My story

[adamsl]

I have had dry eyes for about a year. It only bothers me when I wake up though. We I try to open my eyes in the morning they are extremely dry and only until i put drops in them am i about to really do anything. I wear O 2 Optix contacts which are the ones, that my doctor said I could wear a week, take out to sleep without them one night and wear them another week and then throw them away. My eyes acted really fine with this to start out with and I wore them as directed for the most part. However, they started to be very dry in the morning and I started wearing them at night not as much but it seemed that my eyes felt better if I kept them in during the whole day, otherwise they were very irritating. Eventually I could take them out and they weren't irritating so I completely quit wearing them at night. But now every morning it is were hard to get up in the morning because it is difficult to open my eyes. My doctor acted like it wasn't really a problem and I should just use drops more often during the day but I haven't gained anything from this. I have heard of a few people that have tried these lately and have had some similar problems. Any suggestions/comments?

[calli66]

Adamsl

Depending on what is causing your dry eyes, wearing contacts could lead to more inflammation and discomfort. I wore contacts for 5-6 years after my dry eye started, and experienced similar issues (although I never slept in them).

My eyes felt "better" while wearing contacts during the day, but went into a "reactive mode" after I took them out in the evening. They felt very dry, irritated, and had that foreign-body sensation that no amount of drops helped. My evenings were bad---couldn't make it through a movie without lots of drops and discomfort. Nighttimes are always bad for me, as are mornings.

Since I quit wearing contacts altogether (3 months ago), I have dramatic improvement in irritation and discomfort. I think the contacts were a mechanical irritation as well as a saturated "source" or "pool" of accumulated proteins and irritants, and this created a chronic condition that I lived with for years. The reason my eyes "felt better" with contacts was because they were covering the cornea and protecting it from drying out (lots of sensitive nerves there). As soon as I took them out, the dry spots were raw and exposed.

Also, when you wear contacts, you have to use the remoistening drops formulated for contact lens wearers, and these all have preservatives in them. Dry eyes are more sensitive to preservatives and cleaning/soaking solutions. All these added chemicals on a daily basis never give your eyes a chance to heal and come to equilibrium with their natural tear components.

You'll probably still have uncomfortably dry eyes at night and when you wake up, but this can be managed with drops and gels applied at bedtime and during the night, as well as sleep masks and goggles to prevent evaporation. If you're out of contacts during the day, then you can use the preservative-free vials of drops.

Anyway, this may not apply to you. But I went for years "in denial" that the contacts weren't good for my eyes, based on my experience that "my eyes felt better with them during the day." Now, my eyes feel 80% better at ALL times, and I rarely have to use drops during the day. It took awhile, though---at least a month (out of contacts) to feel the improvement.

Calli

[Rojzen]

ocular surface status?

I'm wondering whether the pattern you're experiencing of having an easier time opening eyes in the a.m. WITH the lenses than without may signal that the lenses are acting as a sort of bandage barrier between the lids and your ocular surfaces. Conceivably, the lenses could be helping your surface epithelium stay put, if it is otherwise fragile. .Sometimes bandage lenses are used for patients who have recurrent corneal erosions, along these lines. . .In any case, reasoning deductively, I would throw out for your consideration that you should make sure your corneas and conjunctiva do not now have some rough spots/abrasions that require some R&R. . .Possibly you need to see a doctor OTHER than the one prescribing your lenses, who will give those corneas and other tissue a really objective look. . .In all probability, everything is AOK, but it cannot hurt to make sure that the lenses are either ******g or aggravating a condition that needs some treatment. . .

[Rebecca Petris]

I agree with both Calli and Rojzen...

I am kind of picturing a 'step forward, step backward' situation here where... maybe you have dry eyes and/or a related ocular surface condition; contact lens use (or relative overuse) is exacerbating it; and the same contacts are also bandaging you against the symptoms (i.e. ******g the symptoms) during part of use. You need a really good evaluation. I would strongly suggest keeping a careful log of symptoms and when you experience them and going over it with a corneal specialist.