Introducing myself from Sydney Australia

[Gabbo83]

Hey guys I just found this forum by searching dry eye or something similar, I was on a previous forum for dry eye but it no longer exists. I’m glad I found this forum but I haven’t yet had the opportunity to look through this as I have lot things to work on in my life atm.

Things I’ve tried, I can’t remember all of the things I’ve tried but will do my best.

Debrief: I’ve had this crappy condition for around 3-4 years now and had gotten it working in a wear-house at my old job, which was very dusty and when my hands got dirty I’d wipe my eyes back n forth now I wish I never did it.

Things I’ve tried.

Eye drops: I’ve tried every single eye drop over the counter and even some of the ones the doctors had given me, FML eye drops seemed to work but only short term.

I’ve tried all the gimmicks on the net that claim to fix dry eyes, and I’m currently trying out Thera life so far with no luck. I haven’t yet tried Restisis just yet, but for $200 a month for 3 months I’m not willing to fork out that much just yet (especially when in debt) I’ve spent easily over$3000 AUS in the past 2-4years.

I’ve tried the rice baggy thing, heating eyes and wiping them with Q tips none of this works in-fact makes things worse.

The best thing that works for me is a cold ice pack from the freezer and leave it over my eyes, but again only works short term.

I have Dr Latknays dry eye book and tried every thing he recommend even Humidifier but nothing has yet to work.

I have tried the cloth and soap method of just wiping your face clean twice a day, this worked short term but not long term.

I am at new job doing the same thing but in a much cleaner work place and I wear safety glasses but don’t do much.

It’s really bothering me cause I’m a young male and love going out meeting people but find it hard to approach and talk to people due to this dry eye, people think I’m blind drunk on drugs etc and it can be quite annoying especially when trying to get into clubs bouncers are cautious of letting me in.

My first post I read on this forum was about IPL I’m very curious to try this and will ring up my local doctor about it and see what he says.
I’ve decided to attach a picture to show you what my eyes look like hopefully it comes up.

I’m not only trying therelife but since finding this website I saw a thread on Honey Munuka and now I’m trying this method out, and I’m currently on day 2 of my trail, the eye lids aren’t all that bad atm, but the whites of my eyes are my main concern.


I can't seem to attach pictures of my eyes so I'll have to leave it.

[Ctane]

hey - have a cliche, i Know what you mean

i'm also in sydney, i'm also a young guy (23). i've also done the warehouse thing. i've also had the condition for a few years (since 2004). i also just found this forum, which is proving a wealth of good information. ah i'll stop ranting there, haha.

i don't know what IPL is either. i'm sure i'll find out like you in a while after trawling the site and asking questions. but yeah, i know how you feel man.

one thing i've come to quickly realise is, there's so many occasions when reading through things on here i find i can really relate.. in that way that never seems to happen with people other than other dry eye sufferers (of which people my age i know, none). i mean, the idea of trying to get into clubs and knowing the bouncer's going to think you're half off it or better yet - stoned, lol. so many times i've waited in line, psyching myself up for the big check-over at the door and trying to look as sensible as i can. blinking away my watery red eyes (a largely futile effort, haha).

all i can say is, hello and my best tip is find friends who really know your situation. so many times i've found at the end of the day, many friends i've had don't really understand the impact of the condition on my life. when it comes down to it, you aren't missing a leg - it just isn't that conspicuous and you really need to let people know the finer details. at least, good friends anyway. then, you'll find out who's really gonna be able to be a good friend to you with your particular circumstances. if you have people around you who you can hang out with at less than regular intervals, can handle the odd cancelled meet-up - etc - you'll find you can still give life and socialising a good shot and get a lot out of your limitations.


i think i might psuedo-hijack your introduction thread and drop a few of my own details while i'm at it.

i've acquired a severe dry eye condition (meibomium glands aren't doing their thing) since a course of Roaccutane (the infamous acne drug) back in 2003-2004. not happy at all about this. i would've very much considered legal action if i hadn't felt completely and utterly drained by the on-going experience of battling through life feeling like ****. (i hope this isn't against forum rules, sorry - it's how i feel, haha)

i managed to battle through the HSC (final high school year for non-aussies) to my surprise but have found University studies extremely difficult since. i've got countless fails on my record with a couple of part-time semesters under my belt. i keep at it though in the hope i can one day manage my time effectively enough to get some qualifications and work in a way that gives me some degree of normality in my life.

since the onset though: i've been through various eye drops (currently i've settled on systane preservative-free for quite a while),

FML / Voltaren (like you gabbo, i found these rather effective but only half the time. for instance my first use of FML was great and to only be able to use it for about a month was disappointing. using it again as a once-off later proved less useful, it didn't help and if anything seemed to make my eyes worse),

Doxycycline (didn't notice any improvement),

Lyrica (for treating the chronic pain aspect, i believe it's usually prescribed for epileptics though. this actually helped in a significant way but gave me real pain in the gut and so i had to discontinue)

the ah.. blood plasma eye drops, i forget their name (felt as useful as my usual eye drops, so they weren't bad - just not any better)

punctal plugs (i now realise this is a pretty useless thing to give me considering i don't have the aqueous deficiency but the MG variety - and so at the time i just felt like my eyes were watering excessively which only washed and dried my eyes out even more),

restasis (tried for months on end, made my eyes worse overall unfortunately),

and maybe others i've just plain forgotten about, i find it hard to keep track of everything.. especially all the names of the doctors.

still, since accidently stumbling across this forum i've quite enjoyed reading about other peoples experiences in the sense it's great to have people to relate to and i'm on the look-out for other ways to manage my condition and ultimately, my life.

[Gabbo83]

Same here

Yeh man I am the same as with everything you have mentioned.

Currently trying Honey Munuka, and just applying on both eyes on the bottom just below your eye, when ever i'm home - not going out.

Seems to help with the outer edges of the eye but it's the whites of the eye i'm more concerned.

Perhaps we should get together and help each other out?.