Dry Eye and Depression

[Lucy]

For me, it's the floor ... and TiVo. I have a major love-hate relationship with the television. I'd rather read ... anything ... from cover to cover ... and then read it again.

Neil, I know what the floor is. WHAT is TiVo? Sorry, I wanna know. I bought a damn DVD player and can't figure out how to hook it up to the tv.

Are you just telling us...........I can't read (now or) anymore? Instead, I watch tv. The boob tube? I'm having a senior moment here, please help me out. I use the floor for exercise while watching tv. I, too, would rather read a book from cover to cover.....and over again. Since the "lasik" incident, I've read ONE whole book. It was a small, very small size book and was 87 pages.

PS. So you don't think I'm trying to creep Chris out, she is a home town gal and we do know each other. Her FIL has had his hands in my mouth, profesionally speaking.

[neil0502]

This is like giving somebody their first little bit of heroin, I guess.

Lucy? Meet TiVo.

TiVo ... this is Lucy.

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

http://www.tivo.com/

It's the ultimate VCR ... maybe that's the best way to put it.

I really haven't been able to do any elective reading whatsoever--and have struggled through any required reading--for nearly 20yrs ...

[Lucy]

It's the ultimate VCR ... maybe that's the best way to put it.

OK, OK. Since I avoid using my VCR and just go ahead and watch the program I want, I can "see" I'd have no use for a Tivo. Why are you on the floor, though?

Neil, I can still read the newspaper and magazines (with proper spectacles), so I guess I have it much better than you. I do not read on the floor, or watch tv on the floor (unless I'm exercising). What are you doing on the floor with the Tivo? Couldn't you just strangle me for posting these dumb posts? They probably take some right to the ceiling. Just wait until I really get senile and forget what a VCR is.

Way back here in the sticks in Michigan where the wolves, coyote and black bear still roam....................

Feel free NOT to answer me. As if I could be answered. I probably shouldn't take a serious thread and get OT. I do believe, though, humor helps a lot. At least one or two viewers must think I am totally ready for commitment.

[Peggy]

First of all Chris...I hope you are able to get some help from your physical therapist pain is truly isolating and after this past year and a half I have found out who my true friends are, the ones who continue to call and check on me even though I am not reaching out to them because of the dramatic change in my lifestyle. I am in awe of people who handle pain with grace I am not yet in that category maybe some day. I watched Oprah one day for a few minutes and she said something kinda relevant (I tivoed it so I could rewatch it when I am down and out...see Lucy you may want to think about it)Anyways she said when you have a life crisis you should say Thank you because at the other end there is something you will learn or gain. Its hard for me to say Thank You to that lasik dr. for changing my entire life but I am learning how precious the little things in life are. I like you Neil cannot read anymore and I do grieve for the books I cannot just pick up and take home with the excitement I use to have. But on the otherhand I am increasing an audio library that people are borrowing from all the time. I can say The month of May is the first month since my surgery March 7th,2005 that I am seeing a lift in my depression. I am getting out a bit more and tolerating the pain better I cannot believe I am saying this but there were many days I wished I was dead and relayed that to the heartbreak of my husband its been a rough 15 months. Without the help of friends,family,and a great new dr. I dont think I would be at this place right now,but thank God I am. I for the first time I am actually thinking about the future that in itself is a huge accomplishment. Glad we are all here to support one another!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Peggy

[Lucy]

Way to go, Peggy. Glad to hear of your improved mood. You've made many small steps, and together, they add up.

It is basically all down to one idea: keep putting one foot in front of the other and you'll "get there." In our case, it may mean keep putting drops in our eyes, over and over, and over and over......

Another of my favorite sayings is: "when you're at the end of your rope - tie a knot and keep on going." Or something like that. I think the bb's have been an immense help to ALL. I can't imagine how/what I would have done being totally isolated for the past 7 years and not knowing what was happening to me.

I'm not going to bother with Tivo. If I can't catch it first time, I'll wait for reruns.

[fernellen]

life with DE

I was listening to books on tape, hot compress on eyes after doing a saline rinse when all of a sudden I felt under my eyebrow fluid being released over my eye. Could it have been the lachrimal gland releasing aqueous fluid? I mentioned it to a friend who said, "Congratulations. Happy tears."
If that is the good stuff, it should only happen more often. If it's the worthless stuff, oh well, at least it's something.

[homes]

Just curious, but did anyone on this site suffer bad depression when they first started having dry eye problems? I know when I first started having bad problems w/ dry eye I was really really depressed for probably almost a year and was just seeing if there were others with similar experiences. You hear about people w/ serious illnesses going through depression, but it almost seems silly that a little thing like dry eyes could have such a negative impact on someones emotions. I'd be interested in hearing some responses.

im a little suprised you'd have such a notion because dry eye can significantly affect your quality of life like any other chronic illness. but i do know that we as dry eye sufferers can go on guilt trips because our ailment seems less severe than say, multiple sclerosis, yet our lives are still so consumed by it. "stop being such a baby" i tell myself every now and then.

besides, post-traumatic depression is a well documented disorder in psychiatry. so it's anything but strange or silly.

i do have to say i haven't been depressed for over a year now since my last major depression in the fall of 2004. you can have a positive, fulfilling life - even with dry eye.

[Jay Cee]

Chronic Red but not Dry Eye!....Stop the Insanity!!!

I have to say that this is the best forum that I have seen so far...kudos to everyone for supporting it!!! I have been dealing with eye "issues" for 11-12 years now. It started out with a sty and then chronic blepharitis, then glaucome because of over use of steroids to chronic redness, to dryness, to redness...etc.....

I believe that I brough it about my self due to stress at work then due to a VERY stressful marriage!

For a few years my eyes were clear and, what I thought, healthy then six years ago, they took a turn for the worst! Since then it's been an on going struggle!

Basically, nothing seems to help, not even restasis! My depression really got worse when I separated from my wife in December. I wasn't working at the time because I had quite my lucrative job because my eyes were so bad. I've went back to my old career in the aviation industry and am doing well...even though my eyes are the same!

I can honestly say that I don't have a social life, I talk to friends on the phone, but we don't hang out...forget about finding companionship...that will be a legitimate miracle if that EVER happens

Basically, I try and eat healthy, drinking and smoking, and eating junk food seem to make my eyes worse...but it's hard not to drink and smoke during those times when I'm feeling down

So, I try and do it in moderation. When I'm working out regularly, eating right and not stressed; the eyes are not as bad.

Anyway, my doctors visit today almost but me over the edge, since I was looking for something else besides restatis that would work, because it doesn't for me and my eyes were not getting better; but as it stands right now, there are not other options. My eyes are fine, vision is 20/20, as she can see, good tear film, cornia is fine, eye-lid margins are fine; eyes are just chronically red! I do have another appointment with another clinic that I want to throw some options that I've heard about, I'm interested to see what they say...

Overall, I'm feeling better, since the doctor's visit (had a few libations before heading home). But I am optimistic that things WILL get better in the future!

[Rebecca Petris]

Welcome Jay Cee!

it's hard not to drink and smoke during those times when I'm feeling down

I understand this, but I wonder if you are aware just how bad this is for your dry eyes? Check out the abstract mentioned at the top of this page. Not trying to scold you when you're in a hard place , but I would certainly encourage you to use lots of other precautions when you're indulging. For example: When drinking, try to make sure you drink at least one glass of water for every drink in order to stay well hydrated. When smoking... I wonder if you could protect your eyes from at least some of the effects by using some protective eyewear. (See our eyewear forum.)

but as it stands right now, there are not other options.
My eyes are fine, vision is 20/20, as she can see, good tear film, cornia is fine, eye-lid margins are fine; eyes are just chronically red!

Can you please describe where you're at in terms of eye comfort at present? Do you have pain? Light sensitivity? Burning, itching, anything else? Also, can you list what treatments you've tried to date? There certainly are other options besides Restasis. You'll find a lot of them in our Dry Eye FAQ section.

There are others here who deal exclusively with redness, but there are also plenty of patients who do not have obvious clinical signs of dry eye when examined but who definitely have the symptoms. So whichever is the case for you, you're not alone!

[Jay Cee]

Hi Rebecca!

When I smoke it's when I'm stressed..nothing I can do about it, I know it irritates my eyes; but I'm more concerned about having a cigarette than the state of my eyes if that makes sense.

As far as treatments, I'm done everything from strong steroids, to low dose steroids, to creams, to oral medications. Nothing helps! Because this all started due to being in a stressfull environment for so many years, I have developed food allergies. From what I have concluded by talking to naturopaths (sp.) the best guess we have so far is that I have what one calls a "leaky gut" because I have an increase in antigens in my system it, in my case has chosen to attack my eyes; everyone is different. That's why diet is so important for me. When I eat greasy foods, wine, beer; my eyes get really red! This tells me that my diet affects the state of my eyes. When I each salads and lean meats, the eyes seem to be better.

To be honest, I believe that the eyes will heal in time. The harsh drugs that I used initially to treat the sty and then chronic blepharitis and conjuctavitis...that I stayed on for an extended period of time...years...did all the damage to my eyes...it's going to take time of just doing eye lid scrubs, and preservative tears; and diet and excercise, and key supplements for the eyes to get back to "normal" again.

That's my take on this whole mess!

[Abbey]

Depression

I suffered depression long before I got dry eye. I've got my depression under control noe and am medication free. I still sometimes get depressed when my eyes are bad cos frankly I'm sick of it and all the problems it's caused me. I became suicidal last Christmas and I'm still working through it.

[William53]

I hope you get your depression worked out, Abbey.

I'm oke as long as I feel like I'm working on my eye condition, and I have professionals working with me trying the next regimen or drug. And I need to experience a little progress now and then. Altho this is such a day-to-day struggle that it's somtimes hard to guage progress.

I try to count my blessings. I have:

~ a great family. We're very close. My wife is a wonderful and supportive person. We have 3 children (all young adults) who are a source of inspiration and learning for us.

~ a few good close friends.

And I love my work doing research related to economic and social justice.

This is a very frustrating and challenging condition. I can't pretend it's not. And I worry that my eyes will get so bad someday that I won't be able to work.

If I were younger - I'm 53 - it would would be tougher to deal with. My heart goes out to you folks who are dealing with dating and new relationships, and I hope the best for you.

[Rebecca Petris]

Welcome to Dry Eye Talk, William53. Always encouraging to see examples of great attitudes, family/friend support systems and fulfilling vocations helping to keep this challenging condition "in its place" instead of taking over.

[CarolynYvonne]

Scent of a Woman

When I was a kid (in MI), I'd get upper respiratory infections fairly frequently. Nothing seemed to rid them easily. My dad always joked, "Why not go run around in the snow. You'll get pneumonia, but ... at least they can CURE that"



Amen.



I also relate to that. I have an impressive, long list of "used to be's."

BUT ... I look back on my life's accomplishments with some optimism that the same things that allowed me to achieve what I did ... are the things that will allow me to -- if not overcome these eye issues -- at least figure out some way to survive them with at least a hint of grace.

Years ago, I met a nurse. We talked at length about my struggles with eyeball crap and eyeball pain. It was at the time of the movie "The Scent of a Woman" (good one, incidentally, for us types). Rita's words to me? "You may NOT be able to live the extraordinary life that you dreamed about. You may wind up having to live an ordinary life in an extraordinary way."

I hated her for that ... if you know what I mean. But she was right, and--like most things where "letting go" is the answer--I wish I'd started down THAT path back then.

Letting go doesn't mean giving up. It just means learning to make a bit more peace with today. Not easy ... not at all ... but maybe important.



For me, it's the floor ... and TiVo. I have a major love-hate relationship with the television. I'd rather read ... anything ... from cover to cover ... and then read it again.

Stay strong, Chris. Tap into those things that made you successful in all of those other endeavors.

Best,
Neil

Thanks to everyone who has posted here. I suffer from clinical depression, OCD, bad back, etc., along with the MGD and other things. I'm newly diagnosed and I don't know how I could have survived the last week without the love and support I have received here.

Thank you all,
CarolynYvonne

[cherrybrandy]

re dry eye and depression.

Hi I was reading with astonishment your thread on dry eyes causing depression you described it as alittle thing...how is that...perhaps you arent suffering as badly as most of the people on this site...dry eye isnt a little thing it is an all debilitating destroyer of quality of life.As there are so many symptoms that go with it ,headaches etc nerve pain, oh and also depression/.It is the worst pain ive ever experienced and ive got disc problems and arthiritis .well thats vented my spleen for today...