I am so frustrated! Please help.

[jack_bristow]

My life has been a living hell between August 2006 (when I had comprehensive dental surgery under anaesthesia) until a point in 2007 when I found swimming goggles.

When I got a cold, my eyes got so bad, I couldnt use the computer even for 3 minutes. I couldn't read, I could barely watch some TV. I had to stick around messing around with a piano as a means of not-going-crazy.

I knew about swimming goggles but I didn't give them any more credit than to the $140 worth of eyedrops that I was buying every month, or RESTASIS, or to the 2 times when I had my tearducts plugged, or the highly temporary comfort of compresses... Just another useless thing, right ?

WRONG.

I now wear Aqua Sphere Seal XP (clear frame) when working with computers at work and at home. Sometimes I wear them (at home) when its hot outside, too. They're a bit small for my head but it doesn't matter, I don't have to wrap them all the way down back.

I've been doing this for over a year. I don't buy any eyedrops anymore.

It's not a cure, but it keeps my eyes normal under straining conditions that used to cripple me with pain. I used to go to my Aikido class after work with my eyes all bloodshot (despite a constant flow of artificial tears), and feeling cranky and bitter because of a headache. It affected my training. I couldn't focus and write code on my computer, either.

Not anymore. (Knocks on wood thrice).

[tobhealthy]

Hi Mydryeyes, Im really sorry to hear you're through such a bad dry eyes period..

From the other topic I remember you underwent prk for a large prescription and in these cases nerves always take longer to heal, also you're a relatively short time out of surgery so there's really much more than a hope that your nerves recovery is still slowly going on. Final nerves recovery after refractive surgery in 6 months has always been claimed but recent studies prove final re-innervation can actually take years and there's a lot of anecdotal evidence of people getting significantly better at 15+ months.
I dont know if you tried autologous serum but if I were you I would look into it as these eyedrops contain nerve growth factors that could stimulate your injured nerval endings to heal.
Besides being quadraplugged are you also taking restasis?

I have found wonderful eye drops called Mini Drops eye therapy by optics NO preservatives. After I put in one or two drops in each eye I close both eyes and count to 50 slowly. I open my eyes and blink a few times. Do this four times a day or more if needed. Warm water compresses also make you feel better. Just warm never hot. To fall asleep at night I put a very cold wash cloth over my eyes to relax and it works. I only do this to help me fall asleep. Also get gray clip on polaroid sun glasses and wear a hat with a big visor outdoors. Do not stop the drops if your eyes get better or the dryness will return. I plan to use drops the rest of my life.

[tobhealthy]

I just need to get this off my chest a bit. The eye pain has really been kicking my butt the last couple of weeks. I am so tired and exhausted. It is so hard to get help for this from the medical community and it is frustrating. I just can't believe that my life has been reduced to just getting through the day and managing chronic pain. I am 32 years old and had life by the tail. And then I had refractive surgery 9 months ago and WHAM!! Everything in my life is different. I have tried to stay positive and maintain hope that I will improve, maybe even get all the way better. But after 9 months of being bone dry, it is hard to maintain hope.

I just had my upper tear ducts plugged two weeks ago and it has done nothing. In fact, the eye strain and intense grittines and pain are back in full force, like back to the early days. I am assuming it is because I just don't have much tear film and that my lower plugs are starting to dissolve. But, of course my eye doc can't determine if the plugs are still there because they are buried. Super. I just keep getting in deeper. Any tips for communicating with doctors so that it is an effective conversation?

I have asked for this many, many times already from this community. But I need more words of encouragement and a push in the right direction to keep me going.

Thanks!! MDE

Try Mini Drops Eye Therapy by OPTICS This has been my life saver. It is preservative free too. This was suggested to me by a Pharmacy Tech.

[Podiatric Medicine Studen]

Don't Jump!

To Jump or not to Jump, that is the question! I have also been having a super hard time lately- for actually the last year, and have been soooo sick of feeling pain 24-7! It wouldn't be there if I didn't have to go do things like Medical school- but who has a life that they can just sit around and be taken care of??


My story is NOT for everyone: I have been trying for so long to be referred to a pain management specialist to help with the pain, but my corneal specialist doesn't believe that my neurological and errosive pains are real. So, he won't refer me. My solution: Self Medication with Alkaloids from Poppy pods (opium). It works... blocks the pain, you don't get high... so you can still function working a job, or studying, etc. Only downsides... you must be very cautious- Addiction, Constipation, and Overdose will lead to respiratory depression, which means lights out! Like I said, this lifestyle isn't for everyone... just like dry-eye isn't for everyone-but we are stuck with it for now. Good Luck.