Eyelid stuck in morning - intense pain !

[Buddyjay]

Hi. About 8 years ago, I woke one morning and opened my eyes and one eye felt as if someone stabbed my eye. The more I blinked the worse the pain. I thought I just had something in my eye. Then it happened again, a few weeks later. I was wondering if it had something to do with my contact lenses (been wearing them for over 25 years but NEVER slept with them on).
It happened again a few months later. The pain would last for about a 1/2 hour and then I would have blurred vision for a couple hours.
Optomatrist said "Dry Eyes" and gave me "hypo tears". I confess I didn't use them since he said it would blur my vision for about 6 hours and he wanted me to use them in both eyes.
So I lived with this problem, which occured about 4 times a year.
Two weeks ago, it happened again (right eye only), but this time, the pain lasted ALL DAY!
It was so severe that even my good eye was light sensitive. I walked around for 2 days with curtins drawn, wearing sunglasses and even that was uncomfortable. It was a Saturday and had to wait until Monday for Optomologist (naturally).
Dr. said "torn cornea" maybe from an abrasion that didn't heal well a long time ago. She gave me: Vigamox, Acular LS, lube drops and GenTeal at night. Also in 10 days (now) use Muro 128 drops (morning) and Muro 128 ointment at night.

After two weeks, my vision has improved but still blurry from 0 - 10'. I did read another post here where a member has the same problem. My problem is training myself to NOT open my eyes in the morning until I get some drops in there, but am concerned about that occassional "bump-in-the-night" where you wake up fast. When not thinking about it and when I open my eye, it's too late. This pain is so intense that it drops me to the floor!

Also, why does this happen every so often? Don't get me wrong, I am grateful it doesn't happen constantly (as others have), but what causes this to happen when it does?

Dr. also said that the Muro drops will help heal the abrasion, which could take a long time.

Any advice or information?
Thanks.

[SallyP]

My eyes are stuck fast in the morning, and I physically have to unpick them. If I try to open them unaided, although I don't get the degree of pain that you describe, I end up with a bad headache across the forehead and it just can't do them good to force them open, and when it does open, it's not all the way. Other than the drops in before opening, which isn't always practical as I can't see, I don't know what to suggest, so any information or help gratefully received.

[liz56]

Hi, Buddyjay.

That is exactly my problem; I'm very sorry that you have it. It is so painful and frustrating.

I have been irregular with my ability to discipline myself to awaken and not open my eyes, which is why I sleep wearing Tranquileyes goggles. They help me in two ways-- 1. They keep my eyes shut all the way when I sleep, keeping the moisture in and not allowing my corneas to dry out; and 2. They give me the time to wake up before I open my eyes, so that I can wait, massage my eyelids and / or add some drops to my closed eyes so that they open effectively.

I just got notice that Dwelle will be back in stock here at the Dry Eye Zone's Dry Eye Shop in about a month, and it may be something that you want to try. Dwelle reduces cornea edema, the swelling and water retention that makes the basement membrane of the epithelium irregular and loose from the epithelium itself. Dwelle also creates a smooth outer surface of tear film, so it works on both sides of the epithelium to maintain the delicate balance needed to avoid RCE's. It took me a long time of using it before my RCE's went away. I also still use it because I have a corneal dystrophy, called epithelial basement membrane dystrophy (aka anterior basement membrane dystrophy, map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy, or Cogan's dystrophy).

Good luck to you as you cope with this problem; I know how disruptive it is to everyday life. If you have the dystrophy, know that it tends to flare up and then go into remission. It is not progressive, as far as I have read. It's incredibly painful and debilitating, and finding a doctor who can help or even give a correct diagnosis is difficult.

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

Best wishes,
Liz

[Teri]

I second everything Liz said and wanted to stress that it sounds like you are having Recurrent Corneal Erosions (RCE). It might help if you do some searches here on that topic, as a lot has been written about it.

I've had RCE's, and they are excruciating. Sometimes the erosions heal quickly and sometimes it takes days, which is why your pain sometimes lasts longer.

Getting to the root cause of the erosions is important, and, as Liz mentioned, it can be difficult to find a good doctor to give you a proper diagnosis.

Good luck!

Teri

[bernmee]

Sure does sound like erosions...you poor thing!!

When I was having them one after the other I wore a bandage contact lens, the same one, for about 14 days and it really helped get me over my horrific post Lasik ones.

My Dr. told me that Doxy, which I was presrcibed for my MGD, had the side effect of bonding the eyeball back together. A poster from the UK also said his Dr. said the same. maybe you could look into this.

There are many people on this site who have had erosions when things were really bad, and have managed to put it behind them by really looking after their eyes. You have found the right site for help.

Good luck,

Bernadette