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JoolzB's story
I'm so glad I have found this site! I realise from reading through the posts that my own symptoms are really quite mild, but to me they're distressing enough! I have felt a bit of a freak because I don't know anybody with dry eyes and it's good to find I'm not alone!
I had contact lenses from the age of 17 (hard ones at first) and I wore them day in, day out, too vain to wear glasses (I didn't even own a pair!) I had no problems for the first 8-9 years, but then I began developing an allergy to preservatives in my lens solutions and very stupidly I ignored it for six months. Finally forced to seek help, the eye specialist diagnosed toxicity and took my contacts away for six months. After that I was allowed my contacts back but found my tolerance for them had been severely damaged. I had to be content with wearing them for special occasions only - soft ones by this time.
However, over the past few years my eyes got drier when wearing the contacts. The last time I wore them was Christmas 2003 at a party where somebody said "Ooh aren't your eyes red!" Not surprisingly, that was the last time I wore them.
To my dismay though, for the past six months or so my eyes have started feeling dry even though contact lenses have been nowhere near them.
I get hot, dry feeling eyes, most frequently the right eye but also sometimes the left one. On my worst days I have been photophobic. I also get a feeling of foreign body in the eye quite often and I have developed a phobia about people saying anything about my eyes looking sore (I don't know why!) Many days at work (where my eyes are usually worst) I avoid looking at myself in the washroom mirror because I'm afraid of what I might see. I know it's silly because although I do get redness it's not that bad, but I get so anxious I cannot be rational. If I know I'm going to meet someone or go out somewhere special or something, I get so het up about how my eyes look that I'm sure I actually psyhcologically make them start burning.
To try and help myself I now take vitamin B6, Omega 3 fish oils and flax seed oil. I also try to drink more water and less coffee, and I have had an anti glare filter fitted to my monitor at work. Also at work I now use a moist air humidifier machine to try and keep the humidity up. I don't understand why but some days my eyes will feel fine and on other days one or both will feel awful (usually the right one). Sometimes the symptoms come and go more than once in a single day. I know that fatigue, bright light, prolonged reading and/or computer use and hot atmospheres make them worse, whilst being outside in the fresh air makes them feel better.
I try not to feel bitter but I wish I'd been told when I got my first contacts that you shouldn't wear them all the time. I wish I'd been told about protein cleaning them. I wish I hadn't been so vain. I am jealous of people whom I know have behaved like me and gotten away with it. But in my saner moments I realise I should be grateful I have sight.
My optician knows my eyes are dry when I wear lenses but hasn't run any tests on me, although she did tell me my eyes are too dry for laser surgery (and having read about the problems others have encountered with that, it was probably for the best). I did ask to see a specialist about punctal plugs a few years ago, but was told I had too many tears for that. I think my tears have diminished since then. I'm going back to my optician soon and I shall be discussing the problem with her. I was supposed to be going for a contact lens check but have explained that I won't be wearing them for the appointment. This dry eye thing seems so complicated. I wonder what she will advise...
It feels good to get this off my chest to people who understand.
Thanks for reading this message.
JoolzB
I had contact lenses from the age of 17 (hard ones at first) and I wore them day in, day out, too vain to wear glasses (I didn't even own a pair!) I had no problems for the first 8-9 years, but then I began developing an allergy to preservatives in my lens solutions and very stupidly I ignored it for six months. Finally forced to seek help, the eye specialist diagnosed toxicity and took my contacts away for six months. After that I was allowed my contacts back but found my tolerance for them had been severely damaged. I had to be content with wearing them for special occasions only - soft ones by this time.
However, over the past few years my eyes got drier when wearing the contacts. The last time I wore them was Christmas 2003 at a party where somebody said "Ooh aren't your eyes red!" Not surprisingly, that was the last time I wore them.
To my dismay though, for the past six months or so my eyes have started feeling dry even though contact lenses have been nowhere near them.
I get hot, dry feeling eyes, most frequently the right eye but also sometimes the left one. On my worst days I have been photophobic. I also get a feeling of foreign body in the eye quite often and I have developed a phobia about people saying anything about my eyes looking sore (I don't know why!) Many days at work (where my eyes are usually worst) I avoid looking at myself in the washroom mirror because I'm afraid of what I might see. I know it's silly because although I do get redness it's not that bad, but I get so anxious I cannot be rational. If I know I'm going to meet someone or go out somewhere special or something, I get so het up about how my eyes look that I'm sure I actually psyhcologically make them start burning.
To try and help myself I now take vitamin B6, Omega 3 fish oils and flax seed oil. I also try to drink more water and less coffee, and I have had an anti glare filter fitted to my monitor at work. Also at work I now use a moist air humidifier machine to try and keep the humidity up. I don't understand why but some days my eyes will feel fine and on other days one or both will feel awful (usually the right one). Sometimes the symptoms come and go more than once in a single day. I know that fatigue, bright light, prolonged reading and/or computer use and hot atmospheres make them worse, whilst being outside in the fresh air makes them feel better.
I try not to feel bitter but I wish I'd been told when I got my first contacts that you shouldn't wear them all the time. I wish I'd been told about protein cleaning them. I wish I hadn't been so vain. I am jealous of people whom I know have behaved like me and gotten away with it. But in my saner moments I realise I should be grateful I have sight.
My optician knows my eyes are dry when I wear lenses but hasn't run any tests on me, although she did tell me my eyes are too dry for laser surgery (and having read about the problems others have encountered with that, it was probably for the best). I did ask to see a specialist about punctal plugs a few years ago, but was told I had too many tears for that. I think my tears have diminished since then. I'm going back to my optician soon and I shall be discussing the problem with her. I was supposed to be going for a contact lens check but have explained that I won't be wearing them for the appointment. This dry eye thing seems so complicated. I wonder what she will advise...
It feels good to get this off my chest to people who understand.
Thanks for reading this message.
JoolzB
I remember many, many years ago I wore tinted glasses and they were quite the thing.
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