SAVE THE DATE: March 7, 2009 - Long Beach CA

[Rebecca Petris]

Dear all:

On Saturday, March 7, 2009 the Sjogrens Syndrome Foundation will be hosting a one-day dry eye conference at the Marriott in Long Beach, California. There will be several doctors speaking, including our beloved Gary Foulks, and there will be a variety of exhibits.

All dry eye topics will be covered (not just Sjogrens) and all dry eye patients are welcome to attend! And, we don't have anything settled yet but... we'll definitely be having some kind of DryEyeZone social get-together that weekend, Friday or Saturday evening (or both). Please feel free to float ideas, and if anyone wants to volunteer to help planning etc I'd sure appreciate it.

More details will be posted in this forum after the program is finalized and I'll also have brochures available.

[diggylove]

badly need support

I feel very alone with my miserable dry eyes & current bout with conjunctivitis (age 60 & sufferer for 4 years). While I have been cleared of Sjogren's, I suffer greatly & very much need support. I live in the Glendale, CA area & am interested in your group & March meeting. Do you know of any groups nearer to where I live...people I can talk to? If not, how can I become involved with your Long Beach group?
Thanks,
Susan

[Rebecca Petris]

Hi Susan,

The Long Beach meeting is a one-time national meeting sponsored by SSF. But there is a good dry eye support group in Orange County that meets every three months on the first Monday of the month I believe, down in Laguna Woods. I know that's quite some ways from you but it's just about the only group of its type I know of in the country. Please contact Judi Beatty at 949-933-2417 for more information. Meantime... hang out with us here. There are a lot of members in SoCal and perhaps you can connect with some of them. Many people here get in touch via phone or email or even meet up with others in their locale.

[diggylove]

I appreciate that you wrote back to me! I will consider attending a meeting, although I work on Mondays &, as you say, I live a distance away. The dry eyes are running my life, though, so it's tempting. I would very much appreciate making contact with any dry eye sufferers near me. Is there a resource to find them? I am glad you are doing the work you do. No one realizes the discomfort of dry eye until they experience it.
Thanks,
Susan

[Rebecca Petris]

Update

From the Sjogrens Syndrome Foundation:

National Dry Eye Patient Conference

March 07, 2009 * Long Beach Marriott * Long Beach, California
10am – 4pm (includes lunch)

Please join us at this patient conference where you will learn about managing your dry eye symptoms, discover potential causes of your dry eye as well as hear about different treatment options.

We have invited some of the leading dry eye experts from around the United States to present on an array of topics. Presentation topics will include:

- Management and Treatment of Dry Eye
- Contact Lenses for Dry Eye Patients
- What is Causing Your Dry Eye?
- Cataract & Lasik Surgery for Dry Eye Patients
- Dry Eye Research Update

Register today by calling 1-800-475-6473 or by returning the form below.

NOTE: Having trouble uploading an attachment so I've posted a link to the file on the DEZ home page.

[baddabingtim]

Long Beach

Do we get to jump in the ocean and get some wet eyes

[Redbirdi]

At Last!

This is great news! I have put it in my calendar and will not miss this. I will also mention it to my eye doctor that happens to be right there in Long Beach.

Thanks soooo much for this!
Rose

[diggylove]

sufferer in So. Cal. area

Hello Rose,
I am in La Crescenta, north of Glendale. I work during the week & will see about getting the day off for the convention. It does sound interesting.
How are you today? Having the heat on in the house really dries out my already very dry eyes.
Susan

[Raginator]

Excellent.

[Rebecca Petris]

Brochure

I got the brochure for the SSF dry eye conference coming in March... but can't seem to upload it to the bulletin board. I will get it uploaded to the main site and post a link.

Here's the lineup of topics and speakers. I'm sure you will all recognize some names!

Stephen Cohen OD
Aqueous deficient dry eye and Sjogrens

Lance Forstot MD
Evaporative dry eye & lid margin disease

Richard Yee MD
Non-medicinal dry eye management (environmental etc)
Note: Dr. Yee is the one who developed the MEGs and you can have a look at the MEGs at the conference.

Gary Foulks MD
Therapeutic treatments
Note: I would expect this to be the heavy-hitting session as regards drugs on the market or in development.

Greg Gemoules OD
Contact lens wear for dry eye patients

Ron Smith MD
LASIK/Cataract

Austin Mircheff PhD
Dry Eye Research

----

I really do hope that everyone who possibly can will attend... Even setting aside the informational sessions and exhibits, it will be a great time to meet up with people who have similar experiences. Looking forward to putting many faces to names, as opposed to just avatars and usernames!

[mary kenny badami]

I am not able to attend this particular conference, but for anyone whose time and geography and financial means permit, I hope that you give it a try.
What a fabulous list of presenters (real experts who are qualified and serious about trying to help us) !!!!!!

I'm feeling nostalgic when writing this message, recalling the conference which Rebecca organized a few years ago in Tampa, because:
(a) I learned so much, so very much, about dry eye syndrome, even though I thought I was already pretty well-informed, and
(b) the presenters were then -- as these are -- among the best-of-the-best, and
(c) I met in real life people who up to that point had been names and images and avatars on a computer screen, and
(d) I felt so very supported, knowing that, quite simply, I was not alone.

Hoping that you-all have a fabulous conference, and that you'll bring back to our BBoard useful medical information, messages of support, and/or just plain gossip!

[Rebecca Petris]

Oh I have such good memories of that meeting Mary... such good fun and a productive time. Wish I'd been able to do one again, but meantime... looking forward to tomorrow.

Not a peep from our membership here as regards anyone actually attending so I'm hoping that's inversely proportionate to how well attended it will be. I am looking forward to the meeting and hoping to meet people I've known online.

I'll be at the Marriott tonight if anyone wants to try to get together

[Redbirdi]

I'm going!

I have been looking forward to this for some time. Also a chance to meet you Rebecca! I hope you bring lot’s of goodies from the Dry Eye Shop. (Like samples of the Panoptx you have in stock –I’d like to try them on for fit before buying…)

It will be great to meet you and any and all that suffer from this affliction. We must band together and hope for better treatment and a cure!

Rose

P.S. I'm also about to go into Dwelle withdrawal. Now that I got use to them and gave up my Restasis, can't go 'til May w/o drops...

[kimby2007]

How was the conference

Quite interested how the conference was? I unfortunately couldn't attend being all the way in New York. There is supposedly a conference in VA later this yr that I may attend.

Thanks!

[blakesl8]

How'd it go??

I was just wondring if there is a cite or anywhere we can get the info that was discussed at the conference for those who couldn't make it? I wish I could have been there!!