my problem

[discohornet]

Geez, where do I even start?

Well I have been having this problem for about a year or so. I am a 32 year old male. I should have glasses for driving but I haven't bought a new pair in a couple of years and will be going soon to get those.

In the meantime I have been having the most frustrated time with my eyes. They are dry a heck of a lot, and I think I am dehydrated (muscle cramps at times during exercise, dry mouth) even though I drink dare I say a ton of water, at least 100 ounces a day. Nonetheless I think there's something going on there.

But what really bothers me is this. I have cloudy vision. Let's see... How can I describe this. I can't seem to find anyone else with this sameproblem.

You know when you wake up in the morning and you sometimes have a filmy appearance to your vision so you rub your eyes and get moving and it fades? Mine doesn't stop feeling like that. During the day when I'm out and about I don't seem to notice it. But in front of the computer (where I work all day) and at night when watching tv or out at night I notice this blurriness and fogginess to my vision. This isn't right where I'm looking either. By that I mean if I am focused on something I can see it clearly, but constantly I keep feeling like in the outer areas of my vision there is a film that needs to be blinked clean off my eyes.

The computer really brings it out and watching movies at night I notice it quite a bit.

Like I said, I've had at times very very dry eyes. Sometimes they've burn or stung they are so dry. I picked up a bottle of artificial tears and apply that now.

But what I'm afraid of is that I have some sort of cataract formation happening. I'm only 32. I've had my blood sugar tested and I'm not diabetic even though it does run in my family.

There's a lot of ghosting too, where if I look at something on the computer and then glance over it stays with me. I know that's normal but I get the feeling it's a little more sensitive with me.

Can anyone help me here? I'm really spooked by it. I made an appt to see my doctor so I can get an opthamologist appointment but I was hoping somewhere out there might know what I'm talking about and give me some hope that I'm not totally screwed up or something.

Is it disabling? no. I can still see clear, just not as clear as I should, lots of ghosting and filminess, kind of a puffiness too if that makes sense.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or help!

[Rojzen]

Hemoglobin A1c?

Was your diabetes testing at all retrospective? In other words, did you have a hemoglobin A1c test run to determine the average of your blood sugar levels over a month-long period? Please forgive my ignorance on this, but I am not sure whether the A1c test is standard, above and beyond the reading of a static glucose level in a blood chemistry. . .

The dry spot effect you describe, of blurred or faint vision, could simply be a very predictable symptom of dryness, and not necessarily a sign of deeper problems like cataract or retinal vision loss. . .If you can share more about your eye workup, such as the state of your meibomian glands and tear production, lots of us will chime in with ideas. . .

[Cindy]

It could be that your driest spot(s) is right smack dab in the way of your central vision. That's what happened to me. My driest spots for both eyes were right in my central vision. During sleep, my epithelium would dry out and my eyelids would wind up sticking to the dry spots. Upon awakening, I would open my eyes and a little bit of the epithelium would stick to my lids causing me to have hazy vision.

[discohornet]

Was your diabetes testing at all retrospective? In other words, did you have a hemoglobin A1c test run to determine the average of your blood sugar levels over a month-long period? Please forgive my ignorance on this, but I am not sure whether the A1c test is standard, above and beyond the reading of a static glucose level in a blood chemistry. . .

The dry spot effect you describe, of blurred or faint vision, could simply be a very predictable symptom of dryness, and not necessarily a sign of deeper problems like cataract or retinal vision loss. . .If you can share more about your eye workup, such as the state of your meibomian glands and tear production, lots of us will chime in with ideas. . .

Hmmm, It seems I haven't been thoroughly checked out for diabetes. My doctor just had me fast and then looked at my fasting blood sugar. I've since bought a glucose monitor to see where I'm at and my sugar seems to be in control at least but that may not be all the info I need.

As for the report from the doc about my eyes, I will have to get back to you all after I see the opthamologist. I was just wondering in the interim if any of this sounded similar to other's experiences.

I guess my biggest concern was whether it was cataracts or glaucoma or something requiring some kind of surgery. I'm only 32 so it would be crazy to even be considering surgery on my eyes. Does anything I'm describing sound like cataracts to you folks?

[nahzee]

It sounds to me an awful lot like it's time for you to see an ophthalmologist. You're worrying yourself over what may likely be a far more minor issue and we cannot diagnose you over the web. So make an appointment and find out!

[discohornet]

I did just that!!

Will know more on wednesday!

[hkgcomet]

You MUST visit a doctor, and told that you have dry eye and mouth, the condition at morning, and MUST make him refer you to a ophthalmologist.

Then ophthalmologist would make suitable tests for you, it must have blood test for any immune system's problem.

After that, go back to here to seek for suitable methods with many experienced people here...

[discohornet]

Well I went to an opthalmologist today. He did a bunch of tests, dilated my eyes (which has bothered me way more than I've ever been bothered by having my eyes dilated) and has ruled out anything like cataracts (he says he saw some tiny amount of opaqueness but nothing to really make out).

He sent me home with a bottle of azasite because he believes my tear fluid is "disrupted" whatever that might mean. He said that would explain my blurry vision. He told me to use it twice a day for a week and then once a day thereafter. He also gave me some optive and said use as often as I need.

I just hope I didn't let it go for too long before seeing a doctor about it.

[gz9gjg]

Hello discohornet,

The tear layer is a huge contributor to good vision. So anything you can do to improve it should help your vision.

Blockages in the Meibomian glands can lead to poor tear quality. I suggest you search this forum for descriptions of how to improve tear quality.

Also, have you considered using the eye drops available from The Dry Eye Shop? They are very different than over the counter drops, and are designed to promote good tear quality. I use Nutra Tear daily, and I really like how it works for me.

Good luck,

Lynne
Phoenix, AZ

[discohornet]

I guess I'm just curious why my doctor gave me azasite which is essentially an antibiotic for my eyes right? Does he think I have an eye infection? I know he's the one I should be asking, but I thought if anyone here knew.... He never mentioned me having an infection.

I will surely be buying the dry eye drops from this store. Just my single experience now with prescription eye drops has made me realize how worthless the OTC drops are.

[discohornet]

just a quick update. I had to go back to the doctor's office to pick up my eyeglass script anyways so I had them print everything off. Turns out I was diagnosed with post. blepharitis/ mgd. that's why he gave me azasite. Is this a permanent condition?

[Teri]

discohornet,

Unfortunately, posterior blepharitis and MGD seem to be chronic conditions, but they can be managed. By that I mean that there are things you can do to make your eyes more comfortable so that you're not in pain all the time.

Azasite can be effective in getting blepharitis under control (it worked for me).

You may want to consider adding a warm compress and lid scrubs to your regimen, as these really help control the bacteria on your lash line and open up the oil glands. (You can search for posts on these topics -- a lot has been written about both of them.)

Also, for most of us, it takes a while to find a really good doctor. If your eye condition doesn't improve, consider finding an eye doc who is a dry eye specialist. (There have also been lost of posts on this!)

And I would strongly urge you to see your internist for a full physical. You need to rule out certain autoimmune conditions (Sjogren's can cause dry mouth and dry eyes), vitamin deficiencies, etc. At the very least, this would give you more information to take back to your eye doctor.

And please don't freak out worrying what serious things might be wrong with you! Just keep trying to get to the bottom of it and keep us posted!
Teri

P.S. If you don't like the Optive (i.e. it doesn't feel comfortable in your eye), there are lots of other OTC artificial tears and goopy drops you can try. I'd go for the non-preserved ones first, and Genteal Gel (Severe Dry Eye) seems to be popular with a lot of us. Be cautious about using any oily drops or ointments as they could make your MGD worse if you overuse them.

[mjf79]

I too had the cloudy vision and ghost images. Turns out that I have ocular rosacea and blepharitis. I am now taking azasite as well. The cloudy vision comes from what the doctor called poor quality tears. The glands in the eye lids are blocked up and do not form enough oil on the eye surface with each blink, so your tears evaporate too quickly and you have poor, fluctuating, cloudy vision. I do warm compresses and eye massage, take flax oil, and have started sleeping with a sleep masks, which has helped my comfort level in the morning. Hope you see some improvement. Drink lots of water!