Having a bad day

[Súil Eile]

Hi all,

I know I'm new here but I know no one else with dry eye and I'm having a really bad day today.

I'm an archaeologist who has had to wave goodbye to excavating as the environment of an excavation site plus DES do not go hand in hand. It's also highly impractical trying to put in eye drops in dusty or muddy conditions. Because of this, when the dreaded recession came rumbling in, I lost my job.

I went back to college to do a masters degree. All was going well until recently. I had a completely new outlook on life. Now DES has struck again. It has flared up to the point that reading has become very difficult and writing up my thesis is next to impossible. My supervisor has been so understanding, and I'm really really lucky in that regard. He organised an extension for me with no hassle.

But today it's all getting to me as this time next week all my classmates will have their theses handed in and finished and I'm still struggling to read. I'm missing out on the excitment, I'll be finishing on my own, and I find it very difficult to be around my classmates at the moment.

I also want to start my PhD next year. But how can I manage that for 4 years if I can't handle a short thesis now? I'm also so stressed about finding a job as I can't handle sitting in front of a computer all day.

I know worse things could happen, but today my eyes seem to be stopping me from doing everything I want. It's tough to stay positive sometimes

[Cindy]

Hi. It is hard to stay positive sometimes. I think there is too much emphasis on adhering to a schedule - in your case a thesis - that is not doable by everyone. You will, and can, get it done. But in your own time, based on your own physical ability.

You are fortunate to have an understanding supervisor. You will complete your thesis (brilliantly, no doubt ) but you will do it as you are able on your own timetable. Nothing wrong with that .

My son is visually disabled, working on a PhD, and facing similar obstacles. I'm a pro at rooting for you guys .

[Súil Eile]

Thanks for the support Cindy!

I'm feeling a lot more positive today. I'm actually really lucky in that my family and friends have never once dismissed what I'm going through and have always been so supportive. From reading some stories on here it's sad to see that that's not always the case.

I'm also lucky in that a friend of mine is working on educational tools for the visually impaired, i.e. computer technology in classrooms. So I've gotten my hands on some software that allows me to dictate text and will read text from the screen back to me. Takes a long time to get used to, so once this thesis is over I'm planning to get some practice in for next year.

I'm lucky too in that I don't work 9-5 at the moment, so have a bit more freedom to accomodate my eyes.

I've used the word lucky a lot in this post...someone will have to remind me of this when I have my next rant

Hope your son does well! I've been told it can be tough having students around

[fellowresearcher]

You have my support suil elie

I too have been having a rough day with this dry eye syndrome.

Your not the only one who goes though the drama of the life changes that have to be made because of it.

I am here as well if you need to talk...

If you need to know anything about dealing with dry eye better...I might have some suggestions.

Until then Keep those eyes moist...
your not alone.

take care suil

[Súil Eile]

Thanks for the support FellowResearcher!

My eyes (and my head) are feeling a good bit better today

I hope you get some relief from yours. It's so nice to know there are other people out there who know exactly what we're all going through