Newbie Trying to Cope...

[NYDoll]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post (obviously) and it's long, so please bear with me.

I found this website in my internet travels looking for information on dry eyes and the different symptoms that accompany it. Needless to say, I'm a bit overwhelmed and pretty concerned.

This is my basic story, and all comments/advice is appreciated.

I've been wearing contact lenses for roughly 16 years nonstop (i'm 36). As as many of you have confessed, I, too, have abused the privilege. I've slept in them and never bothered with glasses at all. But I never had any real problems until about 7 weeks ago.

I discovered a haziness in my right eye. I went to my doctor and she checked me out but she didn't see anything and gave me a referral to see an optho.

I saw one, and after a dilated exam, she told me that I have dry eyes, probably due to contact lense overuse. She inserted collagen plugs and told me to use drops. Now, I think that I should mention a few things:

1) I'm highly myopic. I was wearing a -10 in contacts and something like a -13 or 14 in glasses (I'm geting another refraction today, so I'll find out for sure.)

2) I'm a web designer, so I spend a LOT of time on the computer.

3) I'm a horrible insomniac, and because of that, I would spend that time on the computer working. Horribly, that would have me online as many as 16 hours a day. I'm getting better in that area thanks to sleeping pills, but I'm not cured of it yet.

Now, before the haziness began, I decided to get myself some glasses (something I'd been putting off for a long time) because I wanted to start giving my eyes a rest from lenses when I was at home.

It's been a nightmare to put it mildly. Apparently, I'm one of these people that need "less" vision for reading and "more" for everything else. So, my Rx in glasses are -12.50, but from what I understand, they should be stronger (hence the refraction today). I'm also going to be seeing a contact lens specialist on Tuesday. But, at first, I was having terrible headaches and nausea as my eyes/body made the adjustment. I'm still not completely there, as it's only been a week, but at least I'm not sick anymore.

The journey thus far has been... difficult. Mainly because I don't have all of the pain and horrible symptoms that seem to be associated with dry eye. I can definitely feel it upon waking, but there's no redness or other symptoms. Mostly, I'm dealing with haziness (which has now started in my left eye as well), and focusing issues. I've had two exams with an optho inside of a week, and they're amazingly lax in regard to my concerns. I'm the mother of a special needs child, I *have* to work, a career change isn't an option. Worse, I haven't seen many people (if any) say that they have my symptoms.

Have any of you dealt with hazy vision? It's sort of like looking through a light fog, and sometimes words will go out of focus, but will return after *several* blinks. Also, at times when I blink, a mucus-like film will cover my eyes -again, vanishing with a few blinks.

Being a high myope is scary in itself, as I've been told that I have retinal thinning (I see a retinal specialist, at my own insistence, in Nov). The Opthos, two different ones at that, both say that I have no infections or cornea swelling (which I understand can cause hazy vision), and I get the distinct feeling that they wanted to tell me that some of this was "in my head". Sorry, but "mist" in the vision isn't something one imagines. They do, however, both say that they feel this is happening because of the dry eyes and I need to "lay off" contacts and lubricate often.

Strangely, I was not given more plugs, nor was I even given a prescription for tears. In fact, I wasn't even told which tears I should purchase on my own, in their opinion. All of this comes from the NY Eye and Ear, a supposedly prestigious eye care center, but I feel... let down.

On a side note, I'm using "Refresh Dry Eye Therapy". It's a bit thick and takes a minute to bring back normal vision when applied. Do any of you have experience with these? Can anyone make a recommendation for which tears I should try? When I asked the optho about that brand, she said, "You can use any artificial tears". Which, to me, sounds really...

I'm sure you can see what I'm getting at.

I'm afraid of losing my sight (and I'm sure you can all relate). I'm not 100% certain that dry eye is causing the haze. I feel like these doctors aren't really listening to me, especially when I told them that I saw flashes of light in my peripheral viison. To which they said, "If it's happening in dark rooms and not broad daylight, it's not related and nothing to worry about. Keep an eye on them and an increase in floaters (I've had floaters since childhood)." I left there even less optimistic about my eyes than when I arrived.

I cry a lot; I'm depresed, and most of all, just plain old scared. I have other issues, such as strange headaches that bring pain to the backs of my eyes, muscle strain that I have to take physical therapy for, and this is just like one more horrible blow. It's almost like falling apart in slow motion.

Thanks for letting me get this out. It's so encouraging being in the company of people that truly understand the fear and uncertainty. Just reading posts here made me feel much better than talking to an MD did.

Here's to everyone having a good eye day,
NYDoll

[Lucy]

Hello NY Doll-
I read your whole post, which I normally don't if it's long. You were very good at giving detail about your problems and your pain came through, both physical and mental! I want to say that I can relate to being a high myope. I was -9.5 prior to lasik surgery 8 years ago. Lasik is another story and why I'm here. Don't go there, whatever you do. At least beware of anyone telling you "that" would cure your problem.

My grown daughter is -10 also and wears soft contacts and has for 20 years, so I can relate even moreso what problems can come up. Although she wears soft contacts, she works in chemicals and is not allowed to wear contact lens at work, so she has to work with -10 safety glasses. She cannot drive wearing her glasses because the vision is not good enough.

I'm also going to be seeing a contact lens specialist on Tuesday. But, at first, I was having terrible headaches and nausea as my eyes/body made the adjustment. I'm still not completely there, as it's only been a week, but at least I'm not sick anymore.

This is probably the best thing you can do - try to find someone to work with you being fit for suitable contact lens. With your RX, your vision is very distorted etc with glasses. We all know the trick, the smaller the lens, the better and less distortion. Fortunately small lens are now stylish, although I've seen bigger coming in. Not good for high myopes.

**Your optical company might be able to "fix" your prescription if it's within 30 days of the RX. Some do, so see if you're within that timeframe and go in and see what will work. With this high RX, your eyes, body and brain have a lot of adjustment to do and it's no wonder you are having headaches, nausea, etc.

Haze--remember I'm no doc, just someone who has been on eye boards a long time, but a couple of things come to mind. You are a bit young, but cataracts cause hazy vision. I doubt this is your problem, but it could be. Actually, if it was cataracts and you had IOL surgery, it would fix your large RX and cataracts in one operation! DRY EYES can also be causing the haziness and your doctor will be able to go over this with you in more detail. I hope I did not scare you with the mention of cataracts, but perhaps the docs wouldn't think of it either because you are too young. But ask!

Drops are largely a personal matter and what works for one doesn't work for another. If you think Refresh Dry Eye Therapy is too thick, try Thera Tears. They come preservative-free in the single use vial, although you can get more than one dose out of one vial. That is a good, basic standby drop if you're just getting the "feel" of what works and what doesn't. Not sure if you use something heavier at night, but perhaps the Refresh stuff at night, or GenTeal Gel would help. I'm sorry I wrote a novel here, but I hope I've helped. If you need to talk anytime, you can PM or email me. I'm sure others will stop by and give advice or say hi if I didn't scare them off.

Lucy

[calli66]

Hi NYDoll, and a warm welcome to Dry Eye Talk from a fellow high myope (-8.00). You may be having accommodation strain from working at the computer so many hours while wearing your full strength contact lenses or glasses. Although you are a bit young to be starting actual presbyopia, your eye muscles and focusing muscles may be in a chronic state of fatigue. This can cause headaches and eye aches.

I used reading glasses (the kind you can buy in a drugstore) over my contacts for all close work--started doing this in my late 30's--even though I could see OK close up. It relieves the strain. And it's better to wear a weaker pair of glasses for close work (if you end up having to give up on wearing contacts). For example, I have 2 pairs of glasses: -8.00 for distance and -6.75 for the computer.

The problem with words on the monitor going in and out of focus: if the external eye muscles are fatigued, they may not be converging accurately or steadily---this disrupts the normal binocularity you're used to.

The haze or film: is this something you notice with your contacts in, or not? I had the same thing happen this year---I thought my contacts were drying and going opaque, but then realized there were deposits collecting on the insides of my lenses. I had to remove the lenses and rub them with saline solution---but the deposits would come back. My dry eyes were producing "gunk." Dry eyes produce more debris and mucous. Also, the cornea is not as clear as it would normally be, if it is dry. So your blinking is spreading tear film and clearing away debris---but is not working at efficiently as it normally does, so you're noticing it.

Please don't ignore the light flashes. I can't believe an ophthalmologist would be so irresponsible as to suggest that they're only important if you notice them in daylight. I had flashes (several years ago)--in the dark--and went that day to my eye doctor. I had a vitreous detachment with a slight bleed of the retina (healed with no complication). The flashes are caused by tugging and pulling on the retina---and retinal detachment is serious. My eye doctor told me that if I ever saw a "rain of little black dots" in my visual field to go to a retina specialist or the emergency room immediately. (black dots are blood cells--bleeding. Not the same as floaters, although vitreous detachments sometimes create big old floaters).

Sorry to be alarming, but these retina problems are something we high myopes have to be conscious of.

Calli

[Jade9923]

Many of us have had to see up to 10 doctors before they figured out what why we had dry eyes and what we could do to help our pain. Also, I have
-12 eyes and have had 2 retinal tears, which are common at that level.