Hey! New guy that "doesn´t have any eye disease"

[Punkr0cker99]

Hi there, my name is Ivan, i´m a 30 years old IT helpdesk professional, Punk Rock drummer and occasional gamer from Portugal, and here´s my dry eye story.

I found this forum browsing the web because I´ve been experiencing eye discomfort for about 2 months now.
It started with a major eye "burn sensation" one night when I was at the computer, and since then it has been "haunting" me for real.
Next day I went to the pharmacy, got some regular eye drops (artificial tears) and tried to deal with it. I work in IT, so i spend most of my day in front of a computer and it quickly became unpleasant (to say the least) to work with this condition. Just this weird "burn" sensation in the eyes.
I went to a local optician for some regular optometric tests (I though I may need glasses) and was diagnosed with high intraocular pressure, so they couldn´t proceed.
I then scheduled an appointment with the ophthalmologist at a local hospital, got through the optometric tests, and according to the doctor everything was mighty fine. Just recommended me a different type of drops (Opticol) and better posture at the computer.

I am not a "hardcore gamer", but I enjoy my regular shooter and xbox game, and this also became extremely discomforting after a while! I wouldn´t conform, so I scheduled a second appointment at the doctor and bought a pair of Gunnar glasses for use at work (e11ven tortoise), wich actually improve the symptoms significantly.
Different doctor but same story: optometric tests->everything is FINE. I "complained" a bit so a third kind of drops were prescribed (Siccafluid).
I wasn´t pleased thought, I used the drops extensively but still the symptoms were very present.
I didn´t give up, recently bought "Thera Tears" supplement capsules from amazon, and some "Lumecare Long Lasting Tear Gel".

A third doctor appointment at another hospital, I am persistent (so are my symptoms). This time i was very clear and demanding, but same outcome: "Absolutely no eye disorder identified, just eye dryness...

And there you have it (phew, sorry for the long post!).

Any further tips on my self treatment will be greatly appreciated, I´ve been trying to deal with my condition on the bright side and so far i am able to cope with this. Just a bit disappointed at the lack of knowledge and accurate diagnostics from the ophthalmologists, I really think they could have gone a bit further, I am giving up on them.

Thanks!!!

[spmcc]

Just a bit disappointed at the lack of knowledge and accurate diagnostics from the ophthalmologists, I really think they could have gone a bit further, I am giving up on them.

I agree! But you definitely get an A+ for trying!

I think you should read four articles that Rebecca has on the Dry Eye Zone homepage: http://www.dryeyezone.com/

If you scroll down, the first article is in a section called "How to get a better diagnosis"

And just above that are three articles that Rebecca calls her Coping 101 series. They are excellent resources - esp for "beginners", but as an "old timer" I also refer back to them over and over.

You can also make sure to ask your doctor these questions every time you have an appointment:

1) How is my tear quantity?
2) Do you see any dry spots?
3) Can you check for staining?
4) Can you press on my meibomian (oil) glands? Are they releasing oil? Is the oil clear and flowing freely? If not, what does it look like?
5) Do you see any signs of allergies?
6) Do I have any lid closure problems (e.g., lagophthalmos)

Once you have a proper diagnosis, you'll know which treatments may help.
Good luck with everything.

[bakunin]

Uma das bandas brasileiras de punk rock mais antigas se influentes dos anos 80: Olho seco, e o nome da música é Isto é Olho Seco:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GRsmbeBdJo

Só depois de eu ter olho seco que eu percebi que o nome tinha tudo a ver com a agressividade do som deles.

O 90% dos oftalmologistas fazem é o que os que você foi fizeram. Examinam os olhos para ver se há aguma doença que possa comprometer a visão. Se não há, então ele o considera saudável, e receita um colírio lubrificante qualquer. Para mim esses colírios nem alóvio davam, e só fui piorando enquanto usava eles.

The video is a song of an old brazilian punk rock band called Dry Eye (Olho Seco), and the song is called This is Dry Eye (Isto é Olho Seco).

[poppy]

This time i was very clear and demanding, but same outcome: "Absolutely no eye disorder identified, just eye dryness...

Take everything they say with a pinch of salt. Doctors will label almost all external eye diseases as "just dry eye". In actual fact, you may have: keratitis, MGD, scarring, corneal erosions, etc etc. You need to ask specific, direct questions about what is wrong. Ask for your tear break up time, schirmers test, ask whether the doctor sees inflammation and if so in which parts of the eye (cornea, conjunctiva, eyelids), ask if the doc can see MGD/blepharitis, ask if there is any scarring of the surface of the eye and whether it involves the cornea, ask if you have punctate keratitis and ask if you have corneal erosions or abrasions. Ask if your eyes close properly when you blink. If you don't ask, they probably won't tell you, it is very frustrating to be told there is "nothing wrong" and later find out that there are major clinical signs of a problem, it's just that the doc decided to label it as "nothing wrong, except dry eye" just to get rid of you.