Newbie Seeking Location Advice

[jlcabral]

Hi Everyone,

I found this site through the Dry Eye Shop and have been trying to read as much as I can here, but it's difficult to look at the computer screen.

I started mild dry eye symptoms two years ago after a posterior capsulotomy. Then on June 2nd I had cataract surgery on my left eye and spent 6 days in bed, as using my eyes for longer than 4 hours left me with so much eye strain I couldn't do anything else. I now know it was dry eye, although at the time I thought it was because they popped a blood vessel while giving me the shot.

I forced myself out of bed and went to Ohio to visit my mother. I was immediately, wonderfully better. I live in the southern foothills of Denver at 6400 feet in the summer, and Phoenix, AZ in the winter.

I returned from Ohio and things got worse and worse. Now I'm hanging on by a thread. I am on Restasis (since 8/18), analogous serum drops (since 8/28), and doxycycline (since 9/8). I currently have to use Refresh or GenTeal PM ointment four times a day and disable my worst eye with an eyepatch. My glasses are not built for focusing with one eye, so this renders me essentially blind.

I need help deciding the best location to spend the winter. Which is more important, dewpoint or humidity? I have my choice of three places:

Phoenix - advantages are indoor pool and steam room in our community, sea level, dewpoints 30 to 40. However, low humidity, especially in the afternoons. Air conditioning needed November only.

Seattle (a friend will let me live in her house all winter). Listed on one report here on Dry Eye Talk as the #1 best place. Still dewpoints are only 30-40, but humidity is quite high, and no air conditioning is needed.

Central Florida - rent a place for the winter near to a good friend. Dew points range from 50 to 65, which sounds heavenly. Would find place with pool. Disadvantage is air conditioning needed a lot of the time. Bradenton, central FL is listed as the #2 best place on the same report.

So, if you had this choice, which one would you choose? I am desperate and need to go to the best place to give me the most help for my eyes until Restasis kicks in. Denver is the #1 worst place on the list due to the altitude, so I really need to get out of here. Also the dew points in Denver drop into the 10-20 degree range all winter.

Thanks in advance for all your experience, knowledge, and just being here!

Jan

[msienkiewicz]

Jan,

If it were me, I would go to Florida. The dew and humidity are helpful, but the sunshine is a plus to ward off the depression that often accompanies this evil especially in the winter months. You are blessed to have so many options.

Best wishes,
Melissa

[Sammy B.]

Humidifier?

Jan,

Have you tried purchasing a humidifier for your house, at least putting one in your bedroom, to see if your symptoms improve? If it works, it would make LEAVING your house less attractive, but it would be a good way to get comfortable until you make your move.

I live around Central Florida (on the coast, however) and I must say the humidity levels are high. However, I believe in the Pacific Northwest (strictly on the coast), the humidity levels are higher than in Florida, and minus the heat (more enjoyable). I recently found this link that I thought was very interesting:

http://www.usairnet.com/weather/maps...tive-humidity/

If you keep your eye on this link every day, it may help you to make your decision.

What does your doctor say about your current condition? Do they expect any further healing of the eyes?

- Rose

[jlcabral]

Thanks Melissa and Rose for your suggestions. The depression that goes with constant dull grey/rainy weather is something I know well after living in Ohio for 30 years, and an excellent point!

I talked to my doctor yesterday and she said if I can go to Florida, I should be much more comfortable, so the plan now is to spend Oct thru Dec 15th in Florida, come back to Colorado for the holidays, then go to Arizona from January thru April. The hope is that 3-4 months of Restasis and Serum will kick in by the end of the year, and I'll get my life back!

Rose, I do have a humidifier in my bedroom - it's impossible with the rest of this house due to vaulted ceilings. We actually have a whole-house humidifier also, but it only works when the heat is on (it is attached to the furnace), and still only keeps the humidity at about 30%. Thanks for the relative humidity link - I will watch it daily

Jan

[Sammy B.]

Hygrometer

Jan,

That's great that you've gotten some direction and have a plan of action! I think there is probably further healing you can do so try to think positively if you can.

I wanted to let you know that, thanks to this DEZ website, I decided to purchase a small hygrometer to see how my eyes are doing in different levels of humidity. I got it on Amazon (it's made by Western Instruments, it was a whopping $8, it is analog and no battery is required) - here's the link to it:

http://www.amazon.com/CigarsEtc-West...3114272&sr=8-4

At the very least, it has been interesting to carry with me to see how my eyes are doing in different conditions. It is pocket sized, so I put it on the nightstand in the evenings, in my car in the mornings/afternoons, and on my desk at work during the day. I was shocked to see the humidity level in our bedroom at 60% when I first got this new "toy," but then shocked even more to see that the level dropped to 40% after we shut the door to the bedroom and retired for the night (we have 4 cats and they tend to yowl all night - hence the closing of the door). With this said, I know that adding a humidifier to my room at night to bring the level back up is a must!!

The things we find out when a little science is involved, eh??

At any rate, good luck with your plan. Please let us know how you do on the serum drops. There are a lot of us on this board who are interested in the efficacy of these.

Thank you,
Rose

[Lucy]

I live in Michigan and am aware of the grey days of winter. Some months we get only 5% of the available daily sunshine. Ugh.

I have been to AZ a couple of times, but that was before my dry eyes. My sister just bought a house in central-west Florida. We have visited her the past couple of years during Feb-March and the humidity was quite comfortable. Sorry I can't give you any numbers. The weather during this time isn't terribly hot----nice during the day and cool at night.

Best to you whatever you decide. Be sure and report back to us. Lucy

[Sammy B.]

Well I can report some numbers!! I brought my hygrometer outside and put it on the porch so you could have an idea of what you're in for, Jan.

Tonight, it rained a bit and while the hygrometer was outside the temp was around 78 degrees. Hygrometer reads at almost 90% humidity in these conditions. Of course once I brought the meter inside it's down to about 50%...but we have a powerful new A/C.

- Rose

[Guest]

Jan,

Regarding your whole-home humidifier only running when the furnace goes on to heat the house...

You may want to look into the following 2 things with a furnace contracter:
1) Get your furnace set so that the fan can run continuously (even if it is not producing heat).

2) Run the water supply for your humidifier from your hot water tank (rather than the usual set up of your cold water supply).

If you can get those two things done, it should enable your humidifier to pump out a LOT more humidity, plus it will be able to maintain your desired humidity level year round, regardless of whether or not the heat is on. This is how we have ours set up, and it allows me to keep the humidity at 50% for most of the year. The only exception is wintertime, when I have to turn it down to 25% or so in order to prevent moisture from condensing on the windows.

Sheralyn

[jlcabral]

All - thank you for your helpful suggestions and interest. I do have a weather station that measures both indoor and outdoor humidity and I just made a note to myself to take it to Florida with me. Rose - I will bask in 70 plus degree dew point and humidity as high or higher. My body won't like it, but my eyes should love it

Thank you Sheralyn for the information on the whole house humidifier. I will definitely look into that if and when we ever plan on being here in Colorado during the heating season. Right now, we pretty much avoid winter completely via Arizona (and this year a combination of FL and AZ).

I will also report back on the serum drops. I will say that last night my one eye was awful, I put one drop in and felt amazing relief for 45 minutes (more so than any other drop I've tried). But if I understand it correctly, they should help me make more tears, which I desperately need - we all do!