really need help regarding drops-please read this-thank you

[fed up kate]

hey everyone

feel like im typing a million questions lately its just i have loads of questions and problems that i need answers to and you guys on here are the only ones that can help.
im quite confused on drops,i live in the uk and have tried a million and currently on hycosan but ive read on here that some drops can effect your tear film more and some can help to fix it,like dwelle for instance but i dont think i can get that in the uk,so im worried incase these drops im on are making things worse as i do feel like my tear break up time doesnt improve at all.
but what drops can help i dont understand it all to be honest and im just in panic mode that im making my eyes worse when i think im treating them.
hope this makes sense and if someone can please help me to undertsnad or advice me on drops i would appreciate it as i really dont know what to do.

plus having a bad eye day so worrying about everything

thanks

[Teri]

Kate,

I don't know anything about the drops you're currently using...Some drops can make things worse, yes, especially if you have a sensitivity to one of the ingredients (like BAK). And I think that over-using oily drops/ointments is ultimately bad for MGD.

But it sounds like you're stuck in a very familiar place: you're having a bad eye day and start to worry and go over and over every detail, so many factors to consider, how will you ever get to the bottom of it? And this just makes your stress and anxiety level soar, which makes your eyes feel *worse*...and the cycle repeats.

My therapist calls this sort of thinking "ruminating" and it is not good. You think that if you keep chewing on the problem that you'll eventually solve it, but it doesn't work that way.

I know this is very difficult, but you need to stop thinking about it so much. You can revisit these issues when you're feeling a bit better.

So take some deep breaths, do something that will distract your mind, tell yourself to stop. Remember something really funny or great that happened to you and relive that memory. Remember how fun it was, how happy you felt, how hard you laughed. Imagine telling the story to someone.

Interrupt the negative, anxiety-ridden thoughts before they drive you crazy.

I hope you feel better soon.
Teri

[fed up kate]

Teri

thank you for your post and your absoultly right i think when you have a bad day you just go through everything its just i come on this website like every night and i read so much stuff and im like oh my life what if im doing this wrong that wrong and what if my drops are doing more harm than good etc,they are p free ones but i just dont know whats right or whats wrong with it all.
i think because i havent had a proper diagnosis that im just panicing over it and althou this website is a huge help and duno what id do without it it doesnt half give you alot to think about.
but thank you im gona try and chill and relax,i just find it hard to deal with sometimes as i know most people do.
i appreciate your help

take care

[thistledown]

Kate,
... But it sounds like you're stuck in a very familiar place: you're having a bad eye day and start to worry and go over and over every detail, so many factors to consider, how will you ever get to the bottom of it? And this just makes your stress and anxiety level soar, which makes your eyes feel *worse*...and the cycle repeats.

My therapist calls this sort of thinking "ruminating" and it is not good. You think that if you keep chewing on the problem that you'll eventually solve it, but it doesn't work that way.... Teri

Teri - you are so right! i'm new to all this, like Kate - and i'm trying to find my way round different eye drops etc, with accompanying worries and depression. 'ruminating' about sums it up - and it's not only eye troubles that are going on, too - so i've been 'ruminating' BIG time!

but i found the other day, on a bad eye day, that when i went out and mowed the lawn (very hard work, because it's a bumpy lawn full of troughs and hummocks, and my mower is very old) that after a short while my eyes were feeling better - despite the windy conditions, and the bits of stuff from the grass. and i've also found heavy-duty housework helps! (if you can get over the initial resistance!)

i'm absolutely sure, too, that stress makes it all much, much worse. so along with drops, i'm trying to find things to do which relax me, but don't strain my eyes. hot showers or long soaky baths help of course; as does sitting back with my two pusscats on my lap, listening to gentle music. and... having a jolly good cry. absolutely the best thing of all.

[eva b]

Kate,

I've used hycosan in the past, prescribed by my optometrist, they were preservative free. They contain sodium hyalaouronate, a supposedly "moisturising" subtance that lubricates the eye.

I didn't get on with them, I must say, nor with any other kind of drops that contain that particular ingredient...it's the latest craze among opthos...

The drops just made my eyes feel more irritated, but I really don't think they will do any harm in the long term.

As you continue to read these forums, you'll find lots of discussions of this type, where people can't seem to find the perfect eye drop. I never have, and rely just on plain sterile saline single dose units. Not very satisfactory.

You might be wise to see a specialist, and try a few other types of drop.

hope this helps a bit.

[fed up kate]

eva b

thank you for that im glad im not the only one that hasnt found the right drops,its like i read that clinitas ultra 3 is like dwelle but it contains perservatives so im like well ithought you arnt supose to have so im confused as its dr hollys drops but i think i tried them like a year ago and found they made my eyes drier,along with celluvisc,clinitas soothe,blink,and many others that boots opticans have im missing loads out as i have tried millions.but not sure what else to try.
im thinking of seeing that micheal gullion in london as read on here that hes quite good but dont know for sure but its either that or save to ee dr latkany in new york hehe.

thistledown-i do feel that stress makes me worse but im a natural born worrier anyway and find it hard to ignore my eyes but ye a hot bath and a good film well sayin that i stuggle watch a film all way through cuz my eyes start hurting hahaha.
i do feel better outside thou for some reason but i miss them days where its windy and my eyes use to water now they dont