Eyepatches

Double vision from thyroid eye disease (TED) would frequently ruin my day. I hated it, especially when it happened in the early evening, which it often did. I am a night owl and tend to stay up quite late. I would feel a bit spiteful towards the disease, why must I go to bed early when I do not want to? I coped with this by getting eyepatches.

Seeing through one eye: Deciding to invest in an eyepatch to help with my TED

When I realized I could cover one eye and see normally, I knew this was something I could work with. My eyes were refusing to work together and I had to find a way to deal with it.

Luckily for me, the large extent of my double vision happened at night after long days. Anywhere from the late afternoon to evening time is when my double vision would occur. So I knew investing in some eyepatches would not impact my daily life because I would not have to wear them around anyone.

Over my glasses

The moment I had double vision, I started wearing glasses more. I pulled them out of the case that was stuffed in my desk drawer. It was more instinctual than anything else. My vision was not terrible but I thought it would be good to have something in-between my eyes when they were feeling very sensitive. I have been wearing them ever since. More so out of habit, but I can see better long distance when I am wearing them.

When I was searching for an eyepatch, I was specifically looking at one that could go under one of my lenses. I typically would put the fabric over the lens that had the stick-on prism on (to help correct double vision). I found a black fabric cover that slid perfectly over my glasses.

It’s working!

The first time I put the eyepatch over my glasses, I thought I had won the lottery. I found a loophole in the system and I was going to take full advantage of it. I had a way to cheat this disease and go to bed when I wanted to. I was not going to let this disease stop me from living my day into the night. I was not going to let my eyes tell me when I was going to bed. I was not even tired.

While I did have the benefit of mainly having double vision of night when the prism on my glasses would stop working, I felt I looked ridiculous. I secluded myself away in my room when I would wear this just to make sure no one would have to see me.

Consequences of using an eyepatch

Of course, nothing good can ever come without any consequences. Oftentimes, I would get headaches if I wore the eyepatch for too long. I felt as though my eye that was uncovered had to do twice the work as it normally would and would sometimes hurt after long periods of wear. But it was a way of coping with my double vision and it helped me aid my frustration during difficult periods of time. For that, I am grateful.

Have you ever considered an eyepatch to help your double vision from thyroid eye disease?