New to this forum!

[kanon]

Hi! Wow, like all of you, I sure do wish I didn't need to be on this forum, but reading about your experiences with dry eye are so helpful...helpful to know there are other people who know the pain of dry eye. Other people don't understand the pain and burning! Short story: I started suffering from dry eye in my early 20s (now I'm 37), so bad it was causing me depression and anxiety. I finally had a dr. in the states try punctal plugs. They worked very well (gave me relief) but kept popping out- so he finally cauterized the top puntum and I was pretty much back to normal and feeling good. Fast forward to now, I am living in the Netherlands with my family...3 months ago I got conjunctivitis and my eyes have been really dry/painful/burning since then. I'm not getting relief. The Dutch opthalmologist put plugs in my bottom lids which helped a little bit, but now I think they have come out and it is really hard to get a timely appointment here. So, any advice, words of encouragement? Anyone know of a good dry eye doctor in the Netherlands or Europe? This is really adversely affecting our family life!

[patrick]

Hello and welcome!

This is the site nobody really wants to be a member of,but everybody here is so very happy it exists.
We must all very grateful that rebecca has established the site and it is by far the best source of information on dry eye you'll ever find. Besides that it is nice to have fellow sufferers that you can talk to. People here understand each other,because we're all kind of in the same boat here.
I live in the netherlands to,like you. Not many people from europe here. Most members are located in the us and the uk.
However when you're english is not too bad,and yours is excellent as i can see in your post,it is very easy to communicate here.
I do have a contact for you if you're looking for the best optometrist specialized in dry eye in the netherlands.
Just let me know and i'll send you a pm with her name and adress.
Hope you'll have a pleasant time chatting here and probably you'll find this site very useful in finding important information.

Patrick...

[kanon]

Thank you Patrick. Yes, I am so glad I found this site and that Rebecca started it for us. From what I have read so far, WOW, all these people are like me! I've never met one person in real life who has had this as bad as I have. My English is good because I am an American living in the Netherlands for awhile . That would be great if you could send me the contact information for the doctor in the Netherlands. I was considering going back to the U.S. to see the dr. that treated me 14 years ago, but if I can find someone here that can treat me that would be more convenient. Thank you!

[patrick]

Haha! No wonder your english is excellent! Since you are an american.
I'll pm you the contact information right away.
Where do you reside if i may ask? Just curious.
What is your opinion about our little overcrowded country so far?

Patrick...

[farmgirl]

Hi Kanon:

I guess my first question is do you have a diagnose as to why your eyes are dry?

That is really important because the treatment recommended will depend on the cause of the condition. Some of the things you do will be the same depending on the condition but some will be different. For example I suffer from Sjogren's syndrome. That means I have very low function of my glands, tear, oil, whatever. There is no need for me to put compresses on my eyes or express my oil glands but if you have MGD that is very important.

It becomes a case of find out what is out there (this forum is the BEST source of knowledge) and start experimenting depending on the cause. As a result of this forum i have recently started experimenting with autologous eye serum, lacriserts, have ordered Onyx night glasses and have asked for plugs upper AND lower. I have tried upper plugs, lower plugs but never both at the same time. Yesterday my Dr. put in upper and lower in one eye only that will dissolve in 3 weeks but that will give me time to see if they help. I find that collectively here on the forum we know WAY more than the average eye Dr. I wear goggle glasses and I am also making inquiries about Scleral lenses and I function very well all things considered.

I am no longer anxious about my condition but have accepted it and have learned to accommodate it.

The bad news is that yesterday I was told I have very little tear production of any sort nor oil film but the good news is that my corneas are in very good condition and I attribute that to the combo of copious amounts of preservative free drops, goggle glasses and the autologous eye serum which is made from the plasma of my own blood and contains nutrients to nourish the cornea. This is the first time that I have been told my corneas are perfect YAY!!

Thank you forum members for sharing your knowledge and especially you Rebecca for all your time and effort to make this forum possible you guys have helped me a lot and will continue to do so....cheers...F/G

[Scout]

3 months ago I got conjunctivitis and my eyes have been really dry/painful/burning since then. I'm not getting relief. The Dutch opthalmologist put plugs in my bottom lids which helped a little bit, but now I think they have come out and it is really hard to get a timely appointment here. So, any advice, words of encouragement? Anyone know of a good dry eye doctor in the Netherlands or Europe? This is really adversely affecting our family life!

You mentioned conjunctivitis. Sometimes a bout of conjunctivitis can trigger a long cycle of inflammation. It happened to me.

First, which type of conjunctivitis were you diagnosed with? Viral? Bacterial? Fungal? Allergic? Other? How was it treated?

Many doctors just prescribe antibiotics without ordering a culture to determine the exact cause of the inflammation. Antibiotics almost always contain BAK preservative, as they have not yet (at least here in the US) developed an antibiotic drop that is effective without BAK. The BAK works to “clean” the eye of microbes along with the medication and helps increase the effectiveness of the antibiotic drop. They have tried to develop ones without the BAK, but they are not as effective, so far.

The problem, of course, is that if your eyes are already dry and your tear film compromised, you will be much more affected by the BAK and also by the conjunctivitis itself. So a cycle of inflammation may begin and may take some time to resolve.

When you see your new doctor, ask about treating inflammation (not just about dryness).

Cold compresses may help the burning and pain. And stay away from preserved drops right now.

Good luck,

Scout

[kanon]

I'm not even sure where to receive a personal message! Does that mean the message will go to the email address I gave when I signed up for this forum? We have had a good time enjoying the Netherlands so far (area of Den Haag for 2 years). However, with my severe dry eye problem resurfacing lately, I haven't enjoyed much of anything in the last 3 months. I don't think I've been missing too much, though, since we've had all the rain!!

[patrick]

Hi again,

I sent you a pm and you can find it under the 'notifications' button.
This can be found on the top of the page.
From left to right it says : welcome,your own name ,notifications,My profile,Settings,log out.
And you're right. You haven't missed out very much,because we have the worst spring in years.

[kanon]

Frustrated!

Ok, so I just wrote a long response to farmgirl and scout and it got lost and didn't go through. I gave information about my problem and asked some questions, but my eyes are not going to allow me to be on the computer much longer.

First, I'm even having a hard time figuring out how to start a post! Mostly cause i can't see very well right now!

I get to go the Dutch opthal today at 3:30- that took a lot of crying to the general practitioner, "huisart" as Patrick will know!, to get me in sooner than 2 weeks from now.

Does anyone know exactly HOW conjunctivitis could have made my dry eye (that I had under control for more than 10 years) flare up again so badly? I can't drive, hard to go to the grocery store, etc. etc. I think I will be fixed but I want it to be today!

As scout said, they did give me antibiotic drop for my conjuntivitis and that may have brought my problem back, but for 3 months??!!!

I usually have my eye burning totally under control, with one caveat, I have to get a lot of sleep! I really have to get a good 9 hours, then my eyes feel totally normal and I can go running outside etc. But if I don't get that much sleep each night my eyes really burn. So of course, I have adjusted my lifestyle and my husband and kids know about mommy's sleep needs! I did have a sleep study done once and I don't have sleep apnea or anything.

And I don't have Sjogren's. I don't have dry mouth or any other dry body parts Although I do have psoriasis. Other than mild psoriasis, dry eyes, and the need for sleep, I am a "healthy 37 year old female." Don't feel healthy right now though!

Thanks! Good luck to all of you too!

[farmgirl]

Hey Kanon, sorry I missed that. Glad to hear you don't have Sjogren's, be thankful. I am certainly not one to have had experience with conjunctivitis but hopefully you will once again sort it out, it sounds painful. I wish you luck in your quest for answers and hopefully there are others out here who can help you, keep looking...cheers F/G