Tweet
Hi, everyone.
I am 44 years old, have worn hard contact lenses since I was 14 (until 2006). In 2006 I began having problems with my eyes in that they were extremely light sensitive, red, and painful - felt "heavy". I never had any itching. I went to my ophthalmologist and he said my eyes were "bone dry". He put in plugs in both upper and lower lids, prescribed Restasis, and told me to take 4000 mg of Flaxseed oil every day. I kept going back for rechecks and it seems my eyes were slowly getting better. I stopped taking Restasis because I couldn't tell a big difference and, frankly also due to the cost.
About a year and a half after the initial visit, my eyes began tearing (as in watering) all the time; people thought I was always crying. So I went back to the doctor, and he said I could go back to wearing contact lenses - soft ones this time. Hallelujah! I had really missed my contact lenses. This was in spring of 2008. Things seemed to be okay over the summer but this past autumn I thought I had a sinus infection. I went to my general doctor and he said I had an eye infection.
I found a new ophthalmologist and scheduled an appointment with the "dry eyes specialist" who works there. He said my tear glands are blocked and, again, my eyes are extremely dry. To battle the blepharitis, he prescribed Lotemax and Asazite (sp?). Once that was over, he put me back on Restasis, told me to put a damp washcloth in the microwave in the morning and night and hold it to my eyes for one minute each, then repeat, then massage my eyelids to open up the glands. I have actually scorched my right eyelid in doing this. I am on Restasis twice a day; and taking 4000 mg of flaxseed oil.
I'm afraid my contact lens wearing days are over. The "dry eyes specialist" said the contacts I'm wearing are fine (soft, disposable), but I'm applying Refresh Contacts drops to my eyes every few hours during the day, so I know the contacts dry up my eyes. I'm also a huge reader, but I'm also finding it increasingly difficult to do that for more than a few minutes at a time - is this normal? My eyes start to ache and feel heavy again. That is really frustrating.
That's about it. I'm glad I found this site; I've already read a lot of wonderful, helpful information here.
I am 44 years old, have worn hard contact lenses since I was 14 (until 2006). In 2006 I began having problems with my eyes in that they were extremely light sensitive, red, and painful - felt "heavy". I never had any itching. I went to my ophthalmologist and he said my eyes were "bone dry". He put in plugs in both upper and lower lids, prescribed Restasis, and told me to take 4000 mg of Flaxseed oil every day. I kept going back for rechecks and it seems my eyes were slowly getting better. I stopped taking Restasis because I couldn't tell a big difference and, frankly also due to the cost.
About a year and a half after the initial visit, my eyes began tearing (as in watering) all the time; people thought I was always crying. So I went back to the doctor, and he said I could go back to wearing contact lenses - soft ones this time. Hallelujah! I had really missed my contact lenses. This was in spring of 2008. Things seemed to be okay over the summer but this past autumn I thought I had a sinus infection. I went to my general doctor and he said I had an eye infection.
I found a new ophthalmologist and scheduled an appointment with the "dry eyes specialist" who works there. He said my tear glands are blocked and, again, my eyes are extremely dry. To battle the blepharitis, he prescribed Lotemax and Asazite (sp?). Once that was over, he put me back on Restasis, told me to put a damp washcloth in the microwave in the morning and night and hold it to my eyes for one minute each, then repeat, then massage my eyelids to open up the glands. I have actually scorched my right eyelid in doing this. I am on Restasis twice a day; and taking 4000 mg of flaxseed oil.
I'm afraid my contact lens wearing days are over. The "dry eyes specialist" said the contacts I'm wearing are fine (soft, disposable), but I'm applying Refresh Contacts drops to my eyes every few hours during the day, so I know the contacts dry up my eyes. I'm also a huge reader, but I'm also finding it increasingly difficult to do that for more than a few minutes at a time - is this normal? My eyes start to ache and feel heavy again. That is really frustrating.
That's about it. I'm glad I found this site; I've already read a lot of wonderful, helpful information here.