My Dry Eye Story - Any advice welcome

[sjd89]

I am, I think, part of a very common story on here. I had Lasik 2 years ago and am now suffering with dry eyes.

Initially after the surgery my dry eye was very manageable with drops. After a year it got suddenly worse. With a change of drops it became manageable again but 6 months later the same thing happened. This time nothing seemed to help. Drops did nothing anymore.

I saw a private ophthalmologist who specialises in dry eye. I was told that my eyes have 50% of the amount of oil they should have but the glands look OK. And I'm only producing half the number of tears as I should be.

He did lipiflow and inserted punctal plugs. I had an improvement which meant the drops were effective again but this improvement has only lasted a few months and once again eye drops are doing nothing. I can get some relief using night time ointment during the day but even this only tends to last an hour and the time it lasts is getting shorter and shorter.

I am currently waiting to see if my GP will prescribe ikervis in the hope that that may help. I can afford to pay the private prescriptions if they say no.

I am also looking at IPL treatment but I would need to go to a different specialist as it isn't offered near to me.

I currently use hot compresses twice a day and take omega 3.

My eyes are so uncomfortable, I am getting really desperate. Its really effecting my mental health. If anyone has any thoughts, advice, similar experiences, I would really appreciate it. I'm based in the UK. I know country makes a difference treatment wise.

[phil]

Hi

I thought i would offer some advise as its not nice when no one replies and your desperate for support.

u may already know some this...

Only use preservative free eye drops. However in my opinion i think after a while your body gets used to them and consequently u change to a new one. Eventually that one plateaus too and the cycle repeats...

the only one i think truly is good, and trust me ive tried all of them is thera tears preservative free. Apparently they turn to oxygen on instilling into the eye which can only be a good thing. I sometimes think that are eyes lack the ability to produce gleam enough oxygen from our bodies and hence the pain..

Hot compresses are a waste of time. Its a well worn first line of treatment that does **** all imo. A side effect of dry eye is inflammation so why on earth would you stick a hot compress on your eyes? Heat does not reduce inflammation...cold does...simple science...doctors say it opens your tear ducts..blah blah..its bs

Omega 3 is worth a try what u got to lose..

How many days can you go without putting eye drops in? Ive done alot of reseach into eye drops actually washing away your natural tears and its best in the long run to not use them..when in pain..distraction techniques can be implemented instead of using drops (i know easier said than done) but try it.

If feesable i would try a ice pack...keep one at work and at home and use when feesable when in pain...ikevis did nothing for me and it has to be used for months...the jury is still out on that one..

Private msg me if u need to..

stay strong

[sjd89]

Thank you for replying. I really appreciate it.

I have wondered about part of the problem being my eyes getting used to the eye drops. Although I wasnt sure whether that was wishful thinking in that being the reason rather than my eyes worsening. I can't find any drops that work well at the moment though unfortunately.

I have read about theratears but they seem difficult to get hold of and their website says they are out of production. I have ordered 1 of the recommended drops on the website in the hope they work in a similar way.

I cant go any days without drops. I can't go hours without drops. My eyes become so uncomfortable and sore and blinking is really unpleasant. It literally feels like my eyes are shrivelling up.

I definitely see your point about the heat pack and have wondered about this. I'm so worried about stopping doing something I've been told to do incase I make the situation even worse. I will bear the ice pack idea in mind for the future though.

[johnsonc22]

Hi

Hot compresses are a waste of time. Its a well worn first line of treatment that does **** all imo. A side effect of dry eye is inflammation so why on earth would you stick a hot compress on your eyes? Heat does not reduce inflammation...cold does...simple science...doctors say it opens your tear ducts..blah blah..its bs

stay strong

I completely agree. This is just an easy thing which SEEMS like it should work with glands n oil n all but always makes me feel way worse. I have yet to run across anyone who claims hot compresses really do work.