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About nine years ago, my husband began having sever photophobia. His condition has worsened over the years. He stays in the dark most of time. If he leaves the house, he wears a hat with a large brim and dark shades. He can't read because it causes vertigo. He can't watch video because it causes him stabbing eye and head pain and diarrhea. He uses a sleep mask when he rides in the car. He routinely has nausea and diarrhea. He has frequent migraines and strong trigeminal nerve pain.
He has been to specialists at Boston Foundation for Sight, Moran Eye Institute, and Emory University. He has tried tons of different therapies.
In February, he had one drop of Atropine put in each eye. Within 24 hours, his trigeminal nerve pain had dropped to the lowest it had been in years. His eye pain and migraines also decreased significantly. He was even able to watch a few movies with only moderate pain. His eyes were sore at times (probably from being dilated for a week) and his near vision was extremely blurry.
That was two weeks ago. My husband’s pain has increased since then, but is still lower than before this test.
The results of this test point to part of his problem being caused by some type of ciliary spasm. Our eye doctor believes that the longer the ciliary muscle is relaxed, the more likely that my husband’s symptoms will decrease. He is recommending that we try using 1 drop of Atropine in each eye once a week for up to a month and see what happens to my husband's symptoms.
This is the first hope we have had in almost a decade. But, we want to be cautious. We have two concerns. First, we're concerned about keeping the pupils dilated for a month. Muscles atrophy and we don't want to do any further harm to my husbands eyes. Second, Atropine contains benzalkonium chloride. We're concerned about using drops for a month that contain benzalkonium chloride. It would only be four drops at most, but our understanding is that benzalkonium chloride stays in the eye for over a week. So it wouldn't be out of my husband's eye before the next drop was administered.
I know there is a ton in this message, but if anyone has had any similar experiences or has insight into treating ciliary spams or short term use of Atropine, I'd appreciate your advice.
All my best
Karen
He has been to specialists at Boston Foundation for Sight, Moran Eye Institute, and Emory University. He has tried tons of different therapies.
In February, he had one drop of Atropine put in each eye. Within 24 hours, his trigeminal nerve pain had dropped to the lowest it had been in years. His eye pain and migraines also decreased significantly. He was even able to watch a few movies with only moderate pain. His eyes were sore at times (probably from being dilated for a week) and his near vision was extremely blurry.
That was two weeks ago. My husband’s pain has increased since then, but is still lower than before this test.
The results of this test point to part of his problem being caused by some type of ciliary spasm. Our eye doctor believes that the longer the ciliary muscle is relaxed, the more likely that my husband’s symptoms will decrease. He is recommending that we try using 1 drop of Atropine in each eye once a week for up to a month and see what happens to my husband's symptoms.
This is the first hope we have had in almost a decade. But, we want to be cautious. We have two concerns. First, we're concerned about keeping the pupils dilated for a month. Muscles atrophy and we don't want to do any further harm to my husbands eyes. Second, Atropine contains benzalkonium chloride. We're concerned about using drops for a month that contain benzalkonium chloride. It would only be four drops at most, but our understanding is that benzalkonium chloride stays in the eye for over a week. So it wouldn't be out of my husband's eye before the next drop was administered.
I know there is a ton in this message, but if anyone has had any similar experiences or has insight into treating ciliary spams or short term use of Atropine, I'd appreciate your advice.
All my best
Karen