Hello, first post...corneal abrasions lead to my dry eye...

[Guest]

Hello everyone...I wanted to introduce myself, explain my story and start posting some threads. I feel like the information I'm searching for is so specific or on the bleeding edge of dry eye disease, that I simply can't find it. So let's try and create it!

my issues began when I got potting soil in my eyes, twice in one day. It was such a minor thing I didn't even clean my eyes out or think twice about it. Very dumb apparently. But that's happened to me before, never had an abrasion. I just blinked a few times and I felt like I cleared the dust. Well after a week I started getting photophobia then my vision got blurry. The dry sharp potting soil was under my eyelids scratching my eyes slowly but surely for days. I went in with no pain for my first exam. Then I left unsatisfied with the diagnosis, she didn't even stain my eye. Then the pain started...the burning, foreign body sensation, photophobia, etc.

Ive since healed completely however the dry eye has been initiated and I'm trying to find my way back to my old self.

Ar one point in this journey I was suicidal. The pain, as most of you know, is just debilitating. So my current journey is to find what I can do next to make things better. Right now my pain is non existent but I'm on steroid drops currently (alrex .2%) 2 weeks and now have some decisions to make which is why I'm posting.

a little most about me, I was a bodybuilder for years, took a lot of exogenous testosterone so my current free test levels as a 37 year old man are in the toilet. My level was 60 and the bottom of the reference was 72. So significantly low. I also smoke marijuana for bipolar manic depression. It's very hard to find information about men with dry eye that have started testosterone replacement as a possible cure. Also hard to find people that smoke/eat/vaporize cannabis with dry eyes and how they do it, if it helps, if they had to quit.

So thats why im here...looking for answers and hopefully able to help someone else like myself in the process.

I have to say, at this very moment I have literally next to zero eye issues. The alrex I've been on for two weeks has my symptoms at near zero. Just a few drops of theratears pf in the morning that is it. My next choice now is testosterone replacement then ween off the steroids OR restasis as I ween of the steroids. So I'll be posting some questions in open forum here shortly.

Nice to to meet you all!

[Rebecca Petris]

Welcome! Thanks for posting. Great to open discussion on things that don't get enough coverage!

So how long have you been erosion free? And do you have many specifics of your dry eye diagnosis? And can you wear protective glasses when you smoke?

[Guest]

I don't get recurrent erosions thankfully. The original abreasins healed very fast. My right eye has no visual change and my left eye was very much changed. I have glaring, floaters, slight doubling of vision in my left eye.

The only specifics i have is that my dry eye is imflammatoet in nature. It's frustrating but also a blessing in a sense, because I don't get erosions, my corneas look amazing, no actual damage to speak of. They feel horrible however. I was trying to figure out...what's causing this. After being on alrex, which is a soft steroid, it's very clear all my issues are related to inflammation. I had a positive ANA but no autoimmunity was found when I went to a rheumatologist. I have low free testosterone so I think I'm going to address that next, then ween off the corticosteroid drops, and see if the inflammation can be managed that way...if not, I'll try restasis next.

As for smoking, again, my dry eye issues are complicated lol. So even if I just consume cannabis in an edible, I get super dry. It's not the act of smoking that dries me, or inflames my ocular surface. It's the systemic nature of the drug itself. It just dries you out EXTREMELY badly. However, it's the most effective medicine I've ever taken for my bipolar disorder.

[Rebecca Petris]

Re cannabis, I understand. There are painful tradeoffs sometimes that it makes sense to accept, based on which things have the most 'global' impact for good or ill. However, don't discount the protective glasses - it's not just for keeping out irritants. Many people with a lot of dry eye pain/discomfort from whatever cause use them simply to manage pain. I've always been a huge fan of moisture chambers because they are one of the few things that can help without introducing any potential side effects.

Is neuropathic corneal pain a possibility? Just wondering, based on what you said about your corneas looking amazing, but feeling horrible.

[Guest]

Initially I thought my issues were nerve related...lots of pain but no presentation. However after starting a very mild steroid my eyes feel 95% normal...something I didn't think was possible. Which leads me to believe all my issues are inflammatory in nature. Steroids wouldn't heal the nerve damage...so it fits that it's gotta be inflammation.

Question is, why did the abrasion lead to this runaway inflammation...and how do I stop it. I suspect something was bothering me before the abrasion...but again, no autoimmune disease...so I'm not sure what else to look for. Allergies maybe?

[Guest]

Upon further thought...I'm buying the moisture chambers. It's stupid not to..thank you!

[Rebecca Petris]

I think for most of us there's parallel paths to follow... practical stuff that helps us deal day to day, medical investigation to figure out the best treatment path. Ideally they overlap

[Guest]

Absolutely, to be honest part of me wants to think this is going to get better or just resolve itself. So I think mentally I was fighting to get the goggles. More so because it's confirming what I already know to be true. This has been very life changing...I'm very lucky, I sold my business 2 years ago and retired, started a family, I have a beautiful daughter then at 37 a stupid accident changes my life so drastically. Just crazy...as I'm sure you know.

habe to add...I also have an amazing wife that's really supported me and our new baby through all this. She's an amazing human and im
lucky she loves me so much.