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Hi all. I wish I did not have to be here, but I am glad that I found you guys. I have already learned a lot from this site but still have plenty more to learn. I am one of those people who have severe dry eye because of foolish vanity. I paid thousands of dollars to get an upper eyelid lift, and afterward my eyelids no longer closed. Yesterday marked 7 weeks since my nightmare began. On the plus side, in just the past couple of days my eyelids have begun to close. I think they mostly close when I blink now, but of course I'll need the doc to check that. One day, I hope they will close fully again, both during the day and when I sleep. At first, I went several nights without almost any sleep because of the horror I felt that I could not keep my eyelids shut. Then I found this site and saw that I was not alone. I never knew there were people whose eyes opened during sleep nor that there were so many of you. I am so sorry for all of you who must endure that. I now know exactly how you feel.
The interesting thing I have learned through this experience is that I very likely had dry eye before I got my eyelid lift. Before I had the procedure, I had gone to several eye docs to try to find out why my eyes were always red. I had frequent eye infections, red eyelid rims, constantly bloodshot eyes, a feeling of overall eye ache, the frequent feeling that something was in my eye, and occasional stabbing sensations in one of my eyes. (However, I had nothing like the constant pain that I now have in my eyes. Sigh.) I live in a place where allergies are common, though; and all the docs kept telling me that I just had eye allergies. Still, none of the prescription allergy eyedrops ever helped. If I had known that I had dry eye, I might not have gone through with the eyelid lift. I have learned that this procedure can greatly aggravate dry eye and that the aggravated condition can be permanent. Ah, lucky me. And I got to pay good money to have this happen, too.
Anyway, now that my eyelids are starting to look like they might close on their own (versus my having to get grafts in my lower eyelids to raise them up--uhg), I am ready to address my preexisting dry eye problem. I have already had punctal plugs put in and am using eye drops/gels/lubricants and the moisture goggles. Now I would like to figure out the cause of my problem. I wonder if I might have blepharitis. How might I tell other than red eyelid rims? Is it an easy condition for a doc to diagnose? I am going back to my eye doc later this week and thought I'd ask him about it. He is an oculoplastic surgeon, so perhaps he will not know enough about dry eye? Should I try to find a dry eye specialist? Thanks for all your help in advance!
The interesting thing I have learned through this experience is that I very likely had dry eye before I got my eyelid lift. Before I had the procedure, I had gone to several eye docs to try to find out why my eyes were always red. I had frequent eye infections, red eyelid rims, constantly bloodshot eyes, a feeling of overall eye ache, the frequent feeling that something was in my eye, and occasional stabbing sensations in one of my eyes. (However, I had nothing like the constant pain that I now have in my eyes. Sigh.) I live in a place where allergies are common, though; and all the docs kept telling me that I just had eye allergies. Still, none of the prescription allergy eyedrops ever helped. If I had known that I had dry eye, I might not have gone through with the eyelid lift. I have learned that this procedure can greatly aggravate dry eye and that the aggravated condition can be permanent. Ah, lucky me. And I got to pay good money to have this happen, too.
Anyway, now that my eyelids are starting to look like they might close on their own (versus my having to get grafts in my lower eyelids to raise them up--uhg), I am ready to address my preexisting dry eye problem. I have already had punctal plugs put in and am using eye drops/gels/lubricants and the moisture goggles. Now I would like to figure out the cause of my problem. I wonder if I might have blepharitis. How might I tell other than red eyelid rims? Is it an easy condition for a doc to diagnose? I am going back to my eye doc later this week and thought I'd ask him about it. He is an oculoplastic surgeon, so perhaps he will not know enough about dry eye? Should I try to find a dry eye specialist? Thanks for all your help in advance!