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Today I went to my second (followup) appt with an optometrist I found in the yellow pages who advertised dry eye as one of his specialties. At the first appt he wanted me to try patadol for two weeks, which I did my best to comply with but had to abandon last weekend because it was just making things even rawer (the BAK, I'm convinced, on top of an already irritated surface was just too much).
I am happy to say that he spent over an hour with me today and was the most kind, compassionate doctor I've seen yet. (An hour? Unheard of, at least to me). It's frustrating when they shrug and say "well, your eyes look fine to me", but you're ready to pull them out of your head. No, this is NOT all in my head!
Anyway, I had a list of questions a mile long, but he managed to deal with them all without me even asking. My diagnosis (unchanged from first appt) is:
- normal (for my age) TBUT, but thin tear film
- suspected allergy to something (I'm convinced it's autumn mold and dead stuff flying around the air -- I seem to be worse this time of year). Lots of mucous in my eye, although nothing I can see. Lack of tears means inability to flush it out
- very poor production of oil (no sign of overt blepharitis; I think he called it "meibonism" or something like that). Yellowy, mucous discharge when expressed.
- suspected ocular rosacea (mild signs of it on my cheeks so could be a contributing factor).
So my treatment plan ...
- First thing he did today was put temporary lower plugs in (will dissolve in 3-4 days).
- In 5 days, I'm to start a different allergy drop (preservative free -- yayyy!), called Zaditor to see if that works
- Then, 5 days after that I will go on a steroid/antibiotic drop if required (short-term, to hopefully calm things down)
- After that, maintenance.
- And of course regular warm compresses/lid massage as per Dr. Latkany's book.
He warned me that things would be rough today which they have been(numbing drop after effects, not to mention the punctum poking and fluorostein). But I just went to lay down and do my warm compresses, and my eyes were actually wet after!
I know I have a long road ahead and there is no fast fix or cure, but I must say how relieved I feel to have finally found someone who seems knowledgeable and willing to take the time to both help and care. He will see me on a weekly basis over the next several weeks as we start to try these different things one step at a time.
Sorry for being so long winded, but today has been a good day (not too many lately) and I just wanted to share.
Debbi
I am happy to say that he spent over an hour with me today and was the most kind, compassionate doctor I've seen yet. (An hour? Unheard of, at least to me). It's frustrating when they shrug and say "well, your eyes look fine to me", but you're ready to pull them out of your head. No, this is NOT all in my head!
Anyway, I had a list of questions a mile long, but he managed to deal with them all without me even asking. My diagnosis (unchanged from first appt) is:
- normal (for my age) TBUT, but thin tear film
- suspected allergy to something (I'm convinced it's autumn mold and dead stuff flying around the air -- I seem to be worse this time of year). Lots of mucous in my eye, although nothing I can see. Lack of tears means inability to flush it out
- very poor production of oil (no sign of overt blepharitis; I think he called it "meibonism" or something like that). Yellowy, mucous discharge when expressed.
- suspected ocular rosacea (mild signs of it on my cheeks so could be a contributing factor).
So my treatment plan ...
- First thing he did today was put temporary lower plugs in (will dissolve in 3-4 days).
- In 5 days, I'm to start a different allergy drop (preservative free -- yayyy!), called Zaditor to see if that works
- Then, 5 days after that I will go on a steroid/antibiotic drop if required (short-term, to hopefully calm things down)
- After that, maintenance.
- And of course regular warm compresses/lid massage as per Dr. Latkany's book.
He warned me that things would be rough today which they have been(numbing drop after effects, not to mention the punctum poking and fluorostein). But I just went to lay down and do my warm compresses, and my eyes were actually wet after!
I know I have a long road ahead and there is no fast fix or cure, but I must say how relieved I feel to have finally found someone who seems knowledgeable and willing to take the time to both help and care. He will see me on a weekly basis over the next several weeks as we start to try these different things one step at a time.
Sorry for being so long winded, but today has been a good day (not too many lately) and I just wanted to share.
Debbi
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