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Hello all,
I am a 32 yr old female. I really never wanted to tell a story, but it may help to purge my mind of what has happened, and will allow anyone ready to provide me some insight to why this happened.
I always had difficulty wearing contacts. Basically my eyes would feel dry and I would get headaches. I did not think this was strange, because everytime I had an eye exam, the doctors would say my eyes are healthy. Surely, if something was wrong, they would tell me. So I only wore contact lenses on special occasions. Maybe twice a month. A friend of mine was considering Lasik surgery, and I was considering taking the plunge with her, since I had difficulty wearing contacts. After all I figured, what were the odds of those horror stories happening to me. I figured the odds were high enough, so I decided not to. I had found another alternative...Orthokeratology lenses.
Now to this day, I do not know if these lenses had anything to do with my condition. I can only tell you what happened. These corrective lenses are hard, and when you wear them at night, you can see the next day without any contact lenses in. This sounded wonderful. I figured I could not tolerate contacts during the day, but surely I could wear them at night. Everything I read said that your eyes return to baseline after discontinued use of the lenses. After my first night of wearing the lenses, I developed sensitivity to light. This did not startle me at first, but I called the doctor. He said this was due to the change my eye was undergoing and would go away with continued use. I wore the contacts a total of 10 out of 15 days, and decided that something was wrong. I wanted the light sensitivity to go away. It never did.
A year later, I decided to see if something could be done about the photophobia. A doctor put me on Restasis. He never explained to me the purpose of the drops or how they worked, so I took them inconsistently for about three months. I stopped taking it altogether for about a month. My eyes were felt fine. I decided I had not given it a good try, so I started Restasis again with Refresh tears. My eyes would burn when I used the refresh tears, so I stopped using them. I further researched photophobia and decided to try some drops I found on-line. These were MSM drops and Viva drops. So I used the combination of MSM drops and viva drops along with the Restasis for about three weeks. I ran out of the Restasis, and continued to use the MSM drops and Viva drops for about a week. That is when I noticed that my eyes would burn and I started having this pressure like feeling. It felt like my eyes were too big for their sockets.
I knew something was wrong, because I was a little familiar with dry eye. In my mind I was thinking that I had messed myself up, I had taken my eyes over the edge. But what did it? Was it (1) the orthokeratology over a year ago (I only wore the lenses ten days), (2) being on restasis or coming off restasis (I had come off before with not problem), (3) the new drops I was trying, or (4) a condition I already had that finally decided to show up.
Interestingly, #4 gives me the most comfort. I would not want to think I actually did this to myself.
The photophobia started April 2006. The discomfort started July 2007.
These are the symptons I had: 1. pressure-like feeling. 2. eyes would feel numb. 3. Dry. 4. Burn. 5. Tired eyes. 6. headaches.
I would not having these feelings all at once. The would rotate.
I went back to my doctor in August 2007. I think he is a decent doctor, but my biggest complaint was that he never told me what I had, why, or how the treatment would help me. On that visit, he immediately plugged my lowers. He just went out the room, and came back in with plugs. The plugs did nothing for how I felt.
I decided that I did not feel bad until I had come off the Restasis for about a week, so I told the doctor I wanted to try the Restasis again. I started the Restasis August 13th.
Two months later, I still felt bad. I had already had Dr. Latkany's book, and when I saw him on this site, that confirmed it for me. He always said that it is important to know why there is a problem. I knew that if I went back to my regular doctor that he was going to plug my uppers. Before I had that done, I had to get a second opinion.
I visited Dr. Latkany. Wonderful, caring doctor he is. He told me that these were the problems I had. 1. Mild mgd, 2. lagthomalos (you know what I mean when your sleeping), and 3. allergies.
Allergies? No way. My father has allergies, but not me. I got tested. I am mainly allergic to dust mites and some other indoor stuff. Some outdoor, but its also mild. I was sad, because it seemed like I had another uphill battle. Dr. Latkany said I had to get the allergies under control.
I am very proactive about this condition. I have followed Dr. Latkany's book. I take in no caffeine, alchohol. I change my diet to fruits and vegetables, and fish and chicken mainly. Lots of water. I exercise three to four times a week. Between these changes and the depression I was in for three months I lost 20 pounds. I was not big to begin with.
How do I feel now? I am better than when this started. My symptons are still the photophobia, dryness, and tired eyes. I get headaches more easily, but I can control them.
I asked every doctor I saw on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being worse), how bad are my eyes. I got 2, 3, and 2. You mean to tell me that what I have is mild? Nobody did a shirmers. I am sorry for anyone out there beyond what I am feeling.
My current treatment is:
1. Restasis. 2x day. (August 13, 2007)
2. Omega 3 and hydro eye (March 2007)
3. Eye spa per Dr. Latkany's book (October 18, 2007)
4. Two lower plugs (August 1, 2007)
5. Allergy shots (December 5, 2007)
That's my story. To anybody who actually reads my complete story, I hope it helps to know my journey to recovery.
I am a 32 yr old female. I really never wanted to tell a story, but it may help to purge my mind of what has happened, and will allow anyone ready to provide me some insight to why this happened.
I always had difficulty wearing contacts. Basically my eyes would feel dry and I would get headaches. I did not think this was strange, because everytime I had an eye exam, the doctors would say my eyes are healthy. Surely, if something was wrong, they would tell me. So I only wore contact lenses on special occasions. Maybe twice a month. A friend of mine was considering Lasik surgery, and I was considering taking the plunge with her, since I had difficulty wearing contacts. After all I figured, what were the odds of those horror stories happening to me. I figured the odds were high enough, so I decided not to. I had found another alternative...Orthokeratology lenses.
Now to this day, I do not know if these lenses had anything to do with my condition. I can only tell you what happened. These corrective lenses are hard, and when you wear them at night, you can see the next day without any contact lenses in. This sounded wonderful. I figured I could not tolerate contacts during the day, but surely I could wear them at night. Everything I read said that your eyes return to baseline after discontinued use of the lenses. After my first night of wearing the lenses, I developed sensitivity to light. This did not startle me at first, but I called the doctor. He said this was due to the change my eye was undergoing and would go away with continued use. I wore the contacts a total of 10 out of 15 days, and decided that something was wrong. I wanted the light sensitivity to go away. It never did.
A year later, I decided to see if something could be done about the photophobia. A doctor put me on Restasis. He never explained to me the purpose of the drops or how they worked, so I took them inconsistently for about three months. I stopped taking it altogether for about a month. My eyes were felt fine. I decided I had not given it a good try, so I started Restasis again with Refresh tears. My eyes would burn when I used the refresh tears, so I stopped using them. I further researched photophobia and decided to try some drops I found on-line. These were MSM drops and Viva drops. So I used the combination of MSM drops and viva drops along with the Restasis for about three weeks. I ran out of the Restasis, and continued to use the MSM drops and Viva drops for about a week. That is when I noticed that my eyes would burn and I started having this pressure like feeling. It felt like my eyes were too big for their sockets.
I knew something was wrong, because I was a little familiar with dry eye. In my mind I was thinking that I had messed myself up, I had taken my eyes over the edge. But what did it? Was it (1) the orthokeratology over a year ago (I only wore the lenses ten days), (2) being on restasis or coming off restasis (I had come off before with not problem), (3) the new drops I was trying, or (4) a condition I already had that finally decided to show up.
Interestingly, #4 gives me the most comfort. I would not want to think I actually did this to myself.
The photophobia started April 2006. The discomfort started July 2007.
These are the symptons I had: 1. pressure-like feeling. 2. eyes would feel numb. 3. Dry. 4. Burn. 5. Tired eyes. 6. headaches.
I would not having these feelings all at once. The would rotate.
I went back to my doctor in August 2007. I think he is a decent doctor, but my biggest complaint was that he never told me what I had, why, or how the treatment would help me. On that visit, he immediately plugged my lowers. He just went out the room, and came back in with plugs. The plugs did nothing for how I felt.
I decided that I did not feel bad until I had come off the Restasis for about a week, so I told the doctor I wanted to try the Restasis again. I started the Restasis August 13th.
Two months later, I still felt bad. I had already had Dr. Latkany's book, and when I saw him on this site, that confirmed it for me. He always said that it is important to know why there is a problem. I knew that if I went back to my regular doctor that he was going to plug my uppers. Before I had that done, I had to get a second opinion.
I visited Dr. Latkany. Wonderful, caring doctor he is. He told me that these were the problems I had. 1. Mild mgd, 2. lagthomalos (you know what I mean when your sleeping), and 3. allergies.
Allergies? No way. My father has allergies, but not me. I got tested. I am mainly allergic to dust mites and some other indoor stuff. Some outdoor, but its also mild. I was sad, because it seemed like I had another uphill battle. Dr. Latkany said I had to get the allergies under control.
I am very proactive about this condition. I have followed Dr. Latkany's book. I take in no caffeine, alchohol. I change my diet to fruits and vegetables, and fish and chicken mainly. Lots of water. I exercise three to four times a week. Between these changes and the depression I was in for three months I lost 20 pounds. I was not big to begin with.
How do I feel now? I am better than when this started. My symptons are still the photophobia, dryness, and tired eyes. I get headaches more easily, but I can control them.
I asked every doctor I saw on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being worse), how bad are my eyes. I got 2, 3, and 2. You mean to tell me that what I have is mild? Nobody did a shirmers. I am sorry for anyone out there beyond what I am feeling.
My current treatment is:
1. Restasis. 2x day. (August 13, 2007)
2. Omega 3 and hydro eye (March 2007)
3. Eye spa per Dr. Latkany's book (October 18, 2007)
4. Two lower plugs (August 1, 2007)
5. Allergy shots (December 5, 2007)
That's my story. To anybody who actually reads my complete story, I hope it helps to know my journey to recovery.
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