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I always wonder why I have had such a terrible time with dry eyes since Lasik... maybe there isn't a reason... I mean, stuff just happens sometimes, right? 
But if there IS a reason, then I'd like to know what it is.
So... I've been speculating about whether or not I might have some kind of autoimmune issue.... Mind you, even if I DO have some kind of autoimmune issue, maybe that wouldn't change anything the docs would do to treat me anyhow... so if that's the case, then why even go there, right? But I'm curious...
I feel like I may sound like I'm grasping at straws here in looking for an explanation for my dry eye problems... but here goes anyhow.
Weird stuff that's happened to me:
Optic Neuritis when I was 18. They did an MRI on me, and found lesions in my brain. They told me that with an MRI result like that AND the acute attack of optic neuritis, I had an 80-90% chance of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in future. They couldn't call it MS then because it was only 1 attack, and you need 2 attacks of MS-like symptoms to get diagnosed with MS.
I get ocular migraines from time to time. I don't get them often, maybe once every few months... I get them mostly when at work under florescent lighting.
Strange pain radiating from my joints (in my knees mostly, sometimes ankles) ever since I was a kid. It happens maybe once or twice a month... more often when I'm stressed, I think. I've always been very physically active, so I know what normal discomfort from working out etc. feels like... but this is different. When it happens, it feels like the pain is coming from deep in my bones... it's really intense, and once it starts, the only way to stop it is to lie down and straighten my legs for a few hours. If I can't do that, then I have to take a combo of tylenol and advil... if it's really bad, then tylenol #1's. This strange pain is normally gone by the time I wake up the next morning.
For as long as I can remember, a weird sensation on the skin of my forearms. This one is hard to describe... it's not a numbness, not a pain exactly, and the skin looks perfectly normal... but when it happens, touching the skin on my forearms feels very uncomfortable. This happens maybe once every couple of months... lasts a few hours to a day, and then goes away as mysteriously as it came...
Just in the past few years, I feel like my mouth has been a little bit dry... Is it normal to not be able to go shopping without a water bottle? If I have my water with me, I'm fine... but if I leave without it, my mouth is super dry by the time I'm heading home... I've never given this much thought, because I always assumed that it was probably just the air-conditioning or dry heat in winter. It seems like such a silly thing to mention... I mean honestly, as IF this could possibly be anything noteworthy, right??
A couple of years ago, the 2 toes beside my baby toe started getting some numbness.
Of course, my immediate thought was "Oh crap!! Don't tell me this is the start of me having MS..."
It was worse if I wore high heels... so I gave them up. Then, there was not only numbness, but stabbing pain with every step if I'd been walking a lot that day... it made me hobble along as if I was 90 years old or something! I saw my neurologist, and he immediately thought it might be MS... sent me for another MRI to check if the brain lesions had changed since I was 18. The results were good news: no changes in the brain lesions. I also consulted with a podiatrist, who suggested some orthotics, as my symptoms were consistent with Morton's Neuroma. The orthotics completely fixed the pain and numbness if I wore them daily. The podiatrist said if it was MS, the orthotics wouldn't have helped.
I've never seen a doctor about any of this (except the optic neuritis and the numb toes) because on their own, these oddities didn't seem like a big deal... I can manage it, so I figured it would be pointless to see a doctor about it.
Anyhow, just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on any of this. Am I a hypochondriac or what??
I feel kind of ridiculous even mentioning this stuff... I mean, everyone has weird stuff go on with their body from time to time, don't they?? But, I'm curious as to what you guys think...
But if there IS a reason, then I'd like to know what it is.So... I've been speculating about whether or not I might have some kind of autoimmune issue.... Mind you, even if I DO have some kind of autoimmune issue, maybe that wouldn't change anything the docs would do to treat me anyhow... so if that's the case, then why even go there, right? But I'm curious...
I feel like I may sound like I'm grasping at straws here in looking for an explanation for my dry eye problems... but here goes anyhow.
Weird stuff that's happened to me:
Optic Neuritis when I was 18. They did an MRI on me, and found lesions in my brain. They told me that with an MRI result like that AND the acute attack of optic neuritis, I had an 80-90% chance of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in future. They couldn't call it MS then because it was only 1 attack, and you need 2 attacks of MS-like symptoms to get diagnosed with MS.
I get ocular migraines from time to time. I don't get them often, maybe once every few months... I get them mostly when at work under florescent lighting.
Strange pain radiating from my joints (in my knees mostly, sometimes ankles) ever since I was a kid. It happens maybe once or twice a month... more often when I'm stressed, I think. I've always been very physically active, so I know what normal discomfort from working out etc. feels like... but this is different. When it happens, it feels like the pain is coming from deep in my bones... it's really intense, and once it starts, the only way to stop it is to lie down and straighten my legs for a few hours. If I can't do that, then I have to take a combo of tylenol and advil... if it's really bad, then tylenol #1's. This strange pain is normally gone by the time I wake up the next morning.
For as long as I can remember, a weird sensation on the skin of my forearms. This one is hard to describe... it's not a numbness, not a pain exactly, and the skin looks perfectly normal... but when it happens, touching the skin on my forearms feels very uncomfortable. This happens maybe once every couple of months... lasts a few hours to a day, and then goes away as mysteriously as it came...
Just in the past few years, I feel like my mouth has been a little bit dry... Is it normal to not be able to go shopping without a water bottle? If I have my water with me, I'm fine... but if I leave without it, my mouth is super dry by the time I'm heading home... I've never given this much thought, because I always assumed that it was probably just the air-conditioning or dry heat in winter. It seems like such a silly thing to mention... I mean honestly, as IF this could possibly be anything noteworthy, right??
A couple of years ago, the 2 toes beside my baby toe started getting some numbness.
Of course, my immediate thought was "Oh crap!! Don't tell me this is the start of me having MS..."
It was worse if I wore high heels... so I gave them up. Then, there was not only numbness, but stabbing pain with every step if I'd been walking a lot that day... it made me hobble along as if I was 90 years old or something! I saw my neurologist, and he immediately thought it might be MS... sent me for another MRI to check if the brain lesions had changed since I was 18. The results were good news: no changes in the brain lesions. I also consulted with a podiatrist, who suggested some orthotics, as my symptoms were consistent with Morton's Neuroma. The orthotics completely fixed the pain and numbness if I wore them daily. The podiatrist said if it was MS, the orthotics wouldn't have helped.
I've never seen a doctor about any of this (except the optic neuritis and the numb toes) because on their own, these oddities didn't seem like a big deal... I can manage it, so I figured it would be pointless to see a doctor about it.
Anyhow, just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on any of this. Am I a hypochondriac or what??
I feel kind of ridiculous even mentioning this stuff... I mean, everyone has weird stuff go on with their body from time to time, don't they?? But, I'm curious as to what you guys think...
heehee
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