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Okay. I need to vent, and this seems to be the only place that I can do that. My friends and family care about me, but I just can't call them and cry to them about this issue. I have done that one too many times, and it's wearing on them. I've tried to deal with it on my own, and I am on an antidepressant because this dry eye problem is wearing me down. I just need to say a few things.
I wish that I had never worn contacts. I wore them from the time that I was 19 until I was almost 26. The last year or so that I wore contacts I felt that they were sticky, irritating, and dry. I just didn't know that they were dry at the time. I often had people comment to me that my eyes looked kind of red, and I responded that I just had allergies even though I later found out that I really don't have any allergies. I was simply too vain to stop wearing the contacts. I should have just stopped wearing them, but hindsight is always 20/20. I also took two new medications at the same time that I was becoming (or already was) contact lens intolerant. Those meds put me over the edge into a state of severe dryness. My story sounds pretty similar to Sazy's account of how she got her dry eye, except I don't have any facial pain, just eye pain.
I really regret wearing the contacts and taking the meds, but it probably doesn't do any good to punish myself for doing so because I really had absolutely no way of knowing what I was doing to myself. I feel angry that there isn't a cure for dry eye or at least a way to make the pain go away. What will it take to get the medical community to really focus on this issue? It's more than just an annoying problem -- it threatens one's quality of life and probably has other health implications as the stress and pain could make one more likely to become ill from other health conditions.
I felt hopeless when I read the posts in the doctor forum the last few days because a couple of my fears were addressed. I worry about what my eyes are going to be like in the future. What happens when I go through menopause? I have few tears now, and I can't afford to lose anymore. Secondly, I worry about whether there will ever be more ways to treat dry eye. If dry eye takes a backseat to other eye conditions, where is the hope that there will be something someday to alleviate our suffering?
Okay, I am sorry for that venting. I know that I am not the only one on this bulletin board that is worried, scared, and tired of dealing with the pain. I really do try hard to be positive and to live each day one day at a time. I am trying to focus on other people instead of my pain, and, for the most part, I think that I do okay. And, I feel really guilty for even posting this, but I really needed to get this out, and I didn't have anyone else to talk to today.
I promise I'll be more positive in the future, but today is my day to be sad. Please don't feel obligated to respond. I just needed to get some thoughts and feelings out.
Thanks for listening. It helped to vent.
-Julie
I wish that I had never worn contacts. I wore them from the time that I was 19 until I was almost 26. The last year or so that I wore contacts I felt that they were sticky, irritating, and dry. I just didn't know that they were dry at the time. I often had people comment to me that my eyes looked kind of red, and I responded that I just had allergies even though I later found out that I really don't have any allergies. I was simply too vain to stop wearing the contacts. I should have just stopped wearing them, but hindsight is always 20/20. I also took two new medications at the same time that I was becoming (or already was) contact lens intolerant. Those meds put me over the edge into a state of severe dryness. My story sounds pretty similar to Sazy's account of how she got her dry eye, except I don't have any facial pain, just eye pain.
I really regret wearing the contacts and taking the meds, but it probably doesn't do any good to punish myself for doing so because I really had absolutely no way of knowing what I was doing to myself. I feel angry that there isn't a cure for dry eye or at least a way to make the pain go away. What will it take to get the medical community to really focus on this issue? It's more than just an annoying problem -- it threatens one's quality of life and probably has other health implications as the stress and pain could make one more likely to become ill from other health conditions.
I felt hopeless when I read the posts in the doctor forum the last few days because a couple of my fears were addressed. I worry about what my eyes are going to be like in the future. What happens when I go through menopause? I have few tears now, and I can't afford to lose anymore. Secondly, I worry about whether there will ever be more ways to treat dry eye. If dry eye takes a backseat to other eye conditions, where is the hope that there will be something someday to alleviate our suffering?
Okay, I am sorry for that venting. I know that I am not the only one on this bulletin board that is worried, scared, and tired of dealing with the pain. I really do try hard to be positive and to live each day one day at a time. I am trying to focus on other people instead of my pain, and, for the most part, I think that I do okay. And, I feel really guilty for even posting this, but I really needed to get this out, and I didn't have anyone else to talk to today.
I promise I'll be more positive in the future, but today is my day to be sad. Please don't feel obligated to respond. I just needed to get some thoughts and feelings out.
Thanks for listening. It helped to vent.
-Julie
). It comes with the territory, so don't worry a bit about yours. We encourage everyone to share what they're thinking and feeling. Both for those writing and those reading, "venting" can be illuminating, encouraging, and cathartic. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, there is a very real probability that someone will be able to help.
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