What is it this time!

[CarlM]

Thank you for the compliment . English is not my first language but I have to use it quite a bit so I've been getting better over the years.

That being said, I'm taking notes here. I think I'll go to my GP tomorrow or Monday if it doesn't get better by then. So many things confuse me though. Somehow, I'm not sure what to make of my symptoms and some of the specifics of what I'm experiencing. For instance, and I don't mean to brag here (forgive the bad joke), but I can literally cry - fairly easily too. I can make my eyes water so much that multiple tears come out of each eye and yet my eyes feel raw again like 15 seconds later. And during my two previous experiences having dry eyes for a limited period of time, I used to have the same problem in that I could get my eyes to water, it would stop the foreign body sensation (which I don't currently get) for a few seconds before it came back.

I'm sorry about all those questions that should be asked to a professional, I'm kind of obsessing over this, trying to find the magic cure. I'm mainly worried that it might be chronic and too difficult to treat to get back to some form of comfort.

And yeah I've actually been listening to a few audiobooks to pass time, and I've also downloaded some game shows from Britain. I've bought Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, which so far is amazing, too . Keeping what little eye power I can spare to get some work done, but I won't be able to meet deadlines if it continues with its current intensity. Those ski goggles will only carry me so far...

[spmcc]

Your English is great. Much better than my French, mais oui!

I'm not pushing you away when I keep recommending that you see a specialist/ophthalmologist. It's just that we can only do so much online and as patients ourselves. We pick up tips and share our tricks here and we could inundate you with treatment ideas. However, if they aren't useful for your situation, your frustration will increase. And that's a worse situation!

Just so you know, watery eyes can be a symptom of dry eye. The fact that you can cry might mean something wrt a Sjogren's diagnosis, but it does *not* mean that you don't have dry eyes (read about DE symptoms here: http://www.dryeyezone.com/encyclopedia/symptoms.html). For instance, I can cry tears (sad, happy, irritated tears) even tho my Schirmer's tests are zero in both eyes and have been for a decade+.

Please don't get down. Everyone here understands and wants to help.

À tout à l'heure.

[CarlM]

It's hard not to get down, I haven't been able to do any of the things I like in the last week and I'm not seeing the light at the end of this tunnel. All I see is a lifetime of semi-effective treatment.

And no worries, I never thought you were pushing me away, quite the contrary.

Also what did you mean "The fact that you can cry might mean something wrt a Sjogren's diagnosis"? wrt for worth?

[spmcc]

Also what did you mean "The fact that you can cry might mean something wrt a Sjogren's diagnosis"? wrt for worth?

What I mean about tears/crying: People with very severe Sjogren's often cannot make reflex tears at all, but many people with Sjogren's have at least some reflex tears.

But wrt* dry eyes, often people can and will make tears and sometimes there is even epiphora due to dry eyes.

Carl - you've mentioned that you've seen 3 optometrists. Did they conduct any tests for dry eyes? If so, what were the results?

[spmcc]

As for the open eyes at night, that might affect me too... I don't know that taping my eyes shut would fix the issues that I have all day long though.

Carl -- Littlemermaid is 100% correct when she says that eyes need to be sealed shut (with lubricant) if your lids are opening at night (aka nocturnal lagophthalmos). And this will improve your daytime dryness.

[CarlM]

What I mean about tears/crying: People with very severe Sjogren's often cannot make reflex tears at all, but many people with Sjogren's have at least some reflex tears.

But wrt* dry eyes, often people can and will make tears and sometimes there is even epiphora due to dry eyes.

Carl - you've mentioned that you've seen 3 optometrists. Did they conduct any tests for dry eyes? If so, what were the results?

I haven't had any formal tests as far as I've been told. The optometrists looked and noticed some dryness, none of them seemed to think it was disastrous. It was just a little dry as far as they seemed to be concerned. They looked with a few different lights, one of which was UV I guess. The third one, who seemed more concerned and mentioned what I imagine was restasis as a potential last resort, seemed like he was out of his depth - although he was very pleasant and even did some shenanigans to prevent me from having to pay the $25 fee I'd have had to pay for having consulted them twice for the same problem in the same 1 year period.

And yes I sleep with muro 128 in my eyes and recently bought a sleep mask to perhaps reduce the possibility that my eyes would get dry during the night. In fact, this whole ordeal started when I got a two incredibly painful corneal erosions at night before my eyes started to feel dry during daytime. None of the optometrists really mentioned the possibility that the erosion could have been due to dry eyes or the fact that my eyes weren't completely closed during the night. I don't know that either of those things are the problem but they might be.

Anyway, my eyes have been feeling inexplicably better since a sudden change around 2PM today. I'm trying not to get my hopes up and I'm still spending time away from the computer. My nose is now better hydrated and it seems to make a good bit of difference. But I've always been really shy about drawing those kinds of conclusions so I don't know what to think about it. I feel better now, and I don't really know why. I still very much intend to go see a doctor but yeah... it's hard to figure this thing out.

[CarlM]

So my condition is now to the point where I can spend some time at the computer and get my work done in some discomfort but I'm at least functional. I don't understand what it is and I'm trying to stay away from the screen as much as I can because I'm worried that it'll get as bad as it was 5-6 days ago.

I'm thinking of getting me some glasses from 7eye to use at least at home but they're expensive, and the dustbusters might not fit... I'm not rich enough to blow money on them and return them if they don't fit. And to my knowledge there are no retailers of those frames anywhere nearby. Shame . I might have to take that gamble...

spmcc, did you ever order from the dryeyeshop? I'm thinking of getting some of the more expensive glasses and was wondering if you got charged some customs duty for ordering to Canada... they're already so expensive

[littlemermaid]

https://www.facebook.com/DryEyeZone?fref=ts Free shipping coupons on Facebook 'Dryeyezone'. Carl, sorry I didn't realise you had suffered erosions

[CarlM]

https://www.facebook.com/DryEyeZone?fref=ts Free shipping coupons on Facebook 'Dryeyezone'. Carl, sorry I didn't realise you had suffered erosions

Thanks! Yeah, those healed up in time though and now I'm left with a long term problem...

Unfortunately the coupon has expired

[spmcc]

spmcc, did you ever order from the dryeyeshop? I'm thinking of getting some of the more expensive glasses and was wondering if you got charged some customs duty for ordering to Canada... they're already so expensive

Yes, I've ordered from the Dry Eye Shop in the past and had no problems. I don't remember paying any customs duty, but that's certainly a possibility (I think it's a crap shoot... For instance, I just received an order from the UK and wasn't charged anything altho I fully expected to pay something). Call/contact Rebecca via email or phone (800 number) to get her more recent experiences with Canadian orders. You can also ask her about her refund/exchange policy (and read the website for info).

My opinion on moisture chambers:

1) find a place to try them on and price them. I know that Quebec has a lot of motorcyclists so there are places that have the glasses. Here in Victoria, we have a regular optical store that carries moisture chambers (Optiks Intl).

e.g., check Harley-Davidson stores (they carry WileyX and 7Eye): http://motorclothes.harley-davidson.ca/
e.g., check WileyX dealer locations: http://www.wileyx.com/ordering/dealer_locator.aspx

Also check out Rebecca's guide to moisture chambers: http://motorclothes.harley-davidson.ca/

2) print info on specific glasses from WileyX and 7Eye websites and take copies to the stores when going to shop. From personal experience, I've found that the stores sometime have different prices from the website (stores were more expensive!!). When I showed them the printouts, they called 7Eye and matched the price from the website. Then, unfortunately, I found that the Dry Eye Shop's price was even lower . So, if you're money conscious, compare before you buy.

3) (as i already mentioned) compare prices between websites and stores.

[spmcc]

Carl, sorry I didn't realise you had suffered erosions

I'm like Littlemermaid. I had no idea that you are getting recurrent corneal erosions (aka RCEs). This is way more serious than I thought and you should be under the care of a serious ophthalmologist.

[CarlM]

I'm like Littlemermaid. I had no idea that you are getting recurrent corneal erosions (aka RCEs). This is way more serious than I thought and you should be under the care of a serious ophthalmologist.

I had two and have been fine since using Muro 128 and other ointments... none of the optometrists or GP's seemed to be worried -_-...

Also if I'm honest the two erosions happened when I went to bed after some insane gaming marathons...

Edit: So my optometrist is sending my file to an ophthalmologist and I'll be called soon and I'll see a specialist hopefully in 2014.

[CarlM]

By some miracle I got myself an appointment with an ophthalmologist on July 3rd, so just less than in a month. What should I think of the website Ratemd? A lot of people on there seem to dislike him but I couldn't care less about anything other than how competent he is.

My main worry at this point is that when I'll visit him, I may not have any symptoms and so there won't be anything for him to do or to see and I'll just be sent home as helpless as I've been for months and whatever I have will creep up again after that...

[spmcc]

It's important that you keep the appointment on July 3 no matter what your eyes are doing! Once you've become a doctor's patient, you're much more likely to get in the same day when another erosion happens (e.g., when you call his/her office you say, "I'm a patient of Dr. X and I woke with an erosion. This is an emergency. Can I see the doctor today?")

As for webmd, keep in mind that the only people who really post on that site are the *very* unhappy ones (kinda like on DEZ!!). This means you'll get a skewed view.

If the ophthalmologist you see doesn't seem to be "into" your case, I see no harm in asking if he/she can recommended a collegue to be your doctor. I know from experience, there are some doctors who very happily refer you on to another doctor because they know (once they hear your story) that their collegue would be better than them at following you.

You could also try searching DEZ for the term "Montreal" to see if someone posted feedback on a doctor.

Good luck. I'm glad you got the ball rolling.

[CarlM]

Thank you spmcc, I can't say it enough, you've really helped me through this and kept me from panicking too much when I was at my worst and ... I truly appreciate. And I know it's not over but it's good to know that I'll get to see a specialist.

Cheers.