Daily Check-In

[fernellen]

listened to books on tape all day

Friday was one of those "I'm not leaving the house days." I listened to a book on tape. I did not insert contact lens until my student arrived, used the hot compress and just chilled. I prepared for a student who came over for an hour. His study tape uses music that is a bit different the music I use so I will have to make a tape for him. Next week I am coordinating a huge program. It will be tough.

It's a good thing I enjoy being in the house. I spend a lot of time there, a lot of time on the couch listening to the radio or books on tape. I am starting to have to force myself to leave the house. I try to get to the 10:30 a.m. exercise class Monday through Friday. Work (tutoring) starts after 4:00. I am trying not to plop back onto the couch between 1 and 3.

I think I give new definition to couch potato.

fernellen

[sparrow]

off the antibiotics

thought I'd chime in here....am recovering from bad but short bout w/ antibiotics for supposed lid infection. After five days, quit taking them due to queasiness and nausea. The topical antibiotic drop he gave me caused blurry vision, stopped that after 2 days. have been using Restasis for two weeks and may have to stop that b/c my right eye is acting kind of funny, sort of like it did when the pressure was elevated a few years ago. don't want that back in my life. sooooo......made an appointment w/ the acupuncturist for Friday, may try to come at this from a different angle. But the times when I do have moist eyes, what a feeling, I've never had that in my life, even before my eyes were dry they weren't actually ever moist either I don't think, but w/ the plugs and whatever good Restasis is doing, there are moments even hours when they're really moist and it feels terrific. I of course would like that all the time.

[charmee]

Yeah!

A good day!

Yeah! The humidity is up in the 60's today!!! It's been extremely dry here, all the way down to the low 30's. This winter has been so much drier than normal. I can really feel the difference!

Charmee

edit: I feel like such an idiot. I took my kid to the park on bikes, and came back with terrible eyes. I checked the humidity and it's back down to 28%.

[shells]

YAY! I just got some exciting news! I just found out that Washington DC has finally gone smoke free in all public places! Even bars!!! Not that I used to go to bars all the time or anything before the dry eye, but I'm still young, and alot of my friends still do happy hours, and go to bars to watch sports and stuff. I've been skipping those things alot lately due to the effect of the cigarette smoke on my eyes. So, I am so happy to have the option of being able to go out without having the irritation from smoke!!

[Ben]

I'll second that one Shells.

Still being part of the semi regular party crowd on a saturday night i cannot wait for July when England goes smoke free. Sometimes knowing how the smoke makes the eyes feel does make me think twice about hitting the town.

At work today and using a humidifier for the first time ever. Only does cool mist, but so far it seems to be helping a bit i think. I've been really suffering in front of the PC recently, and today is the first time in a long time that i am not squinting at this point in the day. Eyelids still red, but hey it's only the first afternoon.

Here's hoping it's a cumulative relief.

cheers
ben

[AccutaneJay]

Bad few days

I've had a difficult past few days. This morning I am having dryness and irritation. My eyes are looking more bloodshot than usual, and they just feel crappy. This makes me very stressed and I get tense because of the pain/slight burning. Just wanted to reach out to share my thoughts as a way to cope with this stress. I try to remain calm and remember to breath deeply so that the stress doesn't overwhelm me. I don't want to start crying today. I've been doing warm compresses for the past two days. I have a problem where I'll compress, and then I'll stop. I need to continue to do compresses no matter what.

Wish me luck staring at a computer screen for yet another day with dry, irritated eyes. I've got my TheraTears vials with me and my rice baggy to compress perhaps mid-day.

I hope others are managing well and have found some relief. Please help me everyone to stay motivated to continue my compresses, even when times are good. I think I get into a cycle where I will compress and then experience some relief, then stop, but I have this terrible time admiting that it is the compresses that help, or I'm just not sure? I usually think to myself "my eyes are healing themselves... I don't need these drops or compresses any longer," and stop. MGD is usually a chronic problem and I think there is a relationship between my complexion and my MGD... I have LOTS of clogged pores on my nose, which indicates that my meibum is probably thick and not flowing well as well.

I'm going to get through this day - dry eyes or not, and I will remain hopeful that a brighter day is on the horizon. Thanks everyone for listening and being here for support, it means so much to me!

Take care everyone.
Sincerely,

[Judy]

Hey Jason,

I'm so sorry... I just wanted to let you know I have such a hard time with the compresses as well. I'm going to start EVERY DAY or EVERY OTHER DAY as I have the same issue as you; I stop because I think my eyes are healing themselves and that it is not because of the compresses. Then my eyes get worse again. It is such a balancing act...

Hang in there, one day at a time...

[calli66]

Hi Jason-
I was thinking about you 'cause you haven't posted in awhile...

Compresses:

Here's my latest technique to psyche myself up, get in the mood. I recently bought several expensive, luxurious, and BEAUTIFUL washcloths. I chose lovely colors to complement my bathroom--so the cloths always catch my eye and I admire them. So--they are nicer to use than the old "rags" I used before--they're soft, thick, and when folded, really hold in the heat without dripping.

Last month, I updated this same bathroom with beautiful quality towel-bars, a hand-carved mirror frame, and new custom paint, new light fixtures, and shelving. So now--it's a nicer environment that I enjoy spending time in.

My routine is compresses twice a day: right when I wake up, and again before I go to bed. That's about all I can handle. And I rarely do 15 minutes--more like 5. But at least I do it, and I know it helps--especially in the morning. It wakes my eyes up and gets some tears going.

Hang in there, dry eye friend--

C66

[dianat]

I feel so relaxed when I do compresses...I enjoy it! I only do five and was never advised to do more than that. Am I wrong?!

[AccutaneJay]

Hey Jason,

I'm so sorry... I just wanted to let you know I have such a hard time with the compresses as well. I'm going to start EVERY DAY or EVERY OTHER DAY as I have the same issue as you; I stop because I think my eyes are healing themselves and that it is not because of the compresses. Then my eyes get worse again. It is such a balancing act...

Hang in there, one day at a time...

Thanks, Judy! It is very comforting to know that someone else is struggling with the same situation, although of course I wish we were not. I guess part of me is thinking "what is continual use of the compresses doesn't work?" and I get scared. Plus I don't know if I am inflammatory MGD or atrophic. I'm here @ the office and I'm finding it difficult - I am doing lid massage about every 10 minutes or so to express oil. It helps, but only temporarily. The drops are a similar situation. I will continue to stick with the compresses, about 3 a day since I'm rough right now and just hope that things begin to improve.

Thanks again for your support and reply! I appreciate it.

Take care,

[AccutaneJay]

Hi Jason-
I was thinking about you 'cause you haven't posted in awhile...

Compresses:

Here's my latest technique to psyche myself up, get in the mood. I recently bought several expensive, luxurious, and BEAUTIFUL washcloths...

...And I rarely do 15 minutes--more like 5. But at least I do it, and I know it helps--especially in the morning. It wakes my eyes up and gets some tears going.

Hang in there, dry eye friend--

C66

Thanks for your reply, Calli! Your approach is great! I really need to have something that gets me in a better mood to do it consistently. I need to just get in a routine and stop being stubborn about my dry eye. I guess I'm still just battling with myself, even after the years of having it, that I have to rely on compresses to aid my situation. I guess I just keep hopeful that diet or supplements will just magically heal my eyes, but time and time again I come back to the fact that this is not the case - at least not now. Consistency is my struggle... but I'm very determined to make this work this time.

Hi, Diana! I tried to PM you, but you're full again Right now I'm doing about 3 or 4 compresses a day since I am in an "acute" phase. Then I will try to drop down to 2 - one morning and 1 at night if I begin to experience some improvement. I have never read any recommendations to do quite that many, but I don't think it would hurt as long as the compress is warm and not hot/burning/damaging. Wish me luck with my consistent routine! Glad to see you here and your reply to my post!

Can anyone please inform me as to why lid scrubs are important for MGD? I do not have crusting or flaking or skin or anything like that around my lids, so I have never approached a lid scrub before. This sort of scares me b/c it makes me think my MGD is mostly atrophic I guess I'm just not sure what benefit a scrub would do for me given that my eyelids look good from a cleanliness/hygiene standpoint.

Thanks everyone! Take care,

[YGB]

I feel so relaxed when I do compresses...I enjoy it! I only do five and was never advised to do more than that. Am I wrong?!

When I explained to one of the MD's I saw that I was doing 4 compresses a day, he shook his head no and said ... "you have traded in one headache (i.e. glasses/contact lenses) for another (i.e. warm compresses)".

He advised that I stop doing compresses since it is so time consuming. Unfortunately, my eyelids feel heavy, bloated, and uncomfortable when I don't do compresses. The reality is that I have learned that my compress time is a period of relief and relaxation (I even try to clear my head of thoughts and worries).

The "headache" that my old MD was referring to occurs when I do not have such relief like I get with compresses. While MD's are slowly becoming more understanding of dry eye, I still do not see a breakthrough in understanding that translates into true empathy and quality care.

Jay, hang in there. The good news is that you experience better days when you do the right treatment. That is encouraging. We all must live and learn and it seems like you have enough self-awareness to make the necessary adjustments.

[Rebecca Petris]

Can anyone please inform me as to why lid scrubs are important for MGD? I do not have crusting or flaking or skin or anything like that around my lids, so I have never approached a lid scrub before.

Jason,
I sure understand where you're coming from on this one. I have never thought there was anything visibly, obviously wrong with my lids - when I look at them in the mirror, they invariably look fine - BUT BUT BUT lid care has definitely been a crucial part of maintaining the health & comfort of my eyes over the years. I use few enough treatments overall that there is no mistaking the difference to my eyes when I slack off.

I don't have my brain all the way around the whys and wherefores of 'lidscrubs'. But for myself, I think of it in two lights: One, maintaining good lid hygiene because clearly there can be problems in those lids that aren't visible to the naked eye. Two, stimulating MG secretions. My version of "lidscrubs" is a q-tip - well several actually, usually two per eye - thoroughly wetted with Unisol, gently wipe the lid margins, and if I'm doing it after a compress, I also apply gentle pressure along the upper lid margins above the lashline.

When my symptoms get worse, I generally know who to blame: Me, for slacking off. I think of lid hygiene and heat kinda like flossing my teeth (except that I actually enjoy the compresses). I can skip it and live with the consequences, or I can "just do it". Even after all this time it's tough to be completely consistent but in retrospect I certainly have always found it worth the effort.

[AccutaneJay]

Today my eyes have been pretty good, compared to every day this past week; However, my IBS/IBD is giving me lots of problems last night and today. I am totally bloated and uncomfortable. Here is something I've noticed - when my IBS/IBD is bad and I have abdominal cramping, fullnes and bloating and such, my eyes are better, almost like really great at times, like no dry eye! But when my IBS/IBD is perfect, I'm not feeling bloated or uncomfortable, my eyes are usually TERRIBLE - burning! I don't get it. It's like this terrible cycle that isn't improving either way. I've been getting sort of sad today because my IBS/IBD symptoms just do that to me - there is some type of brain/gut connection and when it is "flaring" so to speak, my mood goes right with it - in the dumpster. I've been on my special diet for 2 months and 17 days now but still am having a lot of difficult times.

Here's to a better Saturday! Hope everyone else is having a great weekend!

[AccutaneJay]

Today and yesterday haven't been all that great. I'm slightly burning and it is really stressing me out today I've been warm compressing and using tears throughout the night to avoid stickiness/dryness at night.

Just wanted to post to help deal with the pain and irritation. It will get better soon, it will get better soon, it will get better soon, it will get better soon......

...I just don't want to cry - this DES/pain goes straight through to my core and can bring me to tears after a while