Thank you , Thank you!!

[Rich S.]

Hi All

So pleased just wanted to say a big thank you to you all and a what is a wonderfull helpfull understanding site!

After over 40 yrs of dry eye ( and that really grinds you down as you all know) i have just put together my best week with dry eye for years and years and its been cold windy horrible weather this week here in the UK.

Only diagnosed with dry eye approx 2 yrs ago after the usual numerous visits to Gps ,hospitals , specialists etc, nearly every drop and cream and pill going also Homeopathy, diets , colonics ,allergy tests, blood tests,hynotism ,cleansing oh yes plenty of cleansing,etc.etc. All to no avail in fact worse!!

Years in all weathers here in the UK all my working life in fact working as a builder. I didnt have good days only bad and very bad 7 days a week esp in the last 20 yrs and although a bubbly character this complaint just drains it out of you and sends you into a depression as you all know a messes with your whole life!!

So on finding this web site and on your advice i took these following steps;

1; One drop of Ultra Clintas 3 ( a new drop to me but recommended on here and available in the UK £7.99 internett) 1/2 hr before bed.

2; Home made rice baggy in bed for 10+ mins followed by a minute or two of eyelid massarge.

3; Put a 99p black eyemask on really great tip helps a lot for a good sleep and i must have slept with my eyes open for yrs as i now wake up feeling great as before my eyes were stinging within 20 seconds of waking!


4; Wake up ,lid scrub using hot salty water and a ladys ( yeah i know) masscara brush, really good!

5; 1/2 hr later and before i walk out the door to go to work another rice baggy 10 mins again and a massarge of the eyelids for a few minutes.

6; The odd salty scrub through the day if im home but not very often so a scrub after work or another rice baggy.

7; Riboflavin B tablets 2 a day.

8; And last but certainly not least as this i possibly a great tip , Im not using Nivea (dry skin cream) on my forehead /nose like before, being out in all weathers my skin does get slightly dry but ive left this out now after reading it can creap into your eyes!

There you are, all learnt on here and to have 1/2 a day without the dry eye stinging ,watering etc etc etc and all that goes with it is good but a whole day wow and ive just done 7 days

I know it can all go pear shaped again and im far from cured but those days of relief are just sheer magic and to be enjoyed while i can.

Thank you all again ,will keep in touch im not going anywhere ive only just found you.

Rich.

ps; Do hope maybe these tips might help other people ,hope so.

[eva b]

congratulations!

absolutely delighted for you Rich - I can't imagine what it must have been like for you working outside in all weathers for all those years!

Like you, I've learned more from this site than all the various so-called specialists over the years...and it has cost me nothing, a well

It truly is amazing how small steps and different routines can help our condition so much - and it continues to amaze and infuriate me how much ignorance and downright uncaringness one encounters out there in the medical community!

Three cheers for Dry Eye Zone, ey?

[liz56]

Great News!

Hi, Rich.

Thanks for sharing your successes with us! I hope that when new people come, you also share with them, even if it feels like you are being redundant. I know that even though there were posts on these boards that dealt with my problem when I first came, having live people tell me tips was so encouraging.

Thanks, again, for the good news!

--Liz

[Rich S.]

Hi All

Well another 2 weeks on and on the hole im generally very pleased the dry eye stinging is not to bad compaired with how it used to be and i must say ive just put together the best 3 weeks for years and years.

Trouble is im having a spell now over the last few days where my eyes just dont feel as good as they did a few weeks ago ,they feel like the dry eye symptons are waiting to start all over again , and the more you worry about it the more im sure its going to start again.

But i suppose after 40 yrs of dry eye to have a good 3 week break is fantastic in itself. Im still doing the tips as per my first post all from this site ,thank you.

So my questions to you are; have you had relapses? are they frequent,i did think it was to good to be true to after all my years of dry eye.

And also another question, my problems does seem to be Mem. gland function related ,ive noticed that i still have big trouble with the cold wind when outside very uncomfortable for my eyes ,can somone explain please what this is and the causes, is it tear evaporation that ive been reading about and can we make it better?

many thanks

look forward to any replies.

Rich.

[eva b]

relapses

Hi Rich
sorry to hear about your slight relapse...it's certainly something I've experienced. And, for me, it doesn't take too much either

Getting a loose eyelash stuck and all the fiddling about with trying to prise it out can really set off a 24 hour irritation. Lack of sleep, getting anxious about something, too much reading or computer work...specially being out in wind or cold weather.

Are you wearing goggles or protective eyewear when you're outside? if I go out without my goggles I'm done for for the rest of the day!

You say you suspect your problems are mainly MGD related - so are mine. I see you do plenty of hot massages, which I think are the most important thing for us.

Now, I'm not advising you to do the same as me, because I'm not qualified and we're all different, but I found that doing lid scrubs made my eyes more irritated, even with just plain bicarbonate of of soda. Mind you, my bleph doesn't produce mucus or crusting, so there is nothing much to scrub off. I sort of came to the conclusion that rubbing my eyelid margins after doing the hot compresses to stimulate meibomian flow was counter-productive, and more likely to compromise the tear film. So I just gently wipe the edges of the eyelashes with damp cotton wool pads.

Of course, if you have a lot of crusting or flakes you need to take a more vigorous approach, but it worked for me.

I think we all have setbacks - keep up the good work and I'm sure your long term comfort will improve

[Terri]

Rich: I have been using Dwelle, Dakrina and NutraTear since early January and, since they're related to the Ultra Clinitas 3 you have been using, I think a lot of the success you've been having recently is due to the unique composition of Doc Holly's drops.

I have had a couple of relapses over the last few months, though, and here's what I'd like to suggest you try to change on your routine, based on what I learned:

1. One of the bad spells I had last month resulted from trying to use up some of my inventory of PF drugstore drops, instead of sticking with NutraTear or Dakrina during the day when needed. (I use Dwelle at night.) My eyes started feeling worse over the course of two days and, luckily, I realized it was the drugstore drops. If you're using something other than Ultra Clinitas 3 during the day, you might want to use one of Doc Holly's other drops instead.

2. I wear Tranquileyes at night, and I have had problems when the eye pads don't hold my eyes closed. When my eyes open underneath the goggles, I believe the surface of my eye becomes abraded or irritated from the exposure. When this happened, I stopped wearing the goggles and taped my dry eye closed for a couple of nights until it healed. If your eyes are opening under your sleep mask (and your sleep mask fits closely enough to touch them), you may want to tape your lids shut for a few days.

3. If you think you have MGD, I'd recommend you follow Dr. Latkany's Home Eye Spa procedure, which he describes in his book. You are almost doing his routine, but instead of massaging your eyelids, he recommends an oil-expression procedure using a Q-Tip that's very effective for clearing MGs.

4. As Eva B recommends, wear eye protection outdoors in the wind! No matter how great you're feeling, exposing your eyes to the blowing wind will set you back. I've been able to greatly reduce my need for eye protection with Doc Holly's drops, but I still wear goggles outside when it's windy.

5. Lastly, I'd recommend you try Ocusoft foaming lid cleaner (or the bicarbonate of soda Eva B recommends) instead of salty water.

Hope this helps.

[stella]

Rich - Have you tried using chloramphenicol eye ointment to your lid margins ? I found a huge leap in improvement in my MGD when i started this
I only use it last thing at night after lid hygiene.The tiniest smear on the lid margin and then on the outside of the eyelid.
It makes your eyelids nice and moist and reduces the bacteria on the lids
You can buy it over the counter at Boots or any chemist.

[Rich S.]

Thanks for all your replies ,great site where you feel not alone after 40 yrs of dry eye i thought i was the only one ,didnt realise this dry eye was such a big problem ,thought it was only me.

Anyway another question for you, i have just found out that the Ultra Clinitas 3 has an opened shelf life of only 28 days and although its still 2/3rds full i will have to throw it away v soon.

So whilst ordering another i thought for the sake of a total £19.98 i might as well order all 3 clintas drops /gels they are;

Clintas hydrate gel

Clintas soothe

Clintas Ultra 3.

Can anyone offer me advice what part of the day to use these and more importantly what each one can do for me.

Also did i read that each of these are comparible to Dr. Hollys drops am i right and if so which is like for like with Dr. Hollys drops??

Many thanks again folks.

ps; bought the above from www.dry-eyes.co.uk