Help! New here and desperate!

[autumnn]

Hi To All-

I have been reading these threads for a LONG time and decided I need to join and ask a question, or ten! I am so so confused! I feel like this problem is ruining my life. I am a social worker and find myself not able to look people in the eye or work under florescent lights and on computers. I might have lost my last boyfriend due to my constant pain and irratability....

Anyway, I cannot figure out the cause or treatment for my dry eye. Basically I think that it gets exacerbated when I try to do something about mild dry eye.

I had Lasik done in 1999 but I dont feel like this is the problem only because I was fine for years and my right eye is for the most part OK.

So, I have not had a trace of this problem until 2003 when my eyes became a little dry. I tried plugs as well as tears, I think they plugged the bottom and I felt OK. I thought the artificial tears were making things worse so I stopped them. The problem seemed to resolve itself.

I did not notice my eyes at all until about 2005. At that time they felt a little dry again and I asked for my uper punctas to be plugged. They did this and I had a terrible time with it. My eyes were watery and so sore. They couldnt flush out the top (so the doc said) so they flushed out the bottom. I was just so glad I wasnt tearing and I quit using all goop/tears and again just left my eyes alone. Somehow I became OK again.

I didnt have any problems until a full year later. Again, I tried goop/tears and bottom plugs again. Since this time I have just gotten worse. Well, actually my left eye has, my right is for the most part OK. Since this time I have been on Restasis (I still am on it), doxy (on 50mg a day), tons (and I mean tons!) of flax seed, NAC, Inositol, etc. I have tried every drop and gel out there (including Dakrina, Dwelle) with no result (ointment has helped temporarily and then made things so much worse) in fact I think drops make things alot worse for me. I have found no drop that helps even for 20 minutes. I feel better (which is not that good) without them.

And, I am going to admit something terrible, I tried a steriod gel the vet gave my dog. For two weeks I have never felt better (I know this is terrible, but the pain was unbearable). Then, this stopped working (though I wouldnt have continued, I dont want cataracts).

I have tried compresses but feel that my eyes are irritated and inflamed, especially the next morning. I have noticed that a hot shower and massage of eyelids does help, at least temporarily. The other night I noticed a clogged meiobin (sp?) gland on my lower eyelid (does this mean I have MGD without knowing it and need to stick with compresses for awhile?).

My conclusions from all of this is that maybe I need a new eye doc and need to flush out the uppers plusg (would they still be there anyway? It has been over 2 years) and put in lowers again. And, quit trying drops and gels.

or,

quit all drops again and focus on lid hygine...since I did find that blocked gland. This isnt an option I have tried for very long...

Help!

one thing that I can add that my help others....mis flax oil with Sprite and gulp. The sting of the Sprite washes out the yucky flax taste. Weird I know.

[Lucy]

Hi Autumm-
Sorry about your eye problems. So you had lasik back in '99, huh? About the same time as me, Jan 2000. At this point, it really doesn't matter whether the lasik caused your dry eyes or not as there doesn't seem to be a connection with the time frame.

You have alot going on and I'm not going to try and tackle all of it. You mention "docs" but have you seen a good dry eye doctor recently? That may be a good place to start. You seem to be throwing all of the "cures" available at your dry eyes all at the same time. I can tell you are upset by the tone of your post. It isn't fun.

I think besides seeing a dry eye doctor-perhaps one you haven't seen before and getting a good clinical opinion is a place to start. If you think Restasis is helping, by all means stay on it. Taking the doggie stuff for a couple of weeks likely didn't do anything to hurt you. Believe me, we've heard worse on here! I wouldn't suggest it though.

You probably shouldn't "quit all drops" and focus just on hygiene. Have you used TheraTears? They are a good, no preservative drop. If your eyes are very dry, you need some basic drops several times a day it seems. You can also work on the lid hygiene "gently" in the meantime. Good luck and remember you can't cure this in a day. You may have to look into moisture chamber glasses which help many of us.
Lucy

[autumnn]

Lucy-

Thank you SO much! Yes, I have been DESPERATE and upset! It is nice to hear from someone. I have only seen an eye doc. I am not sure he is necessarily a dry eye specialist. In fact, he had never heard of doxy for DES! If anyone knows of one in Orange County, Ca I would love to hear about her/him. In the meantime, I will get the theratears tommorow and order the moisture chambers.

Again, thank you so much.

[Rebecca Petris]

Hi autumnn

There is a really good dry eye support group in Orange County, and the ladies who run the group have several doctors that they recommend based on the experiences of their group. In particular I would suggest Dr. Pirnazar in Laguna Hills (ophthalmologist) or Dr. Carver in Fountain Valley optometrist). I also really like Jerry Paugh (research optometrist) in Fullerton. For the support group, I'll send you contact info via private message. They have a meeting coming up in November. I think it could be very helpful for you to get hooked up with the group. Everyone needs some support when they're going through such a rough time!

[autumnn]

Thank you Rebecca, I have an apt for tomorrow to see Dr. Carver and will go to the support group meeting in November. I am so thankful for this forum. Even though my eyes are killing me I have lasted till 4pm at the office today because I have some hope!

[TRiBaL]

I'm in the same boat. It really does seem to get worst as the years go on and to the point you avoid friends and going out to pick up guy/girl hahaha. It truely sucks your life out and takes away all things could be doing with your life right now. So Far I have try it all but few things and all over the counter stuff or things you can do to help your eyes has never work for me.

So what i think you should do keep looking for a good doc. They will figure something out. You got have hope because only thing can do til get someone can lead you the way to happiness.

You think why me why do I have dry eyes when this kid over here has such bad hygiene yet doesn't get dry eyes. But you are taking 2 showers a day and taking all this flax and fish oil and nothing will work out for you.

Trust me when I say this. You are not alone. I been going through this for last 5 years since i was 17. sooooooooooo trust me i know how much this sucks. Hell and i didnt even get lasik done. I just got dry eyes for no apparent reason haha.

Well goodluck okat. Trust me just find a good doctor. thats what I'm gonna do .

[autumnn]

I just wanted to update everyone. I saw Dr Carver in FV, Ca. as Rebecca recommended. I couldn't be more thankful. His office was amazing. I went in there and as soon as he started interviewing me I started bawling. I cried throughout the entire dr visit, I think I have just really hit my "low". Dr Carver was so kind and patient and thourough. I feel like he is really invested in helping me solve this, not just bandage it and send me away. Anyhow, there were some tests that he couldnt get an accurate read on because I couldnt stop crying but when he examined my eyes he said that there is definite lid hygine problmes and bleph. He actually can see this. Why has no other eye doc pointed this out? Anyway, he put a lot of thought into how he wants me to tackle this and basically prescribed this kit that includes an eye scrub and doxy. He also wants me to stop the Restasis and flax oil and insted take BioTears and an additional 1000mg of fish oil. He typed everything up for me and showed me how to do the compresses and scrubs. I feel like he treated me like he would a family member. Thank you so much for your help. I am so glad I have been on this forum. I will keep everyone posted and maybe this can help someone else.

[Rebecca Petris]

Wonderful - so glad to hear it. I understand about it being emotional... getting some validation and real support can be a big, unexpected plus in eyecare.

...when he examined my eyes he said that there is definite lid hygine problmes and bleph. He actually can see this. Why has no other eye doc pointed this out?

Two words: INADEQUATE TRAINING. I think every dry eye specialist out there who sees a lot of meibomian gland disease (with or without obvious blepharitis) will agree with that. Personally I see this as probably the biggest problem in dry eye care today.

[autumnn]

I cant believe that for all these years I have never taken lid hygine into more consideration. I thought they were fine, he said they have major problems.

I guess I have learned a good professional who cares is key. There is only so much self diagnosis we can do.

Thank you so much for recommending him.

[autumnn]

Well today I had my check up after 2 weeks of treat the bleph. It amazes me that all these years I have been told I dont have MGD and my dry eye is from medications, aging, computer use, etc. I feel like I have wasted so much time and money with drops...I always thought I was crazy that NONE helped no matter how many I tried.

Anyway, my insurance never OK'd the "kit" the doc prescribed but basically it was a low dose of doxy and 2 scrubs from occu soft. He has me use the one for more severe dry eyes and has me leave it on overnight. I take a low dose of doxy. I have stopped the Restasis and the occasional eye gel. Doc recommended BionTears, NAC, and grape seed as well as 1000mg of additional fish oil.

Anyway, I have had some inflammation with the compresses and scrubs. Since it is the 1st time I have really focused on the lid hygine I am guessing some of the irritation is the beginning of "letting it all out". I have seen some improvements overall and have hours and eyen a day here and there that are "good". The doc says it takes months to really get this under control. The doctor said that he sees improvements in my lids and my visit was 20/20 this time instead of 20/25 (the last visit).

I am happy because I feel like there is some hope and some light at the end of the tunnel.

One more thing...when examining my life closely between "good" eye times (times when I never thought about my eyes) and "bad" eye times (when I only thought about my eyes) I can link one thing- washing my eyes. My previous cleanser (during good eye time) was safe for the eye (never burned) and I remember thouroughly cleaning my eyes when I washed my face. The one that I have been using for the last year and a half has AHA's and other ingredients and I have purposely tried to not get it in my eyes...but, I think I neglected their hygine because I didnt want to dry them out! CRAZY! How come I missed this? I guess because I was told I had no bleph or MGD. UGH!

Anyway- all of my encouragement goes out to first finding the cause then the answer....this eye doc said there is no reason why this cant come under control which means comfortable eye days...

[Lucy]

Anyway, my insurance never OK'd the "kit" the doc prescribed but basically it was a low dose of doxy and 2 scrubs from occu soft. He has me use the one for more severe dry eyes and has me leave it on overnight. I

Autumnn- Are you saying you "wear" the occusoft scrub on your eye over night? Can you explain this to us? Thanks. Lucy

[autumnn]

Hi Lucy- The doc said to use the occusoft plus lid scrub (i have the foam)...he indicated it would be good to leave it on overnight. this is also indicated on the bottle of the "plus" one (not the other one). basically i wash with it rinse and then apply a small amount on the lash line.....he said that this could help the bleph get under control faster....
my eye doc believes that the bleph is causing the problems....he doesnt like using drops on patients like me who only seem to get worse with all of them (lotemax, restasis, preservative free, gel, etc).......

[Lucy]

Thanks, Autumnn.
I'll look for the Ocusoft soon as I havent bought any lately. It sounds like the doc thinks leaving the foam on the eye (lashline-not in the eye) overnight will help "kill the critters" that bug us so much. (Sorry about the pun.) It must soften, or unclog, the glands overnight. When you wash in the morning, the "stuff" is easier to clean off. (This is my rendition of what you said.)

I've not heard this before and anything we hear that's reasonable is always good to read about and possibly try. Thanks. If my rendition is off, please let me know so I don't do it incorrectly!

Lucy

[autumnn]

Hi Lucy- That was the way it was explained to me and it is actually indicated (for some cases) on the bottle....bleph is confusing but it does make sense to attack it like this