The Beginning of the Journey

[gillimar]

Hi! My name is actually Jill & I'm 51. My work is with computers & I'm guessing that's the source of the problem. I like my work & don't want to give it up. I'd like to find a way to manage the problem.

It's only been about 4 months since the beginning of my eye problems & before I had even heard of dry eyes as a syndrome.

I saw the Dr & he prescribed antibiotics, to cure or rule out infection, I guess. They didn't help the problem. Then I went to the optomitrist to rule out aggravation because I needed new lenses. She told me I had 'dry eyes'. I thought, thank goodness it's nothing serious & some eye drops should do the trick. Right!

The pain of the dryness wakes me up & I can't open my eyes & the only way I can do it is to put drops on my closed eyes & try & work them into a small gap. There isn't any crustiness, it's like my eyeballs are glued to the inside of my lids. Finally able to open my eyes a bit, I have to do this in steps as any big movements of the eyes & any light are painful. This process takes a very long half hour or so before I can feel a little normal. The rest of my day is not too bad. The eyes feel gritty & tired but managable.

I guess this sounds pretty familiar to a lot of you. It's still new to me, but I went back to the Dr & he gave me a script for Poly Gel 0.3 % & have a referral to a specialist (who hasn't answered their phone yet) & hopefully an understanding one. Time will tell.

I've been reading a lot of posts on this site & as of yesterday I have a pair of Tranquileyes on order & use Sustayne preservative free drops & a vaporiser operating in my bedroom all night. This morning I used it to help my eyes by putting my face over the steam (at a safe distance) & it seemed to help if only by feeling soothing. I can't put a warm compress on my eyes in the morning because they won't take the pressure. I know the pain will be there when I wake up after about 5 hours & I've been avoiding going back to sleep , but this morning I did. It means going through it all again, but at least I've had enough sleep & that's gotta help.

It's a learning curve for me from now on & I'm grateful to you all for sharing your information & coping skills. Thanks.

[liz56]

Hi, gillimar, and welcome!

I also have a job that requires a lot of computer time, and long hours really bother me, too.

If your treatments with your doctor don't work out, you might want to ask him if Dwelle would help. It does a lot for me, but I have other (corneal) problems, too, in addition to dry eye.

Your instance of not being able to open your eyes in the morning sounds familiar. I suffer from "recurrent corneal erosions," and symptoms include cornea sticking to eyelids in the morning, a foreign-object feeling, blurry vision, an dry, uncomfortable eyes. My erosions were so bad at points that my cornea's epithelium tore during sleep, waking me up in pain with tearing and blurred vision for three days. I hope that yours are not that severe. It does not sound like it.

Rebecca put up an interesting entry on her dry-eye blog not long ago about damage to goblet cells from extremely low levels of emissions from things like computer screens. I'll look for it for you.

I'm sorry that you are here, because that means that you cannot take your eyes for granted. I hope that you find something that helps!

Best wishes,
Liz

[liz56]

I found Rebecca's post: Abstract: ELF MF and dry eye.

[gillimar]

Not as bad as some

Thanks for your help Liz.

Although I feel my symptoms are severe, after reading your story & many others, I know that so far I'm doing ok.

Apart from the early morning horrors, I've only had a few days where I've been out of action for the full day. Felt a bit like a mogwai going 'bright light!!', 'bright light!!'

I live in Australia & don't seem to be able to locate Dwelle. Guessing it's a US product.

Good wishes

Jill

[Silverlady]

dry eye shop

Rebecca maintains a line of hard to get items on this site. Just look at the top right for the big tear drop and click on it. I've never used Dwelle but others have with success. I use GenTeal Gel for severe dry eyes at night along with the Tranquileye goggles. In the daytime I use TheraTears along with Restasis twice a day.

I'm not sure if the Dry Eye Shoppe ships to Australia but someone else may know. Good luck, it's all trial and error in my opinion. You must remember to use drops, rest your eyes (I know it's hard), blink when you put drops in. I've been thru the stuck eyelids routine. Good luck.

Billye

[gillimar]

Dry Eye Shop

Thanks for help Billye. I'm learning all the time. I'll try GenTeal Gel first as it's available in Aust.

Good wishes

Jill

[mlittlem]

New to the Journey

Hi Jill,

Welcome to the long, hard journey.

Fortunately you are still able to work. I have found the condition so debilitating that after 2 years of struggling to perform my job functions, I was forced to go out on ST Disability (been on it for about 3 1/2 months). I am now desperate to find some relief so that I can return to work. I am absolutely bored staying home.

As far as the sleeping, I can certainly sympathize. I am miserable when I am awake, but fearful to go to sleep because I know the hell that I go through during the evening with the eyes drying out. I now am forced to take Ambien to sleep otherwise I only get 2-3 hours per night.

Thank you for the reminder on the humidifier. I shall have to try that route again.

I am not familiar with the Poly Gel. Please let me know what this is (antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, lubricant) and whether you have any success with it.

I hate to break the news to you, but I continually hear that the problem for us is age-related. I too am 51 and this is what I am told. I am sure that you too have gotten the changing hormone explanation.

Please keep me apprised of your progress. I would love to hear.

[Lucy]

The age factor is something the doctors throw at us to make it easy for them. If you're a patient over (maybe) 40 or so, they can tell you this and be correct and feel they are doing their job. It is true that age does bring on dry eye issues sometimes, but if that's truly the case, the doc needs to work with you and give you some relief. I got that "older" thing 9 years ago when I had Lasik, but then as time went on, more and more younger women AND men were having the same trouble.

Dry eye docs are hard to find. Don't be satisfied with the age thing. If they can't help you, find out another doctor. Also on this website, if a person really takes time to read some important key information, you can learn most of the stuff we do to take care of this problem. It's a maintenance issue in many cases.

Good Luck, Lucy