Getting proper help in the U.K.

[saltysam]

Hi, had dry eyes (that i've been aware of) about 5 weeks now, diagnosis was done by an eye nurse at the local hospital who put some paper under my eyelids,came back 5 minutes later and said i had dry eyes.Wouldn't let me see the eye doctor as she felt it was nothing serious and gave me some viscotears.told me to buy OTC drops as they were cheaper than prescription,said she had dry eyes herself and clearly didn't think they were anything to worry about.

Fast forward a week later where i decide to take myself to the optician for an eyetest even though i wasn't due one,explained i was worried about my eye health which was why i'd come. She was more helpful than the eye nurse,put a dye in my eye and also told me i had dry eye and a tiny bit of blepharitis (what's a tiny bit) i'd been told at my last eye exam i had that but was told it was nothing whatsoever to worry about. Naively i didn't ask her any questions about the type of dry eye etc. She recommended i go to boots and ask for Isopto Plain eye drops which i use once and find out it has the dreaded BK!

Another week passes and it's time for my appointment with a Rheumatologist as i'd been hospitalised in new year with some form of attack on my joints which left me barely able to walk.The diagnosis was gout despite my blood tests showing no uric acid. i saw another rheumatologist privately paid for by my work who told me he didn't think it was gout but a viral infection,so i had two conflicting diagnosis.Right i thought,when i tell the NHS rheumatologist at the hospital about my dry eyes (knowing there could be a connection) he'll look into it seriously.wrong.he dismissed the connection and basically wasn't interested,sticking with his gout diagnosis.

So now i have an appointment at my GP tomorrow and after getting little to no help so far i can't see anything different tomorrow.Can i insist on a referral?i know what'll happen,she'll prescribe me more drops.

Sorry for the long rant,i'm just at a loss to where i start to get someone in the medical profession to give me some proper help with this! i can't even seem to find a private eye doctor in my area!

[lisiamc]

Hi Saltysam

Yes, your GP should be able to refer you to an ophthalmologist, either on the NHS or privately. Often it can be the same person.

I think it helps to make a list of the questions you would like to ask. I find it way too easy to get flustered and miss out the most important question.

Unfortunately, the visit to the ophthalmologist may not yield much joy either. Many of us on here don't know exactly why we have dry eyes, and end up with drops being recommended. It's a rare person that receives an exact diagnosis and an immediately effective treatment. I hope you get an appointment soon, and some treatment that helps.

In the meantime, there are things you can do to help yourself, too. You've probably read on here about Dr Latkany's book, the Dry Eye Remedy. It has a lot of useful information, and I recommend it highly. It's a good place to start. It can be ordered through amazon.co.uk as well as through the Dry Eye Zone shop.

Good Luck

Lisa

[jlg_uk]

You may already know this, but DES and RA have a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheumatoid_arthritis

[stella]

Hi Saltysam
Welcome to the frustrations we all have here in UK trying to get the treatment we need - you have to work the system !!
I suggest you find out from your nearest hospital - the larger the better - must be one that has an eye dept - better still an eye hospital like Moorfields in London if it is near you
If they run a corneal clinic, or have a consultant with an interest in DE ;problems of the cornea , eyelid or tear film
Then go to your GP with the relevant info and ask to be refered
Thats what i did and got into a corneal clinic where i was seen regularly ( i have now been signed off with the agreement that if i have any problems whatever i can lift the phone and be seen again)-- I told them last time that i felt i had my condition under control
Meanwhile find yourself a good optician - they can be very helpful- mine can do digital photography and demonstrate all the blocked glands He can also tell me if i have holes in the tear film and how thick the tear film is and how stable + schirmer tests and tear break -up ( though i dont attatch too much relevence to those as they are not very acurate - I go by how i feel more)
Then experiment and experiment - with all the different drops and types of heat and anything that helps - so long as it does,nt damage your eyes everyone is different
Good luck

[sazy123]

Hi, had dry eyes (that i've been aware of) about 5 weeks now, diagnosis was done by an eye nurse at the local hospital who put some paper under my eyelids,came back 5 minutes later and said i had dry eyes.Wouldn't let me see the eye doctor as she felt it was nothing serious and gave me some viscotears.told me to buy OTC drops as they were cheaper than prescription,said she had dry eyes herself and clearly didn't think they were anything to worry about.

Fast forward a week later where i decide to take myself to the optician for an eyetest even though i wasn't due one,explained i was worried about my eye health which was why i'd come. She was more helpful than the eye nurse,put a dye in my eye and also told me i had dry eye and a tiny bit of blepharitis (what's a tiny bit) i'd been told at my last eye exam i had that but was told it was nothing whatsoever to worry about. Naively i didn't ask her any questions about the type of dry eye etc. She recommended i go to boots and ask for Isopto Plain eye drops which i use once and find out it has the dreaded BK!

Another week passes and it's time for my appointment with a Rheumatologist as i'd been hospitalised in new year with some form of attack on my joints which left me barely able to walk.The diagnosis was gout despite my blood tests showing no uric acid. i saw another rheumatologist privately paid for by my work who told me he didn't think it was gout but a viral infection,so i had two conflicting diagnosis.Right i thought,when i tell the NHS rheumatologist at the hospital about my dry eyes (knowing there could be a connection) he'll look into it seriously.wrong.he dismissed the connection and basically wasn't interested,sticking with his gout diagnosis.

So now i have an appointment at my GP tomorrow and after getting little to no help so far i can't see anything different tomorrow.Can i insist on a referral?i know what'll happen,she'll prescribe me more drops.

Sorry for the long rant,i'm just at a loss to where i start to get someone in the medical profession to give me some proper help with this! i can't even seem to find a private eye doctor in my area!

Hi saltysam a similar experience with dry eye in the UK, you wait 3 months to see an eye doctor and they just give you drops you can get online!!

Best thing is to keep insisting the drops dont help and its so bad you want medication. But theres not really much they can prescribe in the UK for dry eye.

A private ophthalmologist, wont be much better TBH, the only other thing they will do is give you steroids- which you cant stay on for ever anyway. But iof you do see them, try to find one who knows about dry eye, or a cornea specialist- easier said than done. Depending on where you live- there is some good optomotrists who deal with dry eye, if you look on the EU forum you should find some names. The other option is look for a university who have an eyeclinic with an interest in dry eye- theres one in belfast and one in oxford to my knowledge. Theres a doctor in nottingham called professor dua (think spelling), teaches at nottingham university, he has been recommended in the past to me.

The best thing to do is use this forum- diagnose yourself, and do the things that are recommended on here- such as flaxseed, hot compresses, lid scrubs etc.

Unless you go to one of these mentioned above i wouldnt expect much help from doctors in the UK, they dont think its a big deal, i know they wouldnt be saying that if they had constant burning eyes at 24!!!

Oh and get the only medication for dry eye 'restasis' (not available in the UK) from www.edrugnet.com, you dont need a prescription and it is the legit stuff.

hope that helps.

[saltysam]

Thanks for the comments. Well,went to see my GP practice today,saw a doctor i'd heard good things about but had never been to before. Explained my the history of my dry eye problem, he could not believe the rheumatologist i had seen was not interested when i told him about my eyes,in fact he seemed quite disgusted. He has ordered me to go for a number of blood tests far more thorough than what i have had previously and asked about if i had a dry mouth.Well it doesn't feel dry to me but i apparently have a fungal infection on my tongue he has prescribed Nystatin for.

Asked him about seeing an eye specialist ,he said he wanted to find out results of blood tests first as "treatment could be very different" depending on the cause. As for drops,he suggested Viscotears which i already have. So at least for me the fact this doctor showed some concern is a positive. I will go for the blood tests tomorrow and i return a week Friday to see a different doctor who is the practice specialist in rheumatism. That's a worry as i have seen this doctor earlier this year and though nice she didn't give me the impression she was really knowledgeable about it. Got to see how it goes though.

[SallyP]

I had to battle to be able to see an eye specialist, and was just told I had blepheritis and dry eye, told to bath them with baby shampoo and given rubbish eye ointment.

I went back more or less on a weekly basis, and think in the end, they got fed up with me and sent me to an eye specialist. A year on unfortunately not much further forward, still suffering, but at least I know there's no actual damage to my eyes. I think you have to really push to be seen. Actually, the first doctor I saw at the hospital wasn't that good, and in not so many words, said "live with it", but I persisted and get seen by a consultant every 6-9 months, and have puncum plugs in which always come out anyway!!