FIRST POST....dry eyes beat me!

[Rory]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post on this fantastic forum. Congratulations to the founder...it is an excellent site. Please excuse my long story ...it is stream of consciousness .... self therapy nonsense.

I am a 35 year old male from the UK. I woke up one cold winter morning in my final year at university, fifteen years ago ( i was 20!) with gritty dry eyes...and put it down to lack of sleep over the previous few nights. However it just wouldnt get any better. I recall the university Dr giving me various eye drops to no avail...and then some steroid eye drops which were amazing! I am sure i overused these drops for a couple of months at least to get through my final exams. However upon seeing a consultant opthalmologist i stopped using them. I have NEVER since found ANY relief from any eye drop, warm compress, supplement etc etc! Perhaps those steroid drops caused my condition..who knows.

Upon finishing my degree, I saw specialist after specialist... my eyes were dry because of dermatological reasons, then it was because i didnt close my eyes fully when sleeping, then it was blepharitis, then meibomiam dysfunction, then lacrimal gland etc etc etc..... Now these were THE best consultants available in the UK. They all had a different answer and they all varied in how serious my condition was. Needless to say i gave up on conventional medicine. They simply did not have a clue. I recall one of the leading opthalmologists in London...admitting this very fact....just how crude an understanding that they had of this condition.

I then threw myself into the world of the alternatives... probably because they seemed to care, gave me more time and also gave me hope. Of course they are mostly making a living out of people with chronic conditions and they mostly know that their treatment will not work. But they have a neverending stream of conventional medicine drop outs to feed upon.

At this time I was at Law School and eventually had to quit due to my eyes. It was simply impossible and I was also so confused as to what exactly was wrong with me. I would I believed return when I had cured this unbearable but surely straightforward condition. Needless to say, I am still waiting!

I have schirmer readings that average about 1 in the left eye and 2 in the right eye. After 15 years I have no idea why this is the case....it is none of the auto-immune reasons.

It has affected my career plans massively. I have stopped and started and struggled various jobs, lived all over the place (mostly in warmer climates...easier on the eyes!), studied masters etc etc. I find that I simply cant compete in the careers that I wanted to persue and I have been left rather bitter struggling with sore eyes in the jobs that are left and that I dont want to be doing. I have not handled dry eyes very well at all...I think the timing was important here. If the dry eyes had arrived when i was 30 and settled I believe that I would have coped much better.

I find that the ONLY way to control the constant eye discomfort is to wear wrap around sunglasses... however this is not really practical in most jobs and so many social situations.

It is very helpful to find this forum where people actually understand the constant struggle that life with dry eyes entails.

Rory

[Francesco]

Hi,
you got a p.m.

[Rojzen]

full-time protection

Hi, Rory! from another lawyer/career-struggler with disabling dry eye. . .but welcome to a site where you will get REAL help, and possibly even a solution that gets you back into the game.

Our paths have been similar: a long spell with the conventional docs who could do little; multiple diagnoses; a long spell with well-intentioned alternative healers who were ultimately clueless. . .and then seeking the kind of work environment that will not drive us away. . .

Your discovery of the benefit of wrap-arounds is a huge tip-off to the possibility that an effective, attractive, and multi-use full-time moisture chamber spectacle may bring you back to a feel of normalcy, even after years of struggle. . .I have worn customized moisture chamber glasses for nearly 10 years, and they have restored me to the world of work, going outdoors, shopping in high-ceilinged stores, etc.. .

Please check the Shop, here, for multiple options on protective eyewear you can wear much of the time. . . You can place Rx lenses in some of these. .Then check our postings archives for all the talk on custom moisture chambers. . .We don't yet have a UK optician pinned down who can make these, but an over-the-counter frame+gasket is about to hit the market (called Micro-Environment Glasses), and you will be able to get these here, and then fill them with standard lenses, at home. . .(if Rebecca's dealings with the MEGs inventor come to full fruition). . .

Please write back with specific questions you may have about these options. . .Can you come to the US, if you're in a hurry to get the moisture chambers?
There are at least 3 opticians here who can make these, and make them beautifully. . .They are pricey, alas. . .in most cases. . .

Also see postings from members here who have purchased their own moisture chamber material and created their own pairs of m.c. glasses. . .Some have succeeded in getting the material makers to send the plastic shielding to individuals, though these companies ordinarily insist on selling only to practitioners. . .

Things are about to get lots better for you, Rory.. .Of this I'm confident. . .

[Rebecca Petris]

Rory, I am very, very sorry to hear your story. Hang in there though, there is yet hope! There are so many new things coming.

It is unfortunately the case that there are many who cannot achieve functional comfort with anything less than a full blown moisture chamber. But this is a great time to be needing one because the options are starting to open up. Rojzen been a pioneer in this area and a great example of successful long-term use and as she indicated new things are a-comin' at last that will make moisture chambers more 'aesthetically pleasing'. One is due out in 1Q08, then the MEGs which have a big question mark - I'm keeping in touch with the makers but there is no firm info yet on timing. Another product is in earlier stages of conception and there are other optical manufacturers just starting to grapple with this. At least now we are finally at the point where the industry is waking up to the need and are trying to beat each other to market.

[jazhou]

Rory, I am so sorry to hear your story. You should try to get the moisture chamber as Rojzen suggested. I am on the process of getting my own now...

I can feel your pain. I also am struggling with my job. I was hit by DES 4 years ago when I was in Colorado. That was a big blow for me since I am a computer engineer. After suffering for 4 years, I decided to quit my job in Colorado, and moved here in a more humid East coast city, just trying to get more moisture. Now I've been in this new place with a new job for 8 months. My eyes are still hurting since I still need to work on computer. But I am getting more positive now. I believe in the very near future, we should be back to normal life.

Life will be better!

[happysad]

Rojzen: I am looking into this also at the moment, and I would like to ask if there have been any side effects from wearing the moisture chamber glasses for so long? Like rashes or skin irritation around the eyes from being in the moist atmosphere with limited air circulation?

[Rojzen]

no side effects for me

Hi, happysad. . .For me, there have been no irritations or other unwanted effects of moisture chambers, but when I have had a pair that is not cut precisely to my facial contours, the chambers briefly leave an indentation where the fit is too close. . .

I have had fogging, at times, but this has been rare, because of careful fitting, and this can be instantly relieved by removing the glasses for a moment. I don't use anti-fog sprays, for fear this would irritate my ocular surface when trapped inside the chamber.

A concern I do have is the difficulty of cleaning the chambers and lenses, and accumulation of debris in the little channel where the plastic joins the frame. The plastic is fragile, and so one cannot tug at it, or push is out of the way, in order to clean deeply.. .and so gunk accumulates, alas. . .Still I wouldn't trade them for anything but a Panoptx/Wiley-type frame that had a tight gasket fit, or the MEGs that are coming down the pike, IF these end up having a good seal. . .Hope that helps. . .