Looks I'm planting a "garden" of new threads, but each is a different subject, so here goes.

The visit today was not that shocking or different, though not all bad.

I learned that the left eye pressure is 15 and the right is 19, not too bad.

The dry eye is being repeat treated with another trial of Restasis, and if I recall right, I either didn't do well with it, or something didn't work out. As it sells for $80.00, and I got it free, I won't complain. I "may" try it again.

I told the young lady who writes stuff down about the starburst still being no better, and the Dr. always comments on everything she writes down. No explanations were given as to why it's there or if it will ever go away.

Coming away with no solid answers, I have slated an appointment with another opthalmologist for a second opinion for March 21.

The eye exam went pretty well. With the left eye, I could see all but 3 letters of the small print, while seeing them all in the right. It was a fuzzy representation of the letters. They are still saying I see 20-20 in the left eye, but if this is so, it's a rather fuzzy 20-20.

The LED clock we have in our bedroom really shows up the problem in that left eye. The red dots (colon) between the numbers appear to me to be 3 closely-spaced dots instead of just one smeared one, like in the rt. eye with it's astigmatism.

I sure hope to get some answers that I'm not getting at present. I guess they think I don't need glasses by saying I'm seeing 20-20, but the right eye is a bit too weak, and the left is too strong and just plain messy.

I told him about the steroid drops helping the vision after surgery, but he was afraid of increased pressure, hence the Restasis being given instead of a regular steroid. That's good caution, but I thought there would be a safe low dose steroid out there for this.

Hi Tony,
I'm glad that your doctor appointment went OK. I hope that the Restasis will work for you and help to get rid of some of the dryness. One tip that helps me is to keep the Restasis in the fridge. If I don't then it will burn when I put it in. I also read that the fish oil is helping you. That's great! I take the TheraTears Nutrition which has fish oil in it. I can't tell a huge difference but I do think that it helps.

I'm sorry that you're still having the problem with starbursts/glare. I've been having some of this myself. I think that it's gotten worse in the last month or two. I'm wondering if it's related to the dryness or maybe some leftover prescription or something. I'll ask my doc. when I see him next month.

Tell Barb hi for me! Hope she's doing well!

Missy

Hey Missy, long time no see. How have you been?

Tony, I hope that the new doctor can give you some much needed answers, or at least some new ideas.

Hey everyone,

Tony - Sorry you are still having the problems with the starbursts. I hope that they begin to go away soon. Glad that you are gonna be trying the Restasis. I've been on it about 4 months now, not sure if it is working yet. I think my situation is different though since my dryness is due to lasik. I read in another thread that your dad was having some trouble...I hope that he is doing better now.

Elyse - I am so sorry to hear about your grandma. I'll be praying for you and your whole family. I've been trying to catch up here, and I think I read that your glands looked less clogged? That is really great news. I hope that you can continue to keep them looking better. You must be doing something right! Have you ever had the oils extracted? I'm not sure if that would help you or not, I just know that I've heard other people discuss it on other sites.

I've been doing OK lately. I thought I was feeling a bit better, but I think maybe I'm just getting used to it a bit more :rolleyes: . So, atleast my depression over this is getting a little better, but things are still pretty up and down with my eyes. I had an appt. on Friday, and my doctor said they looked slightly better than 6 weeks ago when I saw him last. My schirmers scores are still around 4mm though. So, I'm just hoping that they will improve soon. I'm really looking forward to the spring and the warmer weather. I'm sure that we all are!!! Hopefully the warmer weather will make us all feel a bit better! :)

-Michelle

Michelle, I have never had the oils expressed. I have asked my doctor about it and he said it really would be very bad for me. He said that they would just clog right up again, and it would be a very painful procedure. He said it would leave me open to infection with all that bacteria being released from my glands, and that in order to really keep them open I'd have to have it done very often. I have to trust his opinion on this.

Tony's dad is not doing better. He passed away too. :( (I don't know what happened to that post.) Tony, if you are reading this, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Michelle, I am glad that your doctor seems to think you are doing slightly better. Sometimes they can see things that we would otherwise not be able to feel. Although, my doctor tells me that it can also be just the opposite - if I feel something that he can't see, chances are I'm right.

My eyes are still awful. They have been much worse over the past week. I think it's because when my grandma died last saturday, I was crying and that irritated them beyond the point of no return. :(

Hi guys,

Tony - I must have missed the post about your dad. I'm so sorry to hear about him passing away. My thoughts and prayers are with you and Barb and the rest of your family.

Elyse - Yes, I have heard that getting the oils expressed can be painful, I just thought that maybe in the long run it would be beneficial. What your doctor says about infection makes sense though. I guess you are just best off leaving things as they are. Sorry that your eyes have been doing so bad lately. Mine always feel worse after crying, so I bet that is what is up with yours too. Sometimes I get really upset and them, and want to cry, but I know it will only makes things ten times worse. I hope that your family is getting through this tough time ok. You all are in my thoughts and prayers too.

Michelle

Thanks, Michelle-
Still hurting pretty bad, but I know he's with Jesus, and we will see him again one glorious day.

Winter is hardest on the frail. I'm sorry for the loss of those here.

On a more positive note, the starbursts are continuing to improve for me, though when my eyes are especially dry I get a kind of halo/fog effect around lights and lighted objects (like stop signs at night).

Also, I'm going to need to have at least my right eye "YAG'd" eventually. But I want to wait until I can be sure the outcome will be better than it is at the moment, so I don't go through all the 'buyer's remorse' that I did (and Tony is having) over the cataract surgery.

Right now I'm just supremely frustrated with trying to get prescription glasses for work that actually work. Fortunately the optician is someone I've purchased glasses from in the past, and he's likely to be in line to be made the Patron Saint of Eyeglasses -- LOL.

Tony & Elyse, I'm really sorry to hear about your losses. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your families.

Elyse, I'm sure that crying makes your eyes feel worse. Hopefully, they will soon feel a little better.

((HUGS))

Hello on this one. Thanks, mkrich5649.

Yep, sp, it's buyer's remorse, and ain't it nice it's me and no one else! Yeah! Sure!
Poor me!

Better watch that having it yag'd, you'll be worse than ever! If you want your starburst to get worse, go for it! You'll get what you didn't want.

Hi all!

Sorry I've not been around much. I am so busy with work and school and tutoring, that by the time I get home I am exhausted and my eyes are so tired and dry that the last thing I want is to look at a computer screen.

Tony, how have the eyes been feeling since we last spoke?

Michelle, sometimes when I feel like I need to cry I really have to hold it back because I am so afraid of what it will do to my eyes. If I cry, even for five minutes, they are irritated beyond repair for days and days. I am just now starting to get back to normal after the emotional week that I had last week.

Hello, Purple. See my "Had It!!" thread to see how I'm doing. I think my B-12 or something depleted during my dad's illness and passing. I get really tired right after noon each day, and both eyes are so weak now, I actually need stronger glasses!

Tony, emotional distress can make you feel sick and tired. It can probably also affect your eyes and your vision too. I know after the past two weeks, my entire family is physically and mentally drained. I can't wait until the weekend when I can take care of my sick eyes more. They need lots of TLC right now, but I aint got time! Lately I have been so exhausted that I just take a shower and crawl into bed and pass out really early, and I have no energy to get up and make a hot compress for my eyes. Hmmmmm.......maybe I'll do it tonight while I am watching American Idol. Nah, better not. They might sing me to sleep!

Ten-four on the emotional stress! It wreaks havoc on us in every way. Maybe in time, we will both recover from our losses and do better. It's a bummer right now.