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I started noticing that my eyes were dry and my vision blurry in May, 2010. I went to an opthamologist, who said my vision was 20/20. I insisted on a more thorough exam and was referring to another opthamologist who specialized in double vision. He quickly ruled out double vision and sent me back to the original doc. Meanwhile, my eyes are getting dryer and dryer. I saw a third opthomologist, who said he'd order my charts and see if he could figure something out. I waited and waited and finally (it was October by now) called and had a melt down with a triage nurse. I was in pain.
The nurse had me see a fourth ophthomologist, who said I had developed dry spots on my eyes. After a month on meds, the dry spots got better, but the dryness remained. The opthmologist said: oh, well. That's all I can do.
I had another melt down and made an appointment with my regular, family doctor. He ordered blood work and sent me to a dermatologist. The blood tests showed thyroid problems, and the dermatologist said I had rosacea. She said she couldn't diagnose ocular rosacea - I'd have to see an opthamologist for that, but she prescribed antibiotics as a precaution.
One week later and the change was amazing.
I had been putting in eye drops every half hour through out the day and wearing goggles in the car, outside, and even in front of the fire place at home. Today, I don't have to use eye drops until mid afternoon.
So, my advice: DO NOT GIVE UP. If the first doctor doesn't listen, find another. And another, and another, until someone listens. Doctors seems to think dry eyes is a minor inconvenience. It is not. It can become painful and dangerous. They're your eyes. Don't let an unconcerned doctor make your life miserable.
Two more pieces of advice: There's lots of people around you that will support you if you let them. Talk with your family. Talk with your boss, human resources and building services at work. Moving your desk away from an overhead vent, bringing in a little humidifier, and just sitting with your eyes closed can make a difference. And, the last piece of advice: yawn. If you're in a tough spot, like driving a car, or in a meeting and you can't get to your eye drops, then yawn. Hopefully your body will release some tears in the process.
Thank you, Dry Eye Zone, so much for being here. I was one of those "lurkers" reading posts and looking for support without participating. I'm sure there are a lot of us out there, and this forum was a huge source of support when I needed it most. Thank you thank you thank you.
The nurse had me see a fourth ophthomologist, who said I had developed dry spots on my eyes. After a month on meds, the dry spots got better, but the dryness remained. The opthmologist said: oh, well. That's all I can do.
I had another melt down and made an appointment with my regular, family doctor. He ordered blood work and sent me to a dermatologist. The blood tests showed thyroid problems, and the dermatologist said I had rosacea. She said she couldn't diagnose ocular rosacea - I'd have to see an opthamologist for that, but she prescribed antibiotics as a precaution.
One week later and the change was amazing.
I had been putting in eye drops every half hour through out the day and wearing goggles in the car, outside, and even in front of the fire place at home. Today, I don't have to use eye drops until mid afternoon.
So, my advice: DO NOT GIVE UP. If the first doctor doesn't listen, find another. And another, and another, until someone listens. Doctors seems to think dry eyes is a minor inconvenience. It is not. It can become painful and dangerous. They're your eyes. Don't let an unconcerned doctor make your life miserable.
Two more pieces of advice: There's lots of people around you that will support you if you let them. Talk with your family. Talk with your boss, human resources and building services at work. Moving your desk away from an overhead vent, bringing in a little humidifier, and just sitting with your eyes closed can make a difference. And, the last piece of advice: yawn. If you're in a tough spot, like driving a car, or in a meeting and you can't get to your eye drops, then yawn. Hopefully your body will release some tears in the process.
Thank you, Dry Eye Zone, so much for being here. I was one of those "lurkers" reading posts and looking for support without participating. I'm sure there are a lot of us out there, and this forum was a huge source of support when I needed it most. Thank you thank you thank you.
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