Hi I'm new to the site! Have a question about FML drops.

[thedude0001]

Hello to all!

So I've been suffering from burning, red, gritty, mucusy, light-sensitive, dry eyes for about 18 months now. Symptoms are horrible in the mornings. Tried almost every otc treatment with almost zero relief. Lubricant drops make my symptoms a lot worse in fact (even preservative free). I've tried most prescription allergy drops (pataday, alomide) with little relief. Recently I saw an ophthalmologist after seeing my doctor several times. He says my vision and pressure are great, he's not sure why my eyes are so inflamed. He's putting me on FML 3x's/ day for 3 months. We have a follow up appt. after 1 month of use.

He's hoping the steroids will give my eyes a chance to heal. I've taken 3 drops so far and my eyes feel normal again. Very white, little mucus, pretty comfortable. I know I can't use these drops forever and I'm afraid of being dependant on them. I've read other posts where people say the drops are to give time to treat my eyes and meibomian glands. What should I do to make the most out of this time? Is it possible that my eyes could "heal"?

[Rocklobster]

Hello,

Did the ophthalmologist diagnose you with MGD, bleph, etc...? I to have similar problems that you mentioned. From my experiences, Lotemax is awesome at first. My eyes were whiter then they ever have been, and the pain was significantly reduced. Unfortunately, over time the drop became less effective and I wasn't comfortable using a steroid for a prolonged period. After discontinuing the drop, I was back to square one. Don't get me wrong, I hope this heals you and you'll never have to worry about people wondering if you're on drugs or why you have eye mucus all the time. This is just from my personal experiences.

In my opinion, enjoy having white, pain-free eyes and keep us updated on what your ophthalmologist recommends for the next step after Lotemax!

[thedude0001]

It's kind of frustrating cause none of these doctors ever give me a real diagnosis. He said its just surface eye inflammation and that its nothing that is going to damage my eyes. My main problems are with the nasal sides as I have a small pinguecula in each. The veins around them become super inflamed on a daily basis, and its painful. I saw a surgeon about them a while ago and he says they're so small they're not worth operating on. He said I could visit him again later and I may do so.

The surgeon actually thought it was bleph but my GP doesn't think so and the opth didn't say it was either. My GP thinks it's environmental irritants, allergic conjunctivitis. I feel like it may be a combo of everything. I'm hypothyroid and have rosacea(under control though) so this is probably an autoimmune thing at the source of it all.

Basically I'm running around in circles trying every treatment and seeing several doctors. It's been the most frustrating thing I've dealt with. I'm trying to be hopeful right now and also live it up while I'm on these drops. Not at 100% but they help greatly.

Thanks for replying Rocklobster! How long have you dealt with this problem and has it gotten better? It feels good to commiserate about this.

[littlemermaid]

Are you guys treating meibomian gland dysfunction too with cleaning and warm compresses?

[Rocklobster]

No problem, it's always good to know you're not alone out there. I pretty much have the same experience as you. Been going to multiple ophthalmologists for the past couple of years to no avail. I've been diagnosed with everything from MGD, bleph, allergies, dry eye, to nothing is wrong --amazing how inconsistent the diagnoses are. A quick synopsis of my symptoms are painful sore eyes with an abundance of red veins accompanied by eyes mucus that reappears every couple hours... fun stuff. Like I mentioned earlier, lotemax is the only thing that helps alleviate (not cure) my symptoms. I think I have almost tried every drop on the market, OTC and prescribed. Warm compresses do help a little, but cleaning my eye lashes usually leaves my eyes irritated. I've tried baby shampoo, cliradex wipes, and diluted tea tree oil. It's also a pain when some gets into your eye accidentally and you have what looks like pink eye for a couple of hours. I'm literally at my wits end, I've been sent to a cornea specialist last month who put me back on Lotemax, and I have a follow up appointment this upcoming Monday. It's interesting how no matter what the condition is, they just prescribe lotemax. I'm so tired of hearing stuff I read on google being spit out verbatim by the docs. All you can do is keep a positive attitude really and keep trying new things. I'm starting a new job that will require lots of computer work and currently studying for my CPA license, so I'm kind of in a grind to get a prognosis that will help. Already a pain in the a** to be studying when your eyes hurt the whole time.

[thedude0001]

Warm compresses give momentary relief, and I'm currently using thera lid foam to cleanse my eyes(which has helped very little).
Wow, I'm in a very similar situation too. Just finishing up an intense, 10 month school program and starting a full time computer job using autocad. I've had a lot of anxiety about it because of my eyes. School was probably twice as hard as it needed to be because of how horrible my eyes were. I've worked so hard to get my s*** together and I'd be so happy if it weren't for my eyes. Oh well, I'm sure within the next couple years we will find relief. Have you thought of punctal plugs? I feel like they might help me since the fml drops have made my eyes super teary in a soothing way.

[cathy8889]

Hey, I've had similar problems aside from the mucusy part. I have pinguecula also, they're always inflamed. Since i've been using theratears vials and vismed multi preservative free drops things have been better. I am waiting for an appointment to enquire about whether I can have punctual plugs and try doxycycline. I didnt realise it but my pinguecula were so inflamed because of the dryness, I wish I could show you how bad they were like 2 months ago and how much theyve improved, I literally put drops in like three times an hour. My tear break up time is 3 in right eye and 4 in left, have you ever been told yours? I've been told I havent got mgd but im not so sure about this.

I was just wondering which surgeon you saw about your pinguecula, Ive been doing a lot of research into surgeons as I'd like to have them removed, so far I've heard that John Hovanesian at Harvard Eye and Trevor Grey http://www.eyeinstitute.co.nz/eye-su...revor-gray.htm . Im so nervous about having the operation though.

Cath

[cathy8889]

I forgot to mention that I have discovered to that my eyes are pretty much sensitive to everything in the environment! Dust sends my pings crazy and my eyes become super itchy, air freshener plug ins are a nightmare, passive cigarette smoke (which is why i think i have pings to begin with), even the vapour from those fake cigarettes, I need to find some moisture chamber glasses to block out all these irritants. Also keep trying with the drops, I thought I had tried everything. Systane even pres free doesnt agree with me, nor does refresh, viscotears, optive, snotears, the list goes on. I didnt use eye drops and thats why my pings grew bigger. Make sure youre taking omega three too, a triglyceride form.

Cath

It's kind of frustrating cause none of these doctors ever give me a real diagnosis. He said its just surface eye inflammation and that its nothing that is going to damage my eyes. My main problems are with the nasal sides as I have a small pinguecula in each. The veins around them become super inflamed on a daily basis, and its painful. I saw a surgeon about them a while ago and he says they're so small they're not worth operating on. He said I could visit him again later and I may do so.

The surgeon actually thought it was bleph but my GP doesn't think so and the opth didn't say it was either. My GP thinks it's environmental irritants, allergic conjunctivitis. I feel like it may be a combo of everything. I'm hypothyroid and have rosacea(under control though) so this is probably an autoimmune thing at the source of it all.

Basically I'm running around in circles trying every treatment and seeing several doctors. It's been the most frustrating thing I've dealt with. I'm trying to be hopeful right now and also live it up while I'm on these drops. Not at 100% but they help greatly.

Thanks for replying Rocklobster! How long have you dealt with this problem and has it gotten better? It feels good to commiserate about this.

[thedude0001]

I forgot to mention that I have discovered to that my eyes are pretty much sensitive to everything in the environment! Dust sends my pings crazy and my eyes become super itchy, air freshener plug ins are a nightmare, passive cigarette smoke (which is why i think i have pings to begin with), even the vapour from those fake cigarettes, I need to find some moisture chamber glasses to block out all these irritants. Also keep trying with the drops, I thought I had tried everything. Systane even pres free doesnt agree with me, nor does refresh, viscotears, optive, snotears, the list goes on. I didnt use eye drops and thats why my pings grew bigger. Make sure youre taking omega three too, a triglyceride form.

Cath

Hi Cath,

The surgeon I saw was in Langley, BC. called the Langley Surgical Centre. I think there's a standard pinguecula removal surgery used around the world and then there's places like Gulani or Harvard Eye. I'm not sure the different methods they use. The surgeon in Langley was very reluctant to treat me since they were small. The size of the yellow spots hasn't really grown since then but the pain and redness surrounding them has. I'd love to have mine removed, as I write this even they're very red and painful. And I believe they are the main cause since the outer corners of my eyes are almost always clear white.

When I see my opth in 2 weeks I'll ask him to test my tears. I'm not sure if the tears are my problem. I'm glad you've found some otc tears that work for you. I've tried Thera Tears Preservative Free, Thera Tears w/ Preservatives, Refresh Endura, Systane Ultra, and a couple I can't remember. I'll go on stints where I try them and they work for a bit, but then start to irritate greatly. I'm on Thera Tears Omega 3 pills and have no idea if they help at all. Nothing I've tried helps it seems, even the FML drops have lost effectiveness and I've only used them for 4 days.

Sounds like you have eye allergies like me. My eyes hate dust and dirt. I'm surprised you don't have eye goo though if they get so itchy. My eyes get mucus build up every 2 hours.

Let me know if you find a surgeon who will do the procedure for you. I'll post when I see the surgeon in Langley again. I'm considering doing iBrite in California too. I'm kind of afraid of surgery though since it would be horrible if there were complications. I'm running out of options though.

[Rocklobster]

Wow, I feel like you're my doppelganger in symptoms minus the pinguecula. I actually tried punctual plugs and it was a disaster. I believe allergies contribute to my eye condition, and trapping the allergen in my eyes didn't work out to well. My eyes hurt so badly the next day I manually removed the plugs using Youtube, tweezers, and a magnifying mirror. Probably not the safest thing to do, but nonetheless it was a success. Also, I completely agree with Lotemax losing its effectiveness over time. I feel like the more you use it, the less it alleviates the symptoms. Do you find advil (ibuprofen) to help with the pain/reduce redness? I was once told by an opth. to take 400mg of advil everyday for a month... I try only to resort to advil when my eyes are unbearably painful from surfing, no sleep, or after a night of drinking. I've also tried Restasis, but it seemed to make my eyes more irritated and dry. I kept it up for a couple of months but couldn't deal with the irritation that it was causing. I've been prescribed Doxy, but it's pretty harsh on your stomach and i didn't like the idea of being on an antibiotic long-term. I'm glad you're doing a lot of research before opting for surgery. I've read plenty of horror stories on here from the Eye-bright procedure and other surgeries. Hopefully something will come up to get our eyes under control!

[MartyM1985]

I made A LOT of progress earlier this year with FML, 3X a day, as prescribed by my doc.

You can read more about my journey in the TRIUMPHS section.

[thedude0001]

I did go buy some ibuprofen and I'm not sure if it's helping. The steroid drops are making life livable, but I don't think they're healing anything yet. It's great to know your experience with these treatments I'm considering. My eyes are definitely a bit allergic too. Do you feel that doxycycline is helping you? I asked my doctor about it but he wanted to wait. And yeah surgery is a very last resort, but I'll do anything to stop this madness. It sucks that our eyes get so sore from fun things! I like to skateboard and enjoy a drinking night once in a while too, but it can be detrimental to my eyes.

[Rocklobster]

To be honest, I haven't really noticed much difference with Doxy. It's also really tough on the stomach. I visited the "specialist" on Monday. All he said was use Lotemax once a day and Restasis at night... Basically I'm still in the same boat, but now using restasis is making my eyes more red, so not sure if i should continue or not. I asked him about the eye mucus issue, and he replied that restasis and NAC drops are the only thing that can help. I'm trying to do warm compresses and lid scrubs every day, but it gets tedious after awhile. At this point, I have no idea what else I can try. Omega 3 supplements do help a little and are definitely worth giving a shot. Besides that, just dealing with awkward staring at my eyes through out the day and comments from people. Open to new regimes if anyone has any!

[ChrisE]

Interesting topic, and although I enjoy the relief that FML drops provide (I've only had them during eye examinations), my Ophthalmologist won't prescribe them to me, since she indicated they are a steroid, so over time, they are not a help.

[thedude0001]

Hmmm good to know. I'm gonna still try doxy since I have rosacea and I think it might help with my particular problem, not getting my hopes up though. It sucks when people comment, "are you baked?" haha I'm really enjoying the steroids helping with the redness right now. As for another treatment that's tough. Some people on this sight have suggested many random things. One lady talks about a face cream called Mimyx that she used around her lids. I've been wanting to try that. Seems like everyone has different cures in the end that seem to take years to find. So frustrating.