my dry eyes story

[sannah]

Hello everybody. i'm new here and i was sorta happy when i saw this website. somehow it feels good not to feel alone with this problem.. don't blame me because of that, please..
anyway, my story:
I since january i have a problem with my eyes. Everything started with conjunctivitis, which was caused by unclean contact lens. My eyes were painful, red and the doctor diagonosed me with hyperemia. Conjunctivits cleared up in a week, but hyperemia had lasted till april and the doctor said that my eyes look healthy. He said that I can start wearing lenses again, so I had done, but then I figured that might not be the smartest thing to do, so I stopped wearing them. ( Let me just mention that lenses did not worsen situation or anything) But nontheless, now, my eyes still feel painful and sore. I figured that my eyes might be dry, since I had problems with dry eyes while using contacts, but they were not so severe since I found the lenses that did not couse me dry eye symptoms. I use overnight treatments and artificial tears, but that does not seem to help. I am desperate, I'm loosing my will to live and I just dont know what to do. The situation is driving me mad. I'm 22 years old and this supposed to be the happiest years of my life, but instead i wake up every morning, wanting not to. On one hand the pain is killing me, and on the other hand i'm afraid i wont be able to wear lenses again..

[rooneyandfergie]

Some consolation from a fellow sufferer

Hi sannah,

I know how you feel. I just joined this forum as well. I am a new sufferer of dry eyes as well. In fact, I just posted in the introduction section. I am 25 years of age myself and i have never though i would be suffering from this at such a young age. Let's hope we all get some relief from the condition.

Best regards.

[sannah]

thank you! i hope everything clears up for you in near future!

[Martush]

Sannah

Gosh, it's tough. It really helps to know we're not alone. I often felt as if something is extremely wrong with me, since I am young, did not take any meds, haven't had lasik or any other related surgery, and am not on birth control. So doctors kept asking me what could be the cause, what have I been doing wrong?
And I believe that these feelings, of blaming myself and trying to find the cause, have really hurt me and affected my mood.
I know exactly how you feel, I've had the symptoms for 2 years now and life's been tough ever since.
Nevertheless, I've also learned a lot about myself and about life in general. I learned to take things in perspective and appreciate every moment in which my eyes would hurt less.

Please keep us updated as to any improvements or developments.

What kind of helps me is realizing that this condition is now becoming more researched and gets into the public awareness. Perhaps really soon they would be able to come up with something that would help.

I wish you all the best