Having a rough spell.

[Podiatric Medicine Studen]

Well, I have been studying all weekend, and last night I only got about 5 hours of sleep... because I had to study for my Pathology test. I have at least a test every week, and they are pretty brutal! Needless to say, my eyes are doing terrible right now, and I just had to read a bunch more for medicine class tomorrow. So, tomorrow is going to be a terrible day. I am gonna for sure have to skip the restasis tonight (cause my corneal surfaces are fried), and use the gel instead. I hate doing that, because the next day they feel so weird. Anyway, I just had to vent a little bit, and get my feelings off my chest. Does anyone think that I am trying to beat a dead horse? I mean, am I trying to accomplish something that is out of reach for us???? Help??? I have considered dropping out several times due to the pain. -Were it not for this stupid problem, I would actually be enjoying my time in Med school. Anyway............ later.

[liz56]

You can do it!

Hi,

Feel free to vent! Your program of study is demanding enough without having dry eye on top of it all. It's also really good to keep on top of what happens, like knowing how Restasis works when you have over-extended use of your eyes.

I completed a doctoral program in 1999 in literature (and THAT is a LOT of reading!), and it was with undiagnosed ebmd (and I know I had it, because my eyes always bothered me) and undiagnosed thyroid problems. All of these things got steadily worse after I started working full time. Now that I have been diagnosed, things are slowly improving, but I have to work at it.

On the matter of sleep, my eyes feel much worse when I do not sleep enough, and I have recurrent corneal erosions that interrupt my sleep if I mess up my routine. So, that is my biggest problem.

For what it is worth: I saw a great 60 Minutes recently that did a segment on sleep, and one study said that students who got enough sleep before an exam did better than those who studied all night or late into the night. So, you may want to keep that in mind. It is good for your eyes and for your brain.

Hang in there, I think that you can do this program, because you are paying attention to your symptoms and taking steps to improve.

Good luck on your exam!

[Podiatric Medicine Studen]

Thank you

Hi, thanks so much for the encouragement. I really need that from time to time, and sometimes just having this support group gives me the extra confidence that is required to make it to the next bad spell (if you know what I mean). Yeah, I definitely have discovered over the years that my eyes need at least 8 to even 9 hours of sleep a night in order to make it. I am going to make a more concerted effort on my sleep, and also try some other things out. I have never had my thyroid checked out, but one of the corneal specialists mentioned it. What is that all about? How and what are they looking for? Hyperthyroidism?? I am just a little unfamiliar with the hormones that they are checking for related to dry eye? Thanks John.

[liz56]

thyroid

[snip]I have never had my thyroid checked out, but one of the corneal specialists mentioned it. What is that all about? How and what are they looking for? Hyperthyroidism?? I am just a little unfamiliar with the hormones that they are checking for related to dry eye? Thanks John.

Hi, John.

I hope that your exam went well this week!

I actually have no / little idea about the thyroid issue. I am just newly diagnosed, and the numbers in my blood tests show normal results. However, I have nodes on my thyroid, which were benign, so I and my doctors were not paying too much attention to them. My sister was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease, a condition in which the thyroid goes back and forth-- producing a lot of thyroid hormone and not any-- so I pressed my doctor to let me try synthroid. My doctor things that I "may" have Hashimoto's, but "something funny" is happening. I've been on a low dosage of synthroid for four weeks (12 mcgs). It has alleviated several things for me, things that I would not have guessed were related, like ringing in the ears, being fatigued to the point that sleep is an abyss rather than a dreamland, and not growing hair on my legs (not that I was complaining about that one).

Since beginning on synthroid, I have noticed increased tear production during the day, but nights are still bad for me.

There are some discussions, which have been helpful to me, in this board's "Autoimmune Disease" section. You may want to read the posts. Everyone here is so generous with sharing their knowledge and experiences. Once I learn more about what is happening with me, I'll go back and post updates.

It's interesting that your doctor mentioned that to you. Thanks for saying that!

I hope that you get to the bottom of things, and keep us posted. I'm learning so much from everyone here.

--Liz

[Terri]

John: I'm not a doctor, but I believe DES can be associated with either hyper- or hypothyroidism. Low testosterone levels are also associated with dry eye and, in women, high estrogen levels can contribute to the problem.

[shoebox]

John,
I hope your test went well (or goes well)! Don't give up -- I understand medical school is killer, but you CAN do it. I've been working full time and in grad school (first for am MEd and now for a PhD) so I understand the workload can be heavy (yours is probably worse than mine!)
Keep your chin up. I, too, seek encouragement from others here, and everyone has bad days and good days.
One kind of strange thing I want to mention - and it may be NOTHING at all - I went to my GP 2 weeks ago for bronchitis and he asked - with no mention of my dry eyes - if I've had my thyroid checked recently. (of course if he's checked my chart he would have seen...but anyway). I don't know what made him ask me this. Anyway -- that might be totally off point, but it was a curiosity of mine that struck again when I read your post. I know he looked in my eyes...*shrug*
Anyway do keep in touch and let us all know how you're doing, and hang in there.