My long-winded intro :-)

[Rachael]

Hello there. I just thought I'd introduce myself. My name Rachael. I'm 27 years old and have lived with dry eyes since the age of 17. Of course, back then I didn't know what it was. I wore contacts and would be in pain by the end of the school day. My eye pain feels more like a headache around my eyes, so I thought I was suffering from sinus headaches. I ended up taking tylenol sinus for about six months straight every evening before I figured out the link between my contacts and my pain.

Now, 10 years later I can't wear my contacts for more than two hours without paying for it for three days or so. I pretty much only wear them to church and only if I'm feeling like it's going to be an okay eye day. Even still, I'll come home and nap for three hours because I have to rest my tired eyes. I'm just going to have to give in and say glasses are okay...but I'm one of those silly people who feel like a whole new person with my contacts in. (looks-wise)

I never get red eyes, my pain is more of an ache around the eyes, and a little bit of throbbing in the eyeball. Just high sensitivity is the best I can describe it. I'm super sensitive to light too. (we won't even get into my huge pupils!) The only time I usually *notice* the dryness is mornings, and that is definitely getting worse as I get older. I sometimes notice it after long reading sessions. My contacts are always bone dry when I take them out as well.

I just ordered Dwelle and the Twilight sleep mask so I'm going to give those a try. I haven't yet experienced my eyelids being glued shut, but I can feel my lids scrape my eyeballs a lot of mornings. It takes about ten minutes for them to moisten up and to get my eyes moving so I can wake up. I haven't been doing drops in the morning yet, only because drops are like a cold stabbing pain when they are so dry. But, I'm going to try again with the Dwelle.

I've done punctal plugs. I wasn't comfortable going intracanicular, so I got the ones with the flange. Wow, I HATED them. They poked and scraped my eyes so bad. I'd wake up with the corners of my eyes red and itchy. I gave them a few months, even with some falling out and readjustments. After one of the last two fell out I just pulled the other out. Never again! They didn't even help my dry eye at that.

I used to work at an eye doctor's office when I was 21 or so. She was fascinated that I didn't make much of an oily layer for being as young as I was. When people ask me about my dry eye, that's what I've always told them, "I don't make much of an oily layer." So it's nice to finally gather from reading that I probably have a MGD. I woke up a few weeks ago with small clear cysts on my lower lids. They were so small I only saw them while I was putting on my eye makeup. I freaked out and thought it was an after effect of the plugs. The eye doc just assured me that it was clogged oil glands and he scraped them off. (We just moved to town and this is a totally different doc than the ones who put in my plugs. He tried to tell me my plugs were still in when I know they aren't because I pulled one out and the other fell out! He was pretty old school and even admitted I needed to come back to his younger fellow doctor, because she knew more about plugs )

I ran out yesterday and bought knee highs and rice to start my warm compresses. I've also been using q-tips and saline to do a lid wash, and taking Fish Oil supplements. I couldn't buy it all at once from the Shop, even though I wanted to :-)

So, I really need to find a good doc in my area that deals with Dry Eye. I am in the St. Louis vicinity. Anybody know of a good doc around here? Any eye doctor I've been to acts like I'm dumb and they are smart and I don't know what kind of pain I'm in. I'm ready for one who wants to help.

Oh, and I also deal with Stage IV four endometriosis. I'm almost positive that the two are linked hormonally. So when I'm not in pain from one, I'm in pain from the other.....or even more fun, in pain with both.

Thanks for listening. I look forward to getting to know you all!

[liz56]

Hi, Rachael.

You've been putting up with these problems for some time. I'm sorry to hear that.

I am confused about the eye-socket pain. That would be the thing that I would most want to end. What do your doctors say about that? It might be worth asking Dr. Holly a couple of questions, since he not only looks at the physiology of tear film but also the mechanics of the eye lid. If your eyes are not producing enough oils OR if they are not distributing the oils efficiently, there may be some issue with the muscles surrounding the eye lids and in the lids themselves that is causing tension, and maybe the resulting ache. Your saying that you can feel the eye lid scrape on the eye in the morning seems to say something about dryness but might also hint at a mechanical problem.

That's just a thought.

Glad to hear that you will give Dwelle a try. It certainly is worth a try and will help out if oil is not being produced or not being distributed efficiently. I've been very grateful for that drop. It changed everything around for me.

Best wishes,
Liz

[shells]

Hi Rachael!

Sorry to hear you have been suffering so long. Glad you found this site though, there is so much great information. I think if your oil glands are clogged, the warm compresses and good lid hygiene can go a long way for you. It can take some time before you see a difference, but just keep at it, and hopefully things will improve.

I had the same experience with punctum plugs. I could feel them scratching my eyes every time I moved. I also did not want intracanalicular (due to the risks), but was comfortable with the kind that dissolved. I've had them inserted many times. Right now I have 6 month dissolvable plugs, lower and upper, in my left eye, and I think it is helping. They might be an option if you determine that you want to try plugs again.

My oil glands are generally working OK, but I have a very low schirmers). However I have the same ache that you describe. I get alot of headaches too when my eyes are really dry, and it just feels like my eyes are too big for their sockets. Like they are swelling or something, and that is creating the pressure/ache. We are about the same age, but I am confident I know what caused my dry eye.......LASIK 3 years ago. If you've read around this site, you probably already know this, but make sure you don't turn to LASIK as an alternative to your uncomfortable contacts, as it could potentially make things much worse.

Anyway, welcome and I hope you are able to improve your symptoms with some of the tips here. I also hope that you can find a good doc soon!

-Shells

[Terri]

Rachael: Take nighttime eye protection very seriously. It sounds like you are sleeping with your lids partially open and, if so, you'll be amazed how much better you will feel once you address that. You can easily test this by taping our eyes shut at night for three or four nights (after you apply a drop of Dwelle). If you get any tape adhesive buildup, you can use adhesive remover (which you can purchase online or at a drugstore that has a good selection of home health products).

[Rachael]

Liz56,

Thank you for mentioning the "lid mechanics" idea. I honestly have never heard of that and it is definitely something to look into. I'll peek into Dr. Holly's forum and may ask him about the socket pain.

Shells,

I may give the dissolvables a try someday if I can't get it under control. One thing I did not have was my uppers plugged. I will definitely try that next time if I ever go that route again. The lowers seemed to help none, but they irritated my eyes so much I felt like I never really knew how well they were working.

Terri,

I'm going to start taking nighttimes more seriously, I promise :-) That's why I bought the Dwelle and sleep mask. I'm hoping those help a bit. Next step is convincing my husband to get rid of our fan(it doesn't point on us...but I know it's still drying the air out) and sleep with a humidifier.....Oh and is this adhesive remover something specifically for skin?

Thank you all for your help and advice. I'm sorry I didn't get my replies quoted to each poster. I haven't quite figured that out yet!

[Jade]

St. Louis area

I had refractive eye surgery in the early 90's and was told I was the only person who had the severe dry eyes afterward. St. Louis was actually one of the places that I traveled to, looking for help. I went to a place called the Anheuser-Busch Eye Institute. (They didn't help my dry eyes)