please help

[Vicky]

Hi, I need someone to please answer some questions for me. First of all, I have had dry eye for about a year now and my optometrist told me I had dry spots on my cornea that come and go but never gave me any sort of test other than the yellow dye they put in your eye to see if you have suface damage. I wear contacts but haven't worn them at all lately b/c they bother my eyes. I wanted a second opinion so I went to see an opthamologist on Tuesday. I told him I wasn't in much dicomfort but I cannot wear my contacts b/c of dry eyes. He gave me the Shirmer's test and I scored a 0 in both eyes. He said my eyes are very dry for my age, I am 26 and he wanted to know if I was on any meds. I told him I am only on the birth control pill which I have been for about 7 yrs. Anyway, sorry this is so long but he was not concerned. He said I can get plugs if I want to make contact lens wear more comfortable but if I am not in that much discomfort, I don't need to. I use refresh plus about 3 times a day and genteal at night sometimes. My eyes don't hurt that bad but I don't know if I should get another opinion now. I don't have any other symptoms to make me think I have a disease that is making my eyes dry. I am worried now though and the doctor I went to is good but I need you guy's advice. Thank you so much .. Vicky

[crispen_2000]

Dear Vicky,

If you want, you can get a second opinion from another eye doctor. It won't hurt. Also, I would recommend staying away from contacts...for me, it just made things worse. I stick with my glasses. And to plug or not to plug is always a question that boggles dry eye patients...I myself tried temporary plugs but they didn't do much for me so I backed away from that route.

After my dry eye set on I went through an anxious period where I believed that I had Sjogren's disease or perhaps Rheumatoid Arthritis or Lupus...it was easy for me to throw myself into a flurry of panic.

You want to know if your dry eye is of an immune basis. I would recommend that you see your Family Doctor and express your concerns and perhaps, to give you peace of mind, you could have certain tests done to rule things out. However, the main thing is not to get too anxious...I know that's hard thing to do....

Good luck!

Trevor

PS - Have you tried using a humidier in your bedroom? I find that this really helps me. I no longer need to shower my eyes with GenTeal Tear at night.

[sazy123]

Its a surprise to me that you can have 0 schimmer scores but not be in disco mfort. IMO schimmer is unreliable but i read if you get less than 10 it ussually a correct reading but if you get more than 10 it could be unreliable becuase of reflex tearing. That is very strange. goes to show signs dont correlate with symptoms. I dont have a bad schimmer reading but alot of symptoms. i would get a second opinion, you cant afford to take risks with your eyes. go to someone who more specialises in dry eye. If you have mild dry eye-so you cant wear contacts some people are perscribed restasis, and some doctors say that it is good to perscribe this in the early stages so it doesnt progress and can even result in cure in certain mild forms. so this might help you if you want to wear contacts.

[southhavenjen]

I have super-low Shirmer's scores and I don't feel much in the way of discomfort, just some burning sometimes when I go into a dry environment, like a store. I definitely have reduced corneal sensation, I think due to years of contact lens wear. I don't think you necessarily have to be in pain to have a very low Shirmer's score. Everyone is different. Tolerances for pain can vary.

[indrep]

Zero is surprising with no discomfort until the contact wear was entered into the picture. Contacts cause reduced corneal sensation as mentioned. Considering your cornea gets its nutrition from tears I would want to have as much tear on them as possible. My wife had 1-2 on her schirmers and after succesful intracanalicular plugs in all four puncta she now has a good tear film supply.

You might want to try the 90 day plugs and see if this helps. It will probably be 2-4 weeks to see noticable tear production.

[Delilah]

Get a Second Opinion

Hello and welcome to the site Vicky, if I were you I would get a second opinion even a 3rd or 4th sometimes has to be done to get some solid answers. I wouldn't jump into getting plugs just yet, you should try different eye drops and do some different methods before getting plugs. Humidifiers do work very well at night, warm compresses on your eyes to get the oils going and some preservative free eye drops really work for me. Im also on a new eye drop that I can't stop talking about lol and its from a compounding pharmacy and they are Castor Oil eye drops, they have done wonders for my eyes in a matter of days, compared to what I've been going through for 4 years.
I've always felt that contacts were not good for the eye, but that is just my opinion, if your schrimmer scores were at a Zero that shows something is really wrong, also do you smoke cigarettes? I quit smoking after 10 years and I feel like a new person, also noticed that the smoke was making my eyes worse. Do you take vitamins? Again welcome to the site and I hope you find some relief and some answers to as why your eyes are so dry. Ciao Delilah

[Vicky]

thanks

I appreciate everyone's advice on this post. I don't have insurance and have spent so much money going to the eye doctor. The opthamologist I went to was recommended and I don't see why he would let me leave his office if he was concerned. If I were at risk to do damage to my eyes, why would he let me leave. He is a specialist and was recommended. Anyway, I am depressed and don't want to think about my stupid eyes anymore. He said my shirmer's test is very low for my age but he said I wasn't at risk of my eyes being in danger, is he lying? Just need this answered please. I have a fear of getting a corneal ulcer or losing my vision.

[Rebecca Petris]

He said my shirmer's test is very low for my age but he said I wasn't at risk of my eyes being in danger, is he lying? Just need this answered please. I have a fear of getting a corneal ulcer or losing my vision.

No, he's not lying. If you have dry eye severe enough to threaten your vision, you'll know it - both from pain and from your vision.

That is not to say that a very low Schirmer should be ignored. Some basic treatments would be a good idea.

[Delilah]

Vicky

I understand how you feel, I have no insurance either and it's hard, just because they are eye doctors or specialists doesn't mean they have to care, some of them only care about the money. I recently went to an eye specialist, traveled 2 hours to see him, waited 2 hours in his damn office and he only spent 15 minutes with me, didn't do any tests and totally screwed me for my money, I had to go about 3 times to find a good eye doctor. You won't go blind trust me that is one of my worst fears but if you leave your eyes untreated it can do damage. Try to get some rest and do some research where you live or somewhere close to where you live, a good eye specialist and get some tests and try some different eye drops, until then take a deep breath and try to relax. Delilah