The pain and loss of hope

[dryeye4ever]

Anyone of you guys feeling that no one can understand you because you feel tired, dizzy, stoned or wtv that is because of dry eyes. Even companies and experts dont seem to know what we really go through.

And the loss of hope. I got long computer usage dry eyes as long with the big brightness. Do you feel kinda hopeless that this wont go away? I feel like its something we didnt need to have in our lives. Lets discuss what you find unfair in all of this. To get better they recommend me to stop watching tv, use the computer and a cellphone. How is it possible in this era of technology? but God is gracious, Im just a nerd type of guy that uses laptop/pc alot thats why its even more painful for me

[SunshineinCalgary]

Dryeye4ever, do not give up. God is gracious. He understands. I was doing fine at work until they turned on the central air conditioning last Friday (because it's getting into spring..) SO tomorrow I'm not sure if I can survive the entire day at work. But I have a feeling I will. I just look at it one day at a time, sometimes even half a day Many days I feel depressed, but I'm proud to have gone through what I gone through last year, though people do not understand, they can hardly imagine the pain we went through. But that's o.k. Can't expect people to know all about DES.

[robster]

Of course it's unfair dude but asking people to discuss what they find unfair about it is not going to make you feel any better. As with all bad things it's something we didn't need in our lives but listing all the bad things about dry eye will only make you feel worse.

Try and focus more on good things in your life, I know it's not easy but it's better than going over all the things that you can't do due to your dry eyes.

[Mawsky]

It's so easy to let this get you down, It makes it hard when you feel alone in this, but you are not. Thank God for this site! I have had discussions with friends and co-workers, but sometimes that is tough, because it's hard for them to understand, because they have nothing to relate it to, I had a bad year, since this all started, I would have good days and bad, some really bad, I'd end up not being able to work because of the spontaneous corneal abrasions I would get, finally a smart Doc, slapped a contact in and my life has changed since then, my eyes are still dry (no tears) but I have very few "bad days" I still have to add drops, because of my lack of tears, but more than half as often as before I have very few problems with foreign body sensation, corneal abrasions, light sensitivity, and so on. Now the contacts may not be for everyone, and we are all different, some find help with drops, others thru diet, the point is there is hope, and help, don't stop (give up) until you've tried all there is out there. God is Good, and he is our healer!! Hang in there.

[farmgirl]

HI dryeyesforever:

I couldn't help but notice that you are really struggling with your dry eyes. For starters I would like to say, don't give up this too will improve.

You have stated that your eye problem is computer use related 'To get better they recommend me to stop watching tv, use the computer and a cellphone. How is it possible in this era of technology? ' You then went on to say 'Im just a nerd type of guy that uses laptop/pc alot thats why its even more painful for me'

So my question to you is have you done that, given up the computer, TV and cell phone? That is sage advice and totally doable. Limit yourself to say 1/2 hour per day of each and police it with a timer. You will never get better if you ignore the root cause of the problem. If you haven't I suggest you give it a try. Get a hobby, join a club, take up a marshal art, learn a skill, meet some new people. There is a lot more to life than sitting in front of a computer or a TV. And as far as the cell phone goes, feel free to call your new made friends, or even your old ones for that matter. Don't isolate yourself in your house in front of a machine, there is so much more in life to enjoy. You may even find that your life is not in fact over, it may have just begun, make the most of a bad situation.

In the meantime cruise this forum for ideas and implement them. Try new things and you will find what works for you. Your situation is sure to improve as you leave behind the things that exacerbate it. Dry eyes CAN be controlled in most cases. I agree it is not a fun thing to have but it sure as heck beats being blind or having cancer, I have much to be thankful for. If depression is part of your problem seek professional help but you will improve much faster if you make the best of a bad situation.

Remember life is much smoother if you see the cup as being half full not half empty. Hang in there, this too will pass...F/G

[DCRdryeye]

It's more easier to fall into a state of helplessness, your username reflects someone who has already decided on their future "I will have dry eyes forever". That thought alone will be enough for your mind and body to slide into despair. I do know how you feel though. I'm a guy, and have struggled with dry eyes for the past 5 yrs and have tried everything from plugs, restasis to scleral lenses. I also use the computer a lot and often have to close one eye (my driest eye) and continue work. Work on lifting your emotional state, despite of the dry eyes and it will help keep you balanced. Go into youtube and watch "What the bleep do we know" - it will help (if you get its message) ...

[Guest]

To get better they recommend me to stop watching tv, use the computer and a cellphone. How is it possible in this era of technology? but God is gracious, Im just a nerd type of guy that uses laptop/pc alot thats why its even more painful for me

I totally can relate to it being hard to give up the computer, TV etc. Prior to LASIK, I used to play massive multiplayer online games a LOT, and loved them, plus watch a fair bit of TV, read a lot etc. A few years ago my eyes crapped out on me totally and I had to quit the computer, give up TV (could only listen to it with my eyes closed), give up reading etc.

However, although my eyes still are lousy by normal standards, I can now watch as much TV as I want, plus use the computer a fair bit too without causing my eyes to dive into a downward spiral of discomfort. So things can improve over time. Maybe you just need to give your eyes a good break from the computer/TV etc. for a while, then as things improve, you can gradually add in more TV and computer time.

[dryeye4ever]

HI dryeyesforever:

I couldn't help but notice that you are really struggling with your dry eyes. For starters I would like to say, don't give up this too will improve.

You have stated that your eye problem is computer use related 'To get better they recommend me to stop watching tv, use the computer and a cellphone. How is it possible in this era of technology? ' You then went on to say 'Im just a nerd type of guy that uses laptop/pc alot thats why its even more painful for me'

So my question to you is have you done that, given up the computer, TV and cell phone? That is sage advice and totally doable. Limit yourself to say 1/2 hour per day of each and police it with a timer. You will never get better if you ignore the root cause of the problem. If you haven't I suggest you give it a try. Get a hobby, join a club, take up a marshal art, learn a skill, meet some new people. There is a lot more to life than sitting in front of a computer or a TV. And as far as the cell phone goes, feel free to call your new made friends, or even your old ones for that matter. Don't isolate yourself in your house in front of a machine, there is so much more in life to enjoy. You may even find that your life is not in fact over, it may have just begun, make the most of a bad situation.

In the meantime cruise this forum for ideas and implement them. Try new things and you will find what works for you. Your situation is sure to improve as you leave behind the things that exacerbate it. Dry eyes CAN be controlled in most cases. I agree it is not a fun thing to have but it sure as heck beats being blind or having cancer, I have much to be thankful for. If depression is part of your problem seek professional help but you will improve much faster if you make the best of a bad situation.

Remember life is much smoother if you see the cup as being half full not half empty. Hang in there, this too will pass...F/G

your answer is mind blowing. YOu are right, it feels like God is telling me this instead of you. You deserve to have a life without dry eyes too. Take care and thanks for the kind words.

[farmgirl]

Hi dryeye4now:

Note***I used the new name suggested by someone on earlier post.

I felt compelled to reply to your post so maybe that was coming from God not me. That is one of the ways that he speaks to us, if we choose to listen (as you obviously did). I have Sjogren's syndrome and if you google 'Sjogren's' and 'cure' you will see over and over again there is NO cure for Sjogren's. Well, I choose not to believe that and someday hope to be able to post to Rebecca's 'Dry Eye Success Stories' page. Hope to see you there,.....cheers.....F/G

[fiddle]

I so understand what you're saying Dryeye4ever. I haven't posted much here as after almost 2 years post lasik I feel what's the point. I am where I am and things have only stayed the same with no improvement for me. Most of my family has no idea of what I live with on a daily basis and my quality of life has been altered in ways I had no idea (can't read for pleasure, never sleep through a night, can't swim for fun, can't drive with the windows open and eye drops cost a lot of $, ect).
Not sure where things go from other then onward for me, but I hear you for sure.
fiddle

[farmgirl]

Hi Fiddle:

What do you mean you can't drive with the windows open? I got a pair of very dark WileyX sunglasses that fit my face well, plugged off all of the vent holes, suck them down to my face, screw my baseball cap on put the top down on the convertible and CRUISE!! I am almost bullet proof with them.

What do you mean you can't swim for fun? My favorite activity is boogie boarding. Again I suck the Wiley's on with the strap that came with them put a baseball cap on to block the sun and have a blast. Occasionally I lose the cap but it always floats back up and I have fun. If I swim at a pool I suck the swimming goggles on and go for it. Aquacise is great because of the high humidity above the water, for that I need nothing on my face and don't need to stop to put in eye drops. The autologous eye serum got rid of the dry spots on my corneas so that was a relief. There is hardly anything I can't do anymore as long as I don't overdo it.

I ditched all of the medications that were irritating me and making me worse namely gels and non preserved eye drops and the only thing I need to aquire now are Onyx goggles for nighttime so I hopefully don't have to keep waking up to put in drops. I found gels to be very irritating and would wake up looking like something out of a low budget horror flick. Restasis helped, all 4 punctual plugs helped, autologous eye serum helped, I just keep getting better and better even though I have a non reversible condition.

Hang in there, there is hope that you will a) recover or b) find enough things that work for you to get to a comfortable spot where you can actually enjoy life again.

Cheers....F/G

[Guest]

Well said Farmgirl!

[jax8it]

I completely get what you guys are saying. I am 5 months post lasik and still trying to figure things out. I go for walks, swimming, to the zoo and even get on our boat with my 7eyes strapped tightly to my head. Doing these things make me feel almost normal again. What I am having issues with are the indoor activities like going shopping, out to eat, going to the movies, hell even going to the grocery store. How do you guys do it? I can't stand the AC on my eyes and I only have onion goggles. I can't get over going out in public with them on. Any advice would be appreciated. I can't find anyone in the Dallas area that can make the custom moisture chambers.
Bianca

[fiddle]

I have come to realize that what works for one does not necessarily work for another and while I have tried many methods and the like, as I said I am where I am. This post was under emotion and depression, not a success story and for me, realizing that others feel the same as I do (e.g., dryeyes4ever) is what helps, goggles aside.
fiddle

[No tears in ATL]

Dry Eye 4Ever,

I have pretty severe dry eye and have reflected on how much it has changed my life, and whether or not this is a message being sent to me. I know, it sounds kind of hokey, but hear me out. I work with spreadsheets all day. It's awful on my eyes and DES has slowed me down considerably careerwise. Truth of the matter is, I really don't like what I do that much. I'm pretty good at it, but sure as heck don't LOVE it. And I know, if this thing gets much worse, I simply won't be able to stay in that line of work, lest I go blind! So I look at it as a message for me to go out and do what I was meant to do, which is anything BUT sitting in a dreary highly air conditioned office in front of the computer. I like the outdoors, and independence, and more altruistic pursuits, so I'm working on trying to make that happen eventually. So, all I can say, is when life gives you lemons, make lemonade--we really have no choice as human beings. This could be, as my sweet grandma says, "God is tapping you the shoulder, and giving you signs." Maybe you're an outdoors person or a great painter or something and you don't even know it! Hugs to you.