I Need HELP!

[Dryeye22]

Hello everyone I'm new to dry eye chat. My name is Erin and I'm a 22 year old who just got diagnosed with dry eye six months ago. I never had any dry eye symptoms until one day when I accidently slept in my contacts. The next day my eyes were bloodshot and dry ever since.

I am having a terrible time dealing with the pain. I have severe guilt that I caused this to myself, and I just wish my life could be normal again. I am very active teacher who loved to be doing things. Now my life is on hold.

I tried about everything. I have plugs, drops, and am now on restasis. Nothing seems to work. Also, everytime i use drops they turn my eyes bright red and make things worse.

To make matters worse no one my age (at least that i now of) has this condition. They don't understand it and think im just complaining. I really want a solution so this doesn't have to be a life long problem. I can not deal with this for the rest of my life.

Thank you for listening. Just writing this out and knowing there are other people like me really does help. Please let me know what I can do.

~Erin

[kurt]

I wouldn't blame yourself too much, which is easier said than done, esp. when you life has been made really difficult. But it's not like you did something that a lot of people who are regular contact lens wears haven't already done.

[Rebecca Petris]

Erin, I'm so sorry to hear this. - You're definitely not alone. We have a lot of young people on this forum actually.

Drops and plugs will only get you so far. My favorite suggestions for newbies are:

1) EYEWEAR . Daytime or nighttime or (ideally) both.

2) WARM COMPRESSES (esp. if you have meibomian gland dysfunction), or alternatively ice or some kind of cool soother if you just need some quick pain relief.

3) Read Dr. Latkany's book "The Dry Eye Remedy" to get an easy-to-read education about dry eye and all the things you can do to treat it.

Please also go through the links at this post because they have some of the most popular articles on this site having to do with understanding and treating dry eye. There is lots more available to you than drops! For another quick way to get some new ideas, check out our dry eye shop.

Hang in there!

[Rebecca Petris]

Addendum... just noticed this part:

Also, everytime i use drops they turn my eyes bright red and make things worse.

What kind of drops are you using? Are they preserved? If so switch to preservative free, and maybe another brand altogether. My first reaction is stop using whatever's doing that to your eyes, yikes! What does your doctor say?

[Dryeye22]

All the drops I use are perservative free. I don't know why, but whenever I put the drops in they tend to make my eyes feel worse. They run down my cheeks and turn my face red. I don't know if I'm just really sensitive to those products.

[kitty]

Welcome. I know how difficult these early months after diagnosis can be. Don't blame yourself for your DES. More than likely, you had it to some degree all along. The sleeping in contacts incident might have been the final straw, but maybe not. Don't give up on the drops. Through trial and error, you will find a drop that makes your eyes feel better rather than worse. There is a thread here with Polls. In there is a poll that shows which drops we all use. Just give each drop a week or two trial, not just a one-time use. Take care. We are here to help.

[dianat]

You might consider buying Dr. Latkany's book. You can get it on this site. There surely would be some good ideas in it for you. I'm confident you can find a way to manage your condition. Hang in there.

[Amy09]

erin,
i am 20 and have been dealing w/ dry eye, red eyes, having to get eye surgery, etc. since i was 14 so i know how you must be feeling right now... my eye doctors still haven't completely figured out what my eye problems are from. if you do a search on this site i think you will find that there are a few others about your age here that are dealing w/ similar problems.

i know what it is like to be so young and have to deal w/ this crap and have no one understand... i promise that if you work hard to find different ways of dealing with this though (whether it is w/ doctors, life adjustments, etc.) that things will get much, much better. just give it some time, be patient, and have hope.

for a while when i was in high school i was afraid i wasn't even going to be able to go to college because my eyes were so bad, but with certain perscription meds and making a few adjustments to my daily life though i am able to attend a large university, make good grades, stay involved w/ organization stuff, and have great friends. i've definately had to learn who my real friends were over the past few years and i can't party as heavily as some of my other friends or work as long of hours as others my age, but for the most part i have figured out how to deal with this.

you said you are a teacher, and i think there are some other teachers here on the dry eye website and i'm sure they have tips for how to deal w/ dry eye in your work setting.

everyone on this site is really helpful and i'm sure they will be able to provide you with some more great info about dry eye whether you are dealing with pain, insecurities, or just general frustrations. i wish you the best of luck in dealing w/ dry eye at your age, and feel free to ask any questions!