Daily Check-In

[tealeaf]

DryLondoner, thanks for the encouragement. I was feeling rather upset yesterday and had a good cry yesterday night... am feeling better today.
Did you face this problem of discomfort (itch) and dryness for the 1st couple of days?

[nori2015]

I don't know if this is still active but I had an appointment at moorfields today. Started telling the opth about my post prk dry eyes and she basically told me I'm in the wrong place, that I need a corneal or dry eye specialist and that she'll refer me. I had asked my gp to send me to the above, asked 3 times before he did it and then he sends me to the wrong place. Another 6 weeks of waiting. At least. I just bupurst into tears and left the hospital. I had such high hopes and was really looking forward to it.

[Delilah]

Very sorry to hear your dealing with such awful eye problems, I haven't posted nor checked in for a long time and I apologize for that but my health and eye problems just keep getting worse and worse as the years go by. I use a variety of eye drops and ointments, warm compresses and lid scrubs with thera tear lid scrub solution. I'm not able to wear eye makeup no more and my eye lashes are growing wrong and falling out. It's a life long battle and seems since 2004 when it all began has only now developed into something I just must deal with. God Bless and hope you find relief.

[waterbee]

i thought i would do a check in on here too since ive been posting on the forum for a while now.

i've had a few rubbish days with my eyes, this always happens exactly the same time of my menstrual cycle (when estrogen is peaking) but it drives me depression every month since every month, have this worry its actually going to be a new permanent thing (which is how it started). most of the time it does return to normal though.
(by normal i mean drops every half hour instead of 5 mins, so not great but you know, we have to be positive!)
im pretty sure now that i need to look into some hormone testing, so thats my next new thing, it could help some.


aside from that i'm trying not to get to frustrated that we are in 2016 still with dry eyes! - its like i have two identities, one pre dry eye and one now!

But hay, ive come a long way to get here - I couldn't even leave a darkened room at the start this - and yesterday i was outside in cold garden (which was super bright as it was cloudy) my (slightly) tinted moisture chambers on forgetting that i was even outside.i never thought i would be able to do that again at the worst point of dry eye, i actually thought i would never be able to open my curtains again. I didnt think i would ever leave the house again, i thought dry eye would be my prison.
That dark horrible time is over and im here now, surviving ok.
ive read to much on recovery to say it cant happen. so instead of saying, oh its 2016 im and i still have this, il say to myself, hay! its 2016, still time to try those new ideas, still time to recover enough to only use drops every hour (my personal goal) and turn this around.

take care all xx

[charlotte88]

Hey everybody. I'm actually doing really well. After I started using a new product called style'n'clean pen and an accompanying gel my eyes have been getting better all the time. The cleansing gel really helps my eyes from drying out and relives the soreness. I've suffered from blepharitis for many years so it's just such a relief to finally be able to go outside without looking like I've been crying the entire night. It's going so well that I'm actually considering using make-up again which I haven't done for years, but I think I will wait a little longer just to make sure.

[Blue96]

I had to quit my job due to my eyes. They've gotten to the point where looking at candle light is too much, and now I have to wear sunglasses indoors. The eye floaters are numerous and they make me feel anxious and frustrated. The corner of my right eye looks like wrinkled paper, and I wonder if it's conjunctivochalasis.

I went to the doctor to run tests and see if I have an autoimmune disease. The first one suspected I have autoimmune hepatitis, the specialist she referred me to disagreed after and said he highly doubted I have it but said my gallbladder is full of cysts. The third specialist disagreed with the autoimmune hepatitis and gallbladder issues, but then later stated that the blood test results on my liver were abnormal but would not elaborate any further. He scheduled an appointment with a rheumatologist... six months from now. This is costing my family so much money.

I've been experiencing a random burning/shocking sensation in my big toe on both sides and the top of my feet. It only lasts a few seconds then goes away. I get a burning sensation in my skin on random parts of my body as well but there's never any physical sign of a rash or anything, and it also only lasts a brief amount of time. I can't tell if what I'm feeling is joint pain or not.

I didn't start experiencing these physical non eye symptoms until after I had an emotional breakdown due to the stress of my eyes in the beginning of the year. Does this mean whatever else i have is my fault for being stressed? Living with dry eye disease is horrible, but the idea of having a chronic health condition on top of everything else truly terrifies me.

With dismissive doctors, ophthalmologists, and family, it's been very difficult to not think about suicide. I wish we were taken more seriously, I don't want to spend my youth and possibly the rest of my life like this.