woke up with very red/pain HELP

[member31986]

Through the night, i was awaken with pain in the eye..of course, tearing and all. Reached for the eye drops on the night stand, put in, back to sleep only to wake up in worse pain, sensitive to the light. Who do I see? I had my annual eye exam at Pearl Vision (big mistake) because they could take me the day I called and my eye insurance changed so my normal optomitrist was not on the list . Dr. at Pearl Vision was a substuitue so not from that office and gave me Restatis prescription if all the other suggests failed. (Refresh etc.) I am not big on perscriptions but feel helpless as I have not filled it. I did notice that using a warm compress at night seems to help, which I did not do last night. Some nights are better than others. My husband just went to a new optomitrist(Not Pearl Vision) and of course he told me to come in to see him. He told my H he uses Restatis along with steroids. I am not ready to go there yet. I am almost 50, wear Oasys contacts, but I try to use my glasses as much as possible. Should I seek an opthamologist instead of optomatrist or my reg. PC??? I just ordered the Dry Eye book that was recommended. I can't stand this...I almost don't want to sleep as not knowing if I will wake up in pain. Dr. at PV told me my tear ducts were enlarged and plugs could be a possibility but only after all other things exhausted. Please help!!

[liz56]

Sorry to hear this

Hi, member31986.

It sure sounds like recurrent corneal erosions. Mine were the worst when they were waking me up in the middle of the night. As they got better and started to go away, I got them later in the night and then in the morning. Now, my eyes stick, but I avert them altogether by not opening my eyes in the morning and applying drops to the inner corners of the eyes and letting the drops work in and painlessly open my eyes.

What happens in a corneal erosion is that your epithelium is thinned and damaged. It does not adhere properly to the basement membrane, which attaches to the stroma. When you hit REM sleep or move into a different sleeping position, the dry eye lid sticks to the cornea, tearing it in the same place over and over each time it happens.

My advice as a patient with this problem (and not a doctor):

1. Get to a corneal specialist and explain your symptoms thoroughly. Ask to be checked for epithelial basement membrane dystrophy.
2. Stop wearing contact lenses all together-- don't minimize usage. Quit.
3. Use Genteal Gel at night, and reapply it when you wake up. (If your eyes stick upon waking, have some plain eye drops, like Tears Naturale II or Refresh or whatever is handy nearby to help you to open them.)
4. Depending on what your corneal doctor says, get some Muro 128 5% drops to use through the day (3-4x) to help your epithelium stick back down. Or get some Dwelle from this site and use it (5x / day) to help do the same thing but in (what I think) is a more effective way.

Good luck, and I am so sorry to hear that you are having these.

--Liz

[liz56]

I forgot

Hi,

I should have added that once your doctor understands what is going on, and if it is rce's he / she may give you a bandage contact lens (BCL). You would sleep with it in, and it would keep your eyelid from sticking to the cornea.

I refused them, though I was offered them, because they stay in for days, and I feared infection. I've heard that some people just use them for sleeping and take them out each day, but that is not what I was offered. If you are committed to contact lenses, a BCL may just be helpful to you.

--Liz

[lisiamc]

Welcome, even though I'm sorry you have to be here, if that makes sense!

I agree with what Liz said. I was having this happen, and the ophthalmologist told me it was corneal erosions. He suggested Lacrilube ointment at night, but it made my eyes feel worse instead of better. With his agreement, I've been using Dwelle during the day, and Genteal gel at night. I have had good results with wearing Tranquileyes goggles to sleep in, and waking up every 3 hours to re-apply the gel. I hope to get back to sleeping all the way through the night at some future point, but for now, it's worth getting up if it helps prevent more erosions. I'm slowly getting less jumpy about going to sleep now.

You have my sympathy, because erosions are horrible, and so painful. This site has been a huge help to me. There is so much support and good advice here, and I hope you will be able to find things that help you too.

Lisa

[member31986]

appt w/ opthamologist Tues

I made an appt yesterday w/ doctor that supposedly specializes in dry eye for next Tues. Last night I appllied an eye oinment (petrolatum?) to both eyes even though one is worse than the other and used a warm compress before going to sleep. Much better last night. Even though they were slightly dry in the morning, it was much improved. I will post after doctors appts. to see what he suggests prescribes. many thanks for your input.