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Hi,
I'm happy to have found this great informative website!! And to have found out that I’m not the only one in the world who knows what it means to have severe dry eyes and the pain that results from it.
My name is Meike and I'm 28 years old. My dry eye problems started in May this year. Before that, I'd experienced some weeks of very tired eyes. I have been an occasional contact lens wearer. Main problems were painful, sore, and tired eyes, and light sensitivity. I've used a cortisone drop during a month (4 times daily) and am still using excessive amounts of OTC drops (hylogel). 10x daily on good days, 20 times on bad days since a couple of months now. I was diagnosed with conjunctivitis sicca / dry eyes syndrome (Schirmer test showed 1 milimeter for both eyes, break-up time is about 3 seconds). No watery or red eyes.
The eye surface is better now. The light sensitivity is also much better. The pain is still there and working is hardly possible (I am an academic researcher spending about 90 % of my time behind a computer screen or reading stuff). As I don't need to tell here, my eyes influence my entire daily life. I go to bed by 9 pm every evening; can't keep my eyes open after 8 pm anymore. Being social is tough, going away in the evenings means sleeping during the day and being in pain part of the evening.
I've done quite some things already that help me feeling better: I have a humidifier at home. I sleep with a sleeping mask, and have just ordered tranquileyes. I wake up with painful dry eyes at least once per night. I use baby shampoo and warm washcloths. Sometimes an ice-pack. I bought Adidas sport- sunglasses (with clip-on prescription glasses inside the glasses. It comes with different sets of colored glasses), which I really dig and which make it possible again to be outside!
The cause of my dry eyes is still unclear. I'm being tested for Sjogren's now (my doctors believe it might be Sjogrens), since my body shows some other Sjogren symptoms. But I still hope that Sjogren's can be ruled out....
I've also had the feeling that my eye-problem could be caused by my birth control pil, which I stopped taking 2 months ago. Anyone who has a clue whether hormone regulation could cause such extreme eye problems? Furthermore, I've worked a lot behind computer screens (but still only about 8 hours daily) in the period before the problems started. According to my eye-specialist though, such extreme dry eyes cannot be caused from behavorial and environmental factors only (ie screen work in a dry office).
I don't use any medicine, didn't have an operation, tests ruled out thyroid disease etc. Even though my eyes influence my total work and daily life, I still have hope (but I'm dealing with this "only" since half a year) and try to give meaning to my life in other ways, as long as my eyes will be like this. But of course, I'm looking for every possible way that could enable me (my eyes!) to live a "normal" life again.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share this story. It's rare to start off with a feeling that people will fully understand. All ideas are welcome!
--meike
I'm happy to have found this great informative website!! And to have found out that I’m not the only one in the world who knows what it means to have severe dry eyes and the pain that results from it.
My name is Meike and I'm 28 years old. My dry eye problems started in May this year. Before that, I'd experienced some weeks of very tired eyes. I have been an occasional contact lens wearer. Main problems were painful, sore, and tired eyes, and light sensitivity. I've used a cortisone drop during a month (4 times daily) and am still using excessive amounts of OTC drops (hylogel). 10x daily on good days, 20 times on bad days since a couple of months now. I was diagnosed with conjunctivitis sicca / dry eyes syndrome (Schirmer test showed 1 milimeter for both eyes, break-up time is about 3 seconds). No watery or red eyes.
The eye surface is better now. The light sensitivity is also much better. The pain is still there and working is hardly possible (I am an academic researcher spending about 90 % of my time behind a computer screen or reading stuff). As I don't need to tell here, my eyes influence my entire daily life. I go to bed by 9 pm every evening; can't keep my eyes open after 8 pm anymore. Being social is tough, going away in the evenings means sleeping during the day and being in pain part of the evening.
I've done quite some things already that help me feeling better: I have a humidifier at home. I sleep with a sleeping mask, and have just ordered tranquileyes. I wake up with painful dry eyes at least once per night. I use baby shampoo and warm washcloths. Sometimes an ice-pack. I bought Adidas sport- sunglasses (with clip-on prescription glasses inside the glasses. It comes with different sets of colored glasses), which I really dig and which make it possible again to be outside!
The cause of my dry eyes is still unclear. I'm being tested for Sjogren's now (my doctors believe it might be Sjogrens), since my body shows some other Sjogren symptoms. But I still hope that Sjogren's can be ruled out....
I've also had the feeling that my eye-problem could be caused by my birth control pil, which I stopped taking 2 months ago. Anyone who has a clue whether hormone regulation could cause such extreme eye problems? Furthermore, I've worked a lot behind computer screens (but still only about 8 hours daily) in the period before the problems started. According to my eye-specialist though, such extreme dry eyes cannot be caused from behavorial and environmental factors only (ie screen work in a dry office).
I don't use any medicine, didn't have an operation, tests ruled out thyroid disease etc. Even though my eyes influence my total work and daily life, I still have hope (but I'm dealing with this "only" since half a year) and try to give meaning to my life in other ways, as long as my eyes will be like this. But of course, I'm looking for every possible way that could enable me (my eyes!) to live a "normal" life again.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share this story. It's rare to start off with a feeling that people will fully understand. All ideas are welcome!
--meike
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