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I am a chronic severe dry eye sufferer since last 4 to 5 years. I may have had dry eye even before that but the doctor diagnosed 4 years ago in 2007. In order to get rid of glasses, I went for LASIK surgery in Sep 2008 about 3 years ago by a good Ophthalmologist (this doctor is different from the one I mentioned earlier). This decision turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life. After the surgery, my dry eye symptoms began to worsen. The doctor told me that it is normal to have dry eye (side effect) after Lasik and I should be fine after few weeks. I used tears every 15 min and after few days every 30 min and then every 1 hr and so on ... as prescribed by the doctor. But tears did not seem to help even a bit. Every day and every hour was like living in a hell.
I am a software engineer and had to go to work after 2 days of surgery. My work needed me to sit in front of the computer and bright lights for 8 to 9 hrs a day. This made my eyes burn like fire. I used Systane, Thera Tears, Pataday, Lotemax, Vigamox and few other samples that doctor gave. Nothing helped me. Every time I complained to the doctor, he used to give a different tears and comfort me that I will be alright after few days. Even after few months there was no improvement. Then I visited another Opthamologist who told me that I should not have gone for LASIK surgery since I had dry eye even before surgery. He told me that a doctor needs to treat the patient for dry eye first and then perform surgery. The doctor who did the surgery did not tell me all this and I did not know anything at that time. I felt cheated but could not do anything. Hoping for the best, I started using another set of tears given by the new doctor. These drops did not help me either.
I suffered from lot of pain in my eyes, around the eyes, in the eye sockets, behind my eyes, eye bones, forehead and upper jaw. My whole face was constantly under severe pain. I did not know what to do. To combat the pain I used to take Ibuprofen but the next day morning my eyes used to get more dry. Due to this continuous pain, I developed Insomnia and was not able to sleep properly. Because I was not sleeping well, my dry eye worsened. Because my dry eye worsened and pain increased, I did not sleep well. It became a chain reaction and this vicious cycle continued for a long time. Sleeping pills also aggravated dry eye symptoms. So I can't use sleeping pill. I had a horrible time. I used to wake up in the middle of the night and cry about the pain and lack of sleep. At that time I even thought of visiting Neurologist, Sleep Doctor, TMJ specialist and other specialty doctors. I do not know how I survived those days, may be god helped me through during that tough period.
Later I purchased a memory foam mattress topper and that helped me in getting some sleep.
At this time, my old and new doctors suggested Restasis. No difference even after few weeks. After few days I realized my pain was worsening whenever I used Restasis. If I stopped Restasis for a day or two I used to feel better. I told this thing to doctor but he still suggested me to keep using Restasis as it will heal the eye over a long term. But Restasis aggravated the pain in the eyes and around the eyes and I was not comfortable in using it.
I stopped going out to movies, sports, meeting friends ..... and everything in my life came to a stand still. There was nothing in my mind all the time except thoughts of pain, dry eye ... dry eye and how to overcome this condition. None of my friends or parents or sister understood about my situation. They used to tease me that I was sleeping too much and not coming out and spending time with them. They used to think I was exaggerating. They used to tell me the problem is with my mind and that I was thinking too much about pain .... and if I control my mind there would be no pain. I was so frustrated and began to think only god is my friend and that only god and myself know what I am going through. Since someone who do not have dry eye don't know the pain, I thought they won't understand. This is not like headache or earache or toothache which lasts few hours or days. Dry eye pain and uneasiness will be there 24 hrs a day and many days a year (in some cases 365 days a year). This dry eye is one of its kind which only the sufferers can understand. For others dry eye is kind of simple thing or a simple word. They think its like dry skin where if you use moisturizer your skin dryness will go away. But dry eye does not go away with eye drops. People don't understand this.
Coming back to my treatment, the new doctor Ophthalmologist began to think about my case and suggested me to visit an allergy doctor and go for Sinuses CT scan. I consulted a good allergy doctor and my sinuses turned out to be absolutely fine. I came back to the Ophthalmologist with this news who then suggested another Rx drops called FreshKote. This one is better not like Restasis which stings a lot. He also mentioned that punctal plugs would be my last option. Since I did not want something to be done to my eyes again, I was kind of hesitant and continued with FreshKote and other tears. This whole process until this point went on for more than 2 years and I did not find any difference.
I was having mood swings and depression and my life became miserable. Sometimes I used to feel what is the point in living like this.
Then I thought of going to John Hopkins or Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, was prepared to consult any doctor who could solve my problem. I realized through internet by lots of reading that there is no medicine or surgery that can permanently cure dry eyes. At that time I visited another Ophthalmologist in my city after reading reviews on the internet. This doctor suggested me to go for plugs. I went for it on the same day i.e. November 2010. Oh boy! what a difference. For the first time in more than 2 years I thought my eyes were getting better. Some days used to be good and some days used to be bad. Overall I was somewhat happy after plugs got inserted. But somedays used to be really bad and because of insomnia the chain reaction continued.
Until this point I tried all kinds of tears/drops: Systane, TheraTears, Blink, Bion, Optive, Genteal, Soothe, Similasan, Restasis, FreshKote, etc. But one day in May 2011, I went to Walmart and checked if there were any new tears released. I came across Refresh Celluvisc (it was not newly released) and decided to try because I have not used Celluvisc before. The first day I used drops I felt comfortable. After 2 to 3 days I realized my eye pain was gone and my eyes were feeling the best in more than 2 1/2 years. My vision was also sharper than before. I began to think where this product was hiding all these years from me. I thought this was the medicine sent by god to me.
To this day, I am using Refresh Celluvisc and Refresh Liquigel. With Punctal plugs, Refresh Celluvisc, Liquigel and some daily routines I am very happy. I am having a normal life now. If you have not tried, please give Celluvisc or Liquigel a shot.
I wanted to share these experiences with you.
I also would like to mention few things that I do daily or regularly and/or also suggest some tips.
1. If you have severe dry eyes, try plugs inserted if you have not tried before.
2. Try Refresh Celluvisc and/or Refresh Liquigel if you have not used before.
3. When you put drops/tears in the eyes, put just 1 or 2 drops and make sure that it does not flow out of the eye. If you put more than 1 or 2 drops everything will flow out from the eye, so please be careful.
4. After putting a drop or two in the eyes, do not blink completely for 2 to 4 min. Even if you blink, do not close your upper eye lid completely with two much force. Just blink half and allow the drop(s) to stay there at the bottom of your lower eye lid for 2 to 4 min. This is like saturating your lower eye lids or lower eye area with drops for few minutes. If you close the lids completely, the drops will spread to all parts of the eye. Our aim is to allow the tears to stay in the lower lid of the eye. This method might be difficult in the beginning but over a period of time you will find it easy.
[ This might not make sense to most of you but it really worked for me. That is why I am emphasizing. There is no logical reason to explain why it worked for me. Sometimes we just have to follow some rituals even though there is no logic and it does not make any sense].
[Currently, I am using Refresh Celluvisc and Systane Balance (earlier Soothe XP with oil now discontinued) regularly and rarely Genteal or Muro ointment at night ]
5. Drink lots of water atleast 2 to 3 litres of water daily. Drink atleast 750 ml to 1000 ml at one time during the day. This seemed to help more than drinking little little water throughout the day. So drink 1 litre or 1000 ml of water (within 2 to 4 min) in the morning or afternoon at one time and see the difference. Remaining 1 to 2 liters you can drink throughout the day. [Again I dont know the logic behind why this method worked for me].
6. Take fish oil tablets/capsules every day. I am using Members Mark Omega 3, 6 & 9 from Sams - 2 softgels/day.
7. Do not sleep under ceiling fan or near the vent of AC.
8. Cover your eyes during sleep at night so that eyes wont get dry. I am using an eye mask purchased from Walmart - Siesta Reusable Sleep Mask.
9. What I do is soak few cotton rounds in warm water and place them on my eyes (use 3 or 4 cotton rounds per eye ... thick layer over eye) at night and then put the sleep mask over it and tighten it firmly. This will keep eyes hydrated all night. (It will also help in removing dark circles around eyes). This is cheap and will stay on your eyes all night, much better compared to Tranquileyes goggles. I used Tranquileyes but by the time I woke up it used to be somewhere lying on the bed but not on my eyes (finally tranquileyes broke and I purchased this reusable cheap mask for $3).
http://www.walmart.com/ip/SIESTA-MAS...P-MASK/5347362
10. Try Ashwagandha by Himalaya. Ashwagandha is an ayurvedic herbal supplement that gives you very good sleep, energy, anti stress, anti fatigue and has anti-inflammation properties. This will also reduce depression and anxiety. I got this information on the internet and also read that it has no side affects.
I am using this for quite a while now. I am getting good sleep, having good mood, eyes do not feel stingy or burning (may be because of anti inflammation properties) and my vision is sharper whenever I am using Ashwagandha.
Earlier, I used Ambien, Lunesta and Schiffs Melatonin for getting good sleep. All of them used to give side effects the next day morning, it will be dizziness, nausea, headache and aggravated dry eye. But Ashwagandha did not give any side effects and is better than any pill that I tried before. I lost the anxiety tendencies and my mind is now very calm after using the Ashwagandha. It changed a lot for me.
Below is the link. Search in google you will find lots of information about this herb. You can purchase online at Amazon or drugstore ...and is also available in stores such as Whole Foods.
http://www.himalayausa.com/singleherbs/ashwagandha.htm
11. Sleep minimum 8 hrs a day. Purchase a good mattress even if it costs more (memory foam mattress is very good). Good sleep itself is a medicine for dry eyes. Proper sleep is more important than any drops.
***** Follow 1 to 11 regularly and see the difference *****
If you have time (these are optional for me .... if I followed the above properly I rarely do these)
12. Do warm compresses. Soak cotton rounds in warm water or use Rebecca's Rice Baggy and place them on your eyes.
13. Clean your eye lids regularly.
14. Do eyes yoga between your breaks at work. Place your palms on both the eyes for couple of minutes.
15. Do not stare at computers for a long time. Keep blinking.
16. Do not play or try to minimize video games like XBOX or playstation (atleast for me dry eye aggravated when I played so I totally stopped now).
17. Sometimes I try to cry (not literally crying) a little so that my eyes will get moistened with my own natural tears
.
18. Take a multivitamin daily (who knows that might help the eye).
19. I also tried homeopathic medicine for dry eye along with the above I mentioned. I dont know if the homeopathic medicine played any part in the good results that I am seeing today .... but you may give it a try if nothing else worked.
20. Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol.
**** Finally the most important thing "Pray to God and have faith in God". He is the only one who can get rid of any of our miseries in life. ****
Do not lose hope. Please follow the schedule regularly that doctor suggested or in this forum. Try and see which methods work for you. Do not neglect. I went through a lot and do not want you to suffer like me.
I sincerely pray to god that each and everyone of you should become dry eye free and a normal person soon.
*** I wish you all the very best. ***
Thanks to Rebecca for this site and forum where we can share our stories. Lots of good information related to dry eye here. This site is like a messenger sent by God to all dry eye sufferers.
I am a software engineer and had to go to work after 2 days of surgery. My work needed me to sit in front of the computer and bright lights for 8 to 9 hrs a day. This made my eyes burn like fire. I used Systane, Thera Tears, Pataday, Lotemax, Vigamox and few other samples that doctor gave. Nothing helped me. Every time I complained to the doctor, he used to give a different tears and comfort me that I will be alright after few days. Even after few months there was no improvement. Then I visited another Opthamologist who told me that I should not have gone for LASIK surgery since I had dry eye even before surgery. He told me that a doctor needs to treat the patient for dry eye first and then perform surgery. The doctor who did the surgery did not tell me all this and I did not know anything at that time. I felt cheated but could not do anything. Hoping for the best, I started using another set of tears given by the new doctor. These drops did not help me either.
I suffered from lot of pain in my eyes, around the eyes, in the eye sockets, behind my eyes, eye bones, forehead and upper jaw. My whole face was constantly under severe pain. I did not know what to do. To combat the pain I used to take Ibuprofen but the next day morning my eyes used to get more dry. Due to this continuous pain, I developed Insomnia and was not able to sleep properly. Because I was not sleeping well, my dry eye worsened. Because my dry eye worsened and pain increased, I did not sleep well. It became a chain reaction and this vicious cycle continued for a long time. Sleeping pills also aggravated dry eye symptoms. So I can't use sleeping pill. I had a horrible time. I used to wake up in the middle of the night and cry about the pain and lack of sleep. At that time I even thought of visiting Neurologist, Sleep Doctor, TMJ specialist and other specialty doctors. I do not know how I survived those days, may be god helped me through during that tough period.
Later I purchased a memory foam mattress topper and that helped me in getting some sleep.
At this time, my old and new doctors suggested Restasis. No difference even after few weeks. After few days I realized my pain was worsening whenever I used Restasis. If I stopped Restasis for a day or two I used to feel better. I told this thing to doctor but he still suggested me to keep using Restasis as it will heal the eye over a long term. But Restasis aggravated the pain in the eyes and around the eyes and I was not comfortable in using it.
I stopped going out to movies, sports, meeting friends ..... and everything in my life came to a stand still. There was nothing in my mind all the time except thoughts of pain, dry eye ... dry eye and how to overcome this condition. None of my friends or parents or sister understood about my situation. They used to tease me that I was sleeping too much and not coming out and spending time with them. They used to think I was exaggerating. They used to tell me the problem is with my mind and that I was thinking too much about pain .... and if I control my mind there would be no pain. I was so frustrated and began to think only god is my friend and that only god and myself know what I am going through. Since someone who do not have dry eye don't know the pain, I thought they won't understand. This is not like headache or earache or toothache which lasts few hours or days. Dry eye pain and uneasiness will be there 24 hrs a day and many days a year (in some cases 365 days a year). This dry eye is one of its kind which only the sufferers can understand. For others dry eye is kind of simple thing or a simple word. They think its like dry skin where if you use moisturizer your skin dryness will go away. But dry eye does not go away with eye drops. People don't understand this.
Coming back to my treatment, the new doctor Ophthalmologist began to think about my case and suggested me to visit an allergy doctor and go for Sinuses CT scan. I consulted a good allergy doctor and my sinuses turned out to be absolutely fine. I came back to the Ophthalmologist with this news who then suggested another Rx drops called FreshKote. This one is better not like Restasis which stings a lot. He also mentioned that punctal plugs would be my last option. Since I did not want something to be done to my eyes again, I was kind of hesitant and continued with FreshKote and other tears. This whole process until this point went on for more than 2 years and I did not find any difference.
I was having mood swings and depression and my life became miserable. Sometimes I used to feel what is the point in living like this.
Then I thought of going to John Hopkins or Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, was prepared to consult any doctor who could solve my problem. I realized through internet by lots of reading that there is no medicine or surgery that can permanently cure dry eyes. At that time I visited another Ophthalmologist in my city after reading reviews on the internet. This doctor suggested me to go for plugs. I went for it on the same day i.e. November 2010. Oh boy! what a difference. For the first time in more than 2 years I thought my eyes were getting better. Some days used to be good and some days used to be bad. Overall I was somewhat happy after plugs got inserted. But somedays used to be really bad and because of insomnia the chain reaction continued.
Until this point I tried all kinds of tears/drops: Systane, TheraTears, Blink, Bion, Optive, Genteal, Soothe, Similasan, Restasis, FreshKote, etc. But one day in May 2011, I went to Walmart and checked if there were any new tears released. I came across Refresh Celluvisc (it was not newly released) and decided to try because I have not used Celluvisc before. The first day I used drops I felt comfortable. After 2 to 3 days I realized my eye pain was gone and my eyes were feeling the best in more than 2 1/2 years. My vision was also sharper than before. I began to think where this product was hiding all these years from me. I thought this was the medicine sent by god to me.
To this day, I am using Refresh Celluvisc and Refresh Liquigel. With Punctal plugs, Refresh Celluvisc, Liquigel and some daily routines I am very happy. I am having a normal life now. If you have not tried, please give Celluvisc or Liquigel a shot.
I wanted to share these experiences with you.
I also would like to mention few things that I do daily or regularly and/or also suggest some tips.
1. If you have severe dry eyes, try plugs inserted if you have not tried before.
2. Try Refresh Celluvisc and/or Refresh Liquigel if you have not used before.
3. When you put drops/tears in the eyes, put just 1 or 2 drops and make sure that it does not flow out of the eye. If you put more than 1 or 2 drops everything will flow out from the eye, so please be careful.
4. After putting a drop or two in the eyes, do not blink completely for 2 to 4 min. Even if you blink, do not close your upper eye lid completely with two much force. Just blink half and allow the drop(s) to stay there at the bottom of your lower eye lid for 2 to 4 min. This is like saturating your lower eye lids or lower eye area with drops for few minutes. If you close the lids completely, the drops will spread to all parts of the eye. Our aim is to allow the tears to stay in the lower lid of the eye. This method might be difficult in the beginning but over a period of time you will find it easy.
[ This might not make sense to most of you but it really worked for me. That is why I am emphasizing. There is no logical reason to explain why it worked for me. Sometimes we just have to follow some rituals even though there is no logic and it does not make any sense].
[Currently, I am using Refresh Celluvisc and Systane Balance (earlier Soothe XP with oil now discontinued) regularly and rarely Genteal or Muro ointment at night ]
5. Drink lots of water atleast 2 to 3 litres of water daily. Drink atleast 750 ml to 1000 ml at one time during the day. This seemed to help more than drinking little little water throughout the day. So drink 1 litre or 1000 ml of water (within 2 to 4 min) in the morning or afternoon at one time and see the difference. Remaining 1 to 2 liters you can drink throughout the day. [Again I dont know the logic behind why this method worked for me].
6. Take fish oil tablets/capsules every day. I am using Members Mark Omega 3, 6 & 9 from Sams - 2 softgels/day.
7. Do not sleep under ceiling fan or near the vent of AC.
8. Cover your eyes during sleep at night so that eyes wont get dry. I am using an eye mask purchased from Walmart - Siesta Reusable Sleep Mask.
9. What I do is soak few cotton rounds in warm water and place them on my eyes (use 3 or 4 cotton rounds per eye ... thick layer over eye) at night and then put the sleep mask over it and tighten it firmly. This will keep eyes hydrated all night. (It will also help in removing dark circles around eyes). This is cheap and will stay on your eyes all night, much better compared to Tranquileyes goggles. I used Tranquileyes but by the time I woke up it used to be somewhere lying on the bed but not on my eyes (finally tranquileyes broke and I purchased this reusable cheap mask for $3).
http://www.walmart.com/ip/SIESTA-MAS...P-MASK/5347362
10. Try Ashwagandha by Himalaya. Ashwagandha is an ayurvedic herbal supplement that gives you very good sleep, energy, anti stress, anti fatigue and has anti-inflammation properties. This will also reduce depression and anxiety. I got this information on the internet and also read that it has no side affects.
I am using this for quite a while now. I am getting good sleep, having good mood, eyes do not feel stingy or burning (may be because of anti inflammation properties) and my vision is sharper whenever I am using Ashwagandha.
Earlier, I used Ambien, Lunesta and Schiffs Melatonin for getting good sleep. All of them used to give side effects the next day morning, it will be dizziness, nausea, headache and aggravated dry eye. But Ashwagandha did not give any side effects and is better than any pill that I tried before. I lost the anxiety tendencies and my mind is now very calm after using the Ashwagandha. It changed a lot for me.
Below is the link. Search in google you will find lots of information about this herb. You can purchase online at Amazon or drugstore ...and is also available in stores such as Whole Foods.
http://www.himalayausa.com/singleherbs/ashwagandha.htm
11. Sleep minimum 8 hrs a day. Purchase a good mattress even if it costs more (memory foam mattress is very good). Good sleep itself is a medicine for dry eyes. Proper sleep is more important than any drops.
***** Follow 1 to 11 regularly and see the difference *****
If you have time (these are optional for me .... if I followed the above properly I rarely do these)
12. Do warm compresses. Soak cotton rounds in warm water or use Rebecca's Rice Baggy and place them on your eyes.
13. Clean your eye lids regularly.
14. Do eyes yoga between your breaks at work. Place your palms on both the eyes for couple of minutes.
15. Do not stare at computers for a long time. Keep blinking.
16. Do not play or try to minimize video games like XBOX or playstation (atleast for me dry eye aggravated when I played so I totally stopped now).
17. Sometimes I try to cry (not literally crying) a little so that my eyes will get moistened with my own natural tears
.18. Take a multivitamin daily (who knows that might help the eye).
19. I also tried homeopathic medicine for dry eye along with the above I mentioned. I dont know if the homeopathic medicine played any part in the good results that I am seeing today .... but you may give it a try if nothing else worked.
20. Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol.
**** Finally the most important thing "Pray to God and have faith in God". He is the only one who can get rid of any of our miseries in life. ****
Do not lose hope. Please follow the schedule regularly that doctor suggested or in this forum. Try and see which methods work for you. Do not neglect. I went through a lot and do not want you to suffer like me.
I sincerely pray to god that each and everyone of you should become dry eye free and a normal person soon.
*** I wish you all the very best. ***
Thanks to Rebecca for this site and forum where we can share our stories. Lots of good information related to dry eye here. This site is like a messenger sent by God to all dry eye sufferers.
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