Allow me to introduce myself....and ask for some advice!! Please read :)

[linzetta]

Hello everyone!

I'm new to the dry eye world! I am 29 and was just diagnosed with dry eye. The symptoms I went to see the doctor for are : sensitivity to light, trouble reading, halos and shadows, tired/sore eyes, and most annoying is feeling like there is a missing spot or distorted part of my peripheral vision. The distorted vision/missing vision could be just because I'm not seeing clearly but it's driving me nuts, especially watching TV and reading and looking at people's face. I passed the overall eye exam well. When the doc did the tear production test and I was producing so little and diagnosed me with dry eye, I was actually shocked. I didn't have the dry, scratchy, painful, gritty symptoms that were listed in the pamphlet she gave me. She was pretty sure all of my symptoms could be explained by dry eye though. I have started artificial tears and then we will go from there.

My question to anyone reading this: has anyone experienced more distorted types of issues (ghosting, halos, trouble focusing, seemingly small blind spots) with their dry eyes instead of the physical discomfort issues?? She did say that my right eye was a little worse and that is the side I seem to have vision issues with. I worry that this could also be a potentially neurological issue like a persistent aura (I've had auras and migraines before.) One last thing to add, I did just have a miscarriage last month and hormones could also have something to do with the sudden worsening of symptoms. Any advice, experiences, tips would be immensely appreciated as I've become quite depressed about my vision.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and hopefully respond!

[alb1967]

linzetta my Dr told me you can have ghosting and halos with dry eyes esp if there are dry spots on your cornea. ( I am glad you do not have the painful symptoms most of us do!) When my eyeas are really dry my vision is very poor, reading watching TV looking in the distance. Do drops help this at all (as it does for me) ? Also have you had any vision correction ??

[linzetta]

Thank you for responding alb1967. The drops help with the halos and dry/tired feeling but not so much this overwhelming feeling of not being able to see that well. It's so hard to describe it, I feel crazy. It's like when I look at someone's face, it is just a millimeter off or distorted. Another example is when I am reading, if I look at one of the words, the words to the right appear to have a blind spot and/or distorted so I can't tell what word is next. It's driving my crazy and I'm so worried that it's a neurological issue and they are so hard to figure out let alone treat. I have not had any vision correction.

[alb1967]

linzetta this sounds like it could be an astigmatism (or HOB high order aberrations). Have you even been told you have an astigmatism ? Do you wear glasses ? I would maybe get a second opinion from a cornea specialist. I have ghosting issues from the irregularity in my cornea due to lasik that is one of the reasons I wear sclera lenses.

[linzetta]

I have not been told I have astigmatism and I do not wear glasses.I think maybe I was prescribed glasses when I was in middle school or high school but I hardly wore them and I can't even remember why. I had a check up last week and they said my eyes are perfectly fine. From a basic check up can they determine if I have astigmatism? I am having a field vision test tomorrow. If this is still bothering me after the test tomorrow, where I"m sure they'll probably just tell me my vision is fine again and that it's just dry eyes, then I will most likely get a second opinion and really push for more answers. And I should find a cornea specialist you think?

[alb1967]

If you are going to a regular optometrist and you are not happy with the answers you are getting, I would at the very least see an ophthalmologist if they are a cornea specialist that is even better. A regular eye examine should be able to tell you if you have an astigmatism but I doubt they would be able to identify HOA. You have to have a special machine for that. A fiel vision test is normally used to check periphal vision. Not for an astigmatism or HOA. Good luck as I know this is all SO frustrating !!

[littlemermaid]

there is a missing spot or distorted part of my peripheral vision. - as alb1967 says, visual field test for your blind spots and careful retina exam. There's a faint possibility of a blood clot, diabetes, or something. How did you get on today? Does your vision improve after lubricant eyedrops or are blind spots still there?

Much sympathy for your miscarriage, trauma and sadness. One month is not long ago. I hope you have been given time to recover and found people to talk to.

[linzetta]

Thanks littlemermaid, your support is so appreciated. It has been very difficult but I feel like I'm finally coming out of the fog from my miscarriage. My field test went fine. My doctor is an ophthalmologist. She is convinced that whatever is going on is related to dry eye. We are going to revisit things in a couple months and discuss Restasis and potentially plugs if I'm still bothered. I recently had an MRI for sinus issues and nothing was out of the ordinary on my scans apart from sinus swelling. To answer your question littlemermaid - I don't really feel like the eyedrops do much for the blind spot feeling but it's so hard to describe what my issue is that I really am not sure if it helps much because it's such a small margin of visual disturbance. If I had to try to describe it to you, if you focused on the middle of this sentence/paragraph, the right side of it is distorted, maybe some of it is in a blind spot (not dark). I notice it most when I watch TV, read, and look at people's faces. There is definitely ghosting going on or an after image with screens and lights too. I feel like a crazy person to everyone I try to describe it to, especially the eye doctor, especially after I passed the field vision test. I'm truly hoping that this is just dry eye, exacerbated by my hormonal changes from my miscarriage and that with the drops and hormones leveling out I will see an improvement. I can't thank you both enough for even just responding!! I had no idea about the issue of dry eye and it's serious impact on some peoples lives. I know my issue could be much much worse and who knows, it may even go away. I just haven't read much about blind spots being related to dry eye much so I still have a faint concern in the back of my head that it's neurological.

[littlemermaid]

Hopefully more people will post about what ghosting and after-image looks like with dry eye. I think swelling or polyps from infection in some sinuses can compress an optic nerve a little, so maybe tell whoever examined the MRI if they didn't know you had the distortion/blind spot. Best wishes for your comfort and recovery.

[HKhan2015]

It sounds exactly like what I had been experiencing. I also described it as a *blind spot too* mine was absolutely horrible and it was driving me crazy. The optometrists kept telling me there was nothing wrong and that my vision was 20/20 I had field tests done even an MRI, but I finally realised what mine was! I couldn't even see clearly through my glasses! It carried on for a good few months and I couldn't enjoy anything it just kept getting worse to the pont where I had to sleep even that made it worse but I hated opening my eyes. What really helped me was a cling film patch(over one eye at a time). This helped to protect my eye at night time if you want to try it out I can give you further details. I really think this helped heal my eye, when it came to the *blind spot*. Aswell as this I used celluvisc drops at nightx2 but used 5/6 drops per eye. Honestly my blind spot has almost dissapeared to the point where I don't even notice it anymore it come and goes. Where as before it was there all the time. I kept telling my aunt I can't see your face properly. But she couldn't understand what I was trying to say as she had never experienced it before.I think mine was a very dry damaged patch on the eye which can heal. I'm hoping that if yours is what mine was like and that what I've said helps you as I know how anxious it made me feel. Even if it's something different I really hope you find something that'll help

[linzetta]

HKhan2015 - Wow, it is so comforting just to hear someone say they think they're experiencing the same thing! It's crazy that you also had a perfect eye exam, field test and MRI like I have. My husband has started to think I'm crazy but it's so hard to describe and so many doctors now have said they don't see anything wrong. I have never heard of a cling film patch. You wear this at night? Do you do artificial tears multiple times a day? I have just been doing drops before I fall asleep and right when I wake up. I'd love more information if you have it! And when you said that you said I'm not seeing your face properly, I've been saying that over and over again and people are like is it a blind spot, dark spot, blurry?? And all I can say is it's similar to a blind spot but sooo hard to describe. Thank you so much for taking the time to post, it has really helped.

[HKhan2015]

Yes mine was something they couldn't see either!There's a link on how to make it below:
http://youtu.be/YWQND6XSpac
Before applying the patch make sure you put your eye drops into your eyes first. You can try one eye at a time & see if it helps & yes you wear it all night. I only had to use mine for a couple of weeks.
I am currently using systane Ultra Preservative free drops multiple times a day as my eyes are very dry. Something else I have been advised on is warm compress + eye massage, I was doing this before but because I had inflammation I was told to stop. But have been told to start it again, my next step is punctul plugs which I will be getting soon since my eyes still feel gritty. Another thing which I find useful is to make sure I blink properly (this somewhat helps). I have ordered Pharma Nord omega 7 tablets thought I would give them a try to see if they help as well