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Hi everyone! I'm Al, 25 years old, living in Chino Hills, CA, and I've been managing dry eye for about 3 months and counting. This is the third time I've written this post. I never knew I was able to write a novel (probably was going to be a NY Times Best-Seller I bet.....jk] about my personal experience with dry eye. So here's the final, abridged version of my previous drafts.
It started with bacterial conjunctivitis and eye gunk back in Oct. 2010. I used Zymar to treat it and went away within a few days. My doc told me that the Zymar could have possibly irritated my eyes causing the inflammation and the dry eye. He told me to use Oasis Tears Plus at least 4x a day, but I needed it 6-8x a day. The next couple of visits included punctal plugs, which were removed a week later after rubbing against my eyes causing more inflammation and Lotemax which only helped the redness. I tried Refresh Tears, Refresh Tears Plus, Refresh PM (at night which really helped, but damn was it messy), Soothe XP, Systane Ultra....the list goes on.
The whole experience of dry eye sort of felt like quicksand with no one or nothing to grab on to. Needless to say, I got depressed, angry, and frustrated...fast. After a lot of canceled outings with friends, missed late night concerts, and showing off my moves on the dance floor, I decided to go set up an appointment with Dr. Carver. I'm very glad I did.
I was thoroughly impressed with Dr. Carver's knowledge on dry eye. After my first visit, I walked away knowing that I had MGD and ways to manage it. So here are my weapons:
Warm compresses 1x/day
Azasite - one drop in each eye 1x/day (for ~2 months)
OcuSoft Eyelid scrub every other day
Systane Balance 4x/day (although now I'm replacing this with FreshKote)
Oasis Tears Plus in between the Systane Balance if needed
Bio Tears Oral Gel Caps - two capsules 2x/day
Fish Oil - two capsules 1x/day
Blink Gel Tears at night
ZICO Coconut Water and a snickerdoodle because they're delicious
Family and Friends
It's a lot, I know, but it became my routine and I got used to it. I have my own little pharmacy that could rival CVS or Walgreens...or Duande Reade for you east coasters. I try not to think about my dry eye too much (even though I admit that I fail 80% of the time). I guess I just try not to think about all the things that I can't do. So basically, I've been thoroughly abusing my Netflix account and my friends' free time. It's a daily uphill battle, but I'm ready. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and stories. They helped me a lot. I hope I get to know a few of you.
Questions and comments are welcomed. Goodbye for now.
It started with bacterial conjunctivitis and eye gunk back in Oct. 2010. I used Zymar to treat it and went away within a few days. My doc told me that the Zymar could have possibly irritated my eyes causing the inflammation and the dry eye. He told me to use Oasis Tears Plus at least 4x a day, but I needed it 6-8x a day. The next couple of visits included punctal plugs, which were removed a week later after rubbing against my eyes causing more inflammation and Lotemax which only helped the redness. I tried Refresh Tears, Refresh Tears Plus, Refresh PM (at night which really helped, but damn was it messy), Soothe XP, Systane Ultra....the list goes on.
The whole experience of dry eye sort of felt like quicksand with no one or nothing to grab on to. Needless to say, I got depressed, angry, and frustrated...fast. After a lot of canceled outings with friends, missed late night concerts, and showing off my moves on the dance floor, I decided to go set up an appointment with Dr. Carver. I'm very glad I did.
I was thoroughly impressed with Dr. Carver's knowledge on dry eye. After my first visit, I walked away knowing that I had MGD and ways to manage it. So here are my weapons:
Warm compresses 1x/day
Azasite - one drop in each eye 1x/day (for ~2 months)
OcuSoft Eyelid scrub every other day
Systane Balance 4x/day (although now I'm replacing this with FreshKote)
Oasis Tears Plus in between the Systane Balance if needed
Bio Tears Oral Gel Caps - two capsules 2x/day
Fish Oil - two capsules 1x/day
Blink Gel Tears at night
ZICO Coconut Water and a snickerdoodle because they're delicious
Family and Friends
It's a lot, I know, but it became my routine and I got used to it. I have my own little pharmacy that could rival CVS or Walgreens...or Duande Reade for you east coasters. I try not to think about my dry eye too much (even though I admit that I fail 80% of the time). I guess I just try not to think about all the things that I can't do. So basically, I've been thoroughly abusing my Netflix account and my friends' free time. It's a daily uphill battle, but I'm ready. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and stories. They helped me a lot. I hope I get to know a few of you.
Questions and comments are welcomed. Goodbye for now.