2 Good Days!!

[PAllen]

Yesterday, I spent an hour at Walmart, just miserable. I kept sneaking eye drops. Then I went to my doctor's office and was fitted with Biofinity soft bandage lens (I had tried a rigid lens but couldn't handle removing it.). My eyes felt so much better! They still felt dry, but I was able to go back to Walmart and to Walgrens without my eyes getting all inflamed. I even tempted fate and turned on the heater in my car!

Today was the real test - the office. I have had to put drops in my eyes constantly because the dry air and florescent lighting cause constant irritation and inflammation, but not today! Today, they felt dry, but soooooo much better with the lenses!

For the past 5 weeks, the dryness had gotten so bad I have felt like a shut in. No grocery store, no mall, no heat in the car. Yesterday and today, I feel like a "normal" person!

[piot0020]

contact bandages help?

Hi...I currently have plugs in the top and bottom of my eyes, and take 100 mg of doxy a day. But, my eyes are still dry! I want to try the contact bandages but I am afraid they will stick to my eyes. Can you give me some more info?

[PAllen]

I was so afraid of that, too. My eyes have been dry all my life (and so much worse 2 years ago) and doctors told me I should never wear contacts so when I heard about bandage lenses, I thought they weren't for me. But I was desperate.

You get fitted in the doctors office, so if they're uncomfortable, you don't have to go through with them. The rigid lenses have a reservoir that you can fill with eye drops. The soft lenses don't. I didn't like the rigid lenses because they're hard to remove.

When the doctor fit the lenses, she put a dye in my eye and watched to make sure it moved under the lens as a way to make sure moisture, such as tears or drops get under the lenses. When I put in drops, I can feel the moisture work it's way under the lens and then stay there. So tears and drops don't evaporate as fast. My doctor has me remove them daily to clean them to reduce risk of infection. She mentioned that one patient, because of more severve dryness, has one pair for daytime and one for nighttime.

It's been 3 weeks now and still feeling good. My eyes still feel dry, and I put in drops during the day, but I can go for hours without drops. Life is good again. It seems there is a treatment for everyone. You just have to keep looking til you find what works for you.

[PAllen]

I need to clarify-the soft lenses don't have a reservoir, but they are shaped like a bowl, which is filled with solution. They feel really good.

[piot0020]

Thanks for the info! That is very helpful and I think I will talk to my eye doctor...I'll keep you posted!

[PAllen]

Hi Chemia. Yes, I have SLK, too. I'm thrilled to hear that you're benefitting from bandage lenses! I use Biofinity SI 48. I'm still on a trial so I haven't purchased any yet, and can't give you a price. How long have you been wearing them?

[alisonW]

Congratulations on finding some relief! I am printing this thread out to take to my next appointment. What is SLK?

[PAllen]

Thank you, Alison. SLK is (see if I can do this without googling it for the spelling) Superior Limbic Keratoconjunctivitis, which is an inflammation of the conjunctIva on the upper part of the eye and inflammation of the inside of the eyelid. to me, it's dry eye, except where the inflammation occurs is specific to the upper eye and lid.