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Opinion Needed. Dr's would be preferred :)
I wrote this in several different sessions of computer time because my eyes are unbelievable today. I can barely keep my left eye open at any point in time right now. So far, I've had 3-4 days of unbearable pain in a row. Huzzah for bad luck and crappy eyes! If I sound bitter during any part of this...well, you all know why.
A little background, I'm 26, white, male, green eyes, annoyingly long eye lashes (if they get in my eye...ohh man, it hurts all over).
I would be taking my pharmacy boards if my dry eye weren't a limiting factor. I need to petition for special testing accommodations just to bring in my lubricating eye drops to the exam (6 wks processing time). It's also a 4 hour computer based exam...Could the world be any more against those with dry eye? Also, my diagnosis is just "dry eye syndrome". I do not have any of the "good" (by good, I clearly mean bad) diagnoses that would get my accommodations quickly accepted. In fact, I don't really have any good physical exams that have used non-objective tests to determine how bad my dryness is. The symptoms are severe, however, and have gotten much worse over the past 4-years. I've got 4 punctual plugs inserted (two smart and two regular). I find relief ONLY when I'm taking a shower (then my fiance yells at me for taking 1 hr long showers. i know it's a waste of water, but it's a small price to pay for 1 hr a day without pain). I've tried pretty much everything except for autologous human serum eye drops because I can't float the cost of that on top of my lacrisert(r) at the moment. Currently, I insert one (1) 5mg Lacrisert insert into the lower conjunctival sac of each eye BID (roughly $500 a month for my insurance) and use rewetting drops all day. On a plus side, I will be opening a compounding pharmacy within the next year or two, and I will definitely be specializing in making autologous human serum eye drops for my fellow dry eye sufferers. Taking all of the fish oil supplements has proven fantastic for my already awesome lipid panel. I don't think they do much for my eyes though...Goggles were something else I tried, but when you try them, don't grab a colored pair because that's the only thing that the stores that are open at the time you finally break down and go buy a pair carry (i was studying/cramming for a test the next day...my eyes made me put it off longer. i was hoping for a good eye day and one never came). I'm scared of coastal cities because every time I go to one, it's too damned windy during the day to go outside without pain. I thought that moving from Austin to Houston would be better for my eyes since Houston is humid and could be likened to an armpit, but I still feel the burn of my eyes all day long. It's basically the same story everyone else has, except I have no idea why my eyes are like this. I know only that I took accutane(r) for 1-2 months, 9.5 years ago, and then my eyes started getting severely dry about 4 years ago, 3-4 months before I got in to pharmacy school. Other than that, I've got nothing to work off of, and blood tests always come back negative. I have no problem with salivation. I've tried restasis(r) once a day and twice a day, for over 4 months, and I saw zero improvement (it was great as far as counseling others in the future goes...). I've seen 4 different ophthalmologists, and the most recent one wrote me the most useless letter to send to my state board. When it came to the section on recommendations to make for my accommodations, he said, "please provide him with any aids to which your committee deems as appropriate during his examination". My requests which were written on my section of the form prior to his filling it out are as listed below in this post, and while I was very specific, he was not. He said, "it is not my policy to make specific recommendations", and then went on to further say that was, in a nut shell, because he didn't want to deal with state boards, lawyers, employers, and the like. Looks to me like he just wants to take my insurances money and ignore how this disease/syndrome is effectively destroying me emotionally and professionally.
I just want to be able to take my exam and see at the same time without pain, but I feel downright dirty trying to ask for additional time because my eyes are such a nuisance. I put drops in about 6-10 times per hour depending on the day, and that causes my vision to go blurry and make reading almost impossible for 30 seconds to a minute, and quick reading/skimming almost impossible for 3 minutes because it's so hard to focus. The tests (law and board) cost almost $1000, so I feel justified in trying to ask for additional time because I'm dealing with my eyes almost 20-30minutes per hour. After all, the request is only to get a fair testing environment. I'm scared of the test because 4 hours on a computer is enough to make my eyes burn for the entire day. IF I run out of time and I don't pass, I can't take the board again for 90 days or the Law again for 30 days. I'll just die if my eyes cause me to fail my exam and make me look like an incompetent fool. No one really understands exactly what it's like to be a severe dry eye sufferer except for a severe dry eye sufferer, and there aren't as many people out there suffering from severe dry eye as there are people that are willing to judge us.
I asked for 15min. for each hour of the exam, the ability to bring eye drops and a lacrisert applicator to be kept on my person and have someone at the testing center have an extra eye drop bottle and applicator just in case, and a compact/mirror to be kept on my person so that I can manipulate my lacrisert inserts during the exam if I need, for whatever reason (they pop out, get in my eye lashes, stick to my eye, get an eye lash in the lacrisert itself because one of my eye lashes wanted to get inside of my lid and not stick out from it, etc.). Does that sound unreasonable to anyone? I wanted to ask for 30 minutes per hour, but I thought that might have a less likely chance of getting approved. It would be great to be able to just sit there and close my eyes for 10-20 minutes...and people would still think I was using that extra time for test taking. Sigh.
I've got an appointment for Boston Scleral Lenses with their Houston partner soon, so hopefully I can just withdraw my disability request *fingers crossed*
Also, this is my first real post of any value. I'm new to the forum, and up until now, I've just been a troll. I hope to have good things to say about the Baylor Alkek Eye Center, and I will definitely post as I go through this process so that others can derive some kind of benefit from my experience. I opted for the cash-pay option that relies on me filing for insurance reimbursement, so that I can get the lenses much quicker, get to taking my boards and get a job!
A little background, I'm 26, white, male, green eyes, annoyingly long eye lashes (if they get in my eye...ohh man, it hurts all over).
I would be taking my pharmacy boards if my dry eye weren't a limiting factor. I need to petition for special testing accommodations just to bring in my lubricating eye drops to the exam (6 wks processing time). It's also a 4 hour computer based exam...Could the world be any more against those with dry eye? Also, my diagnosis is just "dry eye syndrome". I do not have any of the "good" (by good, I clearly mean bad) diagnoses that would get my accommodations quickly accepted. In fact, I don't really have any good physical exams that have used non-objective tests to determine how bad my dryness is. The symptoms are severe, however, and have gotten much worse over the past 4-years. I've got 4 punctual plugs inserted (two smart and two regular). I find relief ONLY when I'm taking a shower (then my fiance yells at me for taking 1 hr long showers. i know it's a waste of water, but it's a small price to pay for 1 hr a day without pain). I've tried pretty much everything except for autologous human serum eye drops because I can't float the cost of that on top of my lacrisert(r) at the moment. Currently, I insert one (1) 5mg Lacrisert insert into the lower conjunctival sac of each eye BID (roughly $500 a month for my insurance) and use rewetting drops all day. On a plus side, I will be opening a compounding pharmacy within the next year or two, and I will definitely be specializing in making autologous human serum eye drops for my fellow dry eye sufferers. Taking all of the fish oil supplements has proven fantastic for my already awesome lipid panel. I don't think they do much for my eyes though...Goggles were something else I tried, but when you try them, don't grab a colored pair because that's the only thing that the stores that are open at the time you finally break down and go buy a pair carry (i was studying/cramming for a test the next day...my eyes made me put it off longer. i was hoping for a good eye day and one never came). I'm scared of coastal cities because every time I go to one, it's too damned windy during the day to go outside without pain. I thought that moving from Austin to Houston would be better for my eyes since Houston is humid and could be likened to an armpit, but I still feel the burn of my eyes all day long. It's basically the same story everyone else has, except I have no idea why my eyes are like this. I know only that I took accutane(r) for 1-2 months, 9.5 years ago, and then my eyes started getting severely dry about 4 years ago, 3-4 months before I got in to pharmacy school. Other than that, I've got nothing to work off of, and blood tests always come back negative. I have no problem with salivation. I've tried restasis(r) once a day and twice a day, for over 4 months, and I saw zero improvement (it was great as far as counseling others in the future goes...). I've seen 4 different ophthalmologists, and the most recent one wrote me the most useless letter to send to my state board. When it came to the section on recommendations to make for my accommodations, he said, "please provide him with any aids to which your committee deems as appropriate during his examination". My requests which were written on my section of the form prior to his filling it out are as listed below in this post, and while I was very specific, he was not. He said, "it is not my policy to make specific recommendations", and then went on to further say that was, in a nut shell, because he didn't want to deal with state boards, lawyers, employers, and the like. Looks to me like he just wants to take my insurances money and ignore how this disease/syndrome is effectively destroying me emotionally and professionally.
I just want to be able to take my exam and see at the same time without pain, but I feel downright dirty trying to ask for additional time because my eyes are such a nuisance. I put drops in about 6-10 times per hour depending on the day, and that causes my vision to go blurry and make reading almost impossible for 30 seconds to a minute, and quick reading/skimming almost impossible for 3 minutes because it's so hard to focus. The tests (law and board) cost almost $1000, so I feel justified in trying to ask for additional time because I'm dealing with my eyes almost 20-30minutes per hour. After all, the request is only to get a fair testing environment. I'm scared of the test because 4 hours on a computer is enough to make my eyes burn for the entire day. IF I run out of time and I don't pass, I can't take the board again for 90 days or the Law again for 30 days. I'll just die if my eyes cause me to fail my exam and make me look like an incompetent fool. No one really understands exactly what it's like to be a severe dry eye sufferer except for a severe dry eye sufferer, and there aren't as many people out there suffering from severe dry eye as there are people that are willing to judge us.
I asked for 15min. for each hour of the exam, the ability to bring eye drops and a lacrisert applicator to be kept on my person and have someone at the testing center have an extra eye drop bottle and applicator just in case, and a compact/mirror to be kept on my person so that I can manipulate my lacrisert inserts during the exam if I need, for whatever reason (they pop out, get in my eye lashes, stick to my eye, get an eye lash in the lacrisert itself because one of my eye lashes wanted to get inside of my lid and not stick out from it, etc.). Does that sound unreasonable to anyone? I wanted to ask for 30 minutes per hour, but I thought that might have a less likely chance of getting approved. It would be great to be able to just sit there and close my eyes for 10-20 minutes...and people would still think I was using that extra time for test taking. Sigh.
I've got an appointment for Boston Scleral Lenses with their Houston partner soon, so hopefully I can just withdraw my disability request *fingers crossed*
Also, this is my first real post of any value. I'm new to the forum, and up until now, I've just been a troll. I hope to have good things to say about the Baylor Alkek Eye Center, and I will definitely post as I go through this process so that others can derive some kind of benefit from my experience. I opted for the cash-pay option that relies on me filing for insurance reimbursement, so that I can get the lenses much quicker, get to taking my boards and get a job!
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