobbies due to eye strain or sensitivity. Others switch to gentler activities like audiobooks, crafts, or light walks. Adapting helps protect eye comfort while staying engaged and active.
Hi there, thanks for sharing the ways you have adapted to having TED. We appreciate your comments! -Lauren (team member)
I'm a retired 64yr old male athlete with Graves and TED and have really struggled with my energy level, blood sugar levels and intermittent depth perception. I play advanced pickleball and struggle at times with my depth perception on slower balls but it doesn't effect the faster shots and I can hold my own in the firefight battles with younger players. But I'll hit a streak where I really have difficulty. Then my depth perception will be back to normal. I've also had a few occasions where my eyesight gets blurry in a weird way. The ball appears like those really bad old fluorescent lights, like it's strobing. My right eye is bulging a bit, but not that noticeable to others and I can't move my eyes very well from side to side. But my vision is still 20/15 now after my cataract surgery. I was only able to play a couple days a week before methimazole started kicking in and now up to 4x a week. If I play for more than about 2.5hrs I'm usually really wiped out the next day. If I wasn't a crazy competitor, I'd never play because I'm always tired. I'm also a guitar player and find I'm too physically and mentally tired to play as much as I want.
I know you probably have a handle on it by now and know your routines but I just wanted to chime in and link to an article we have about self-care, just in case, who knows, maybe you want to check it out. I know with my own chronic illnesses I have to be reminded every now and again that I'm not exactly a regular person who can keep taking things on without a break. I forget and end up paying the price! We are here to help if we can! Thanks for sharing, keep on keepin' on, DPM
Thanks. Yes I'm trying to limit myself and it's really hard to stop playing ball when I'm not tired. It's always cmon play one more game that ends up 3 or 4. If I play for too long then I'm wiped out the next day. It's also weird that I can have randomly really bad days where I can't even think straight I'm so exhausted. I was a PE teacher and I'm used to moving all the time, so it's tough to stay still.
Thanks for following up and providing more information. I can imagine that the change in activity capacity must be frustrating, to say the least. Have you figured out how many games you can manage in a day? -Lauren (team member)
