new dry eye discussion

purple2067 · 07-26-2003, 12:04 PM

Ok, lets all stay on topic here......

I don't know about all of you, but my eyes have been just miserable, and not having a place to come and talk about it makes it worse.

So, how is everyone?

purple2067 · 07-26-2003, 05:09 PM

My eyes are so dry and itchy today that I got out of bed this morning, used a hot compress, stayed up for about an hour to check these boards, ate and went back to sleep with a cold compress! UGH!!! Once again, I woke up with a ton of yellow crust along my lashline this morning. When I used the erythromycin ointment I didn't have the crust. But I had a terrible allergic reaction to the ointment. Now I am back on the Vigamox anti-biotic drops again, but this morning I had the crust again since I didn't use the ointment. I really think that I need an anti-biotic ointment for a few weeks, to stay in there at night and really get into my glands and unclog them, but I am allergic to the preservatives in them!!! UGH! UGH! UGH!!

[This message has been edited by moderator1 (edited 07-26-2003).]

purple2067 · 07-26-2003, 10:34 PM

Well anyway, Chris, I'm sorry that your eyes are feeling so bad... I can't clean either because the dust gets in my eyes and the cleaning spray always irritates them. But I'll give you a tip... when I do have to clean, I use the wipes that grab the dust, like pledge wipes. That way the dust doesn't really fly around too much, and there really isn't any cleaning products to irritate my eyes. But, the best way to clean is to have someone else do it for you.

Today my eyes are so irritated, I just don't know what to do with myself. Well, actually I do know what to do. Pour in the FML and the tear drops, and go take a shower, wash my face and lay for hours with a cold compress. Isn't it sad that this is what my life has come to? I had to stay at my house tonight and have my friends come here, instead of going to my friend's house (she owns her own home). It just stinks having to hang out with my parents! But the reason for not going to her house is that she has a kitten. And I also can't really spend too much time outside, as any sort of air irritates my eyes. I don't know why they are so much worse today. I've got to call the doctor again on monday and let him know what is going on. In case you hadn't heard, it now seems that I've got some sort of infection under my eyelids or in the meibomian glands that is causing me to wake up with yellow crust on my eyes so that they are crusted shut. My doctor tried giving me erythromycin ointment but I had a terrible reaction to that, and now I'm using the Vigamox drops again but they're going to take a few days to work. I really want an anti-biotic ointment to use at night, but it seems that I'm allergic to the preservative in them, and I'm not paying Leiters however much money they want to make it preservative free for me! It'll expire before I can use the entire tube and would be a waste of money (although if my dr wants it I'd probably do it.)

I just don't know what to do with myself today.

Snazzy101 · 07-27-2003, 11:13 AM

Purple,

I have been following your posts for a while, and I have some comments to make. Remember that I'm an outside observer and can maybe see the "big picture" while someone closer to the situation (you) can't. Or maybe I'm totally off base

First, I know you love your doctor, and you have faith in him and in Dr. O'Brian. I know they are trying their best to help you. But they have only made you worse. The cycle of drugs you are now using is just amazing. You take one drug, get side effects, take another to counteract the side effects, take a third to counteract the side effects from that one, ad nauseum. Meanwhile your eyes get sicker and sicker. Please consider getting another opinion from someone else. There is no ONE expert in any field. Dr. O'Brian might be great for most people, but maybe not for you. Don't take any one person's word as gospel, especially since you are NOT getting better. And yes, I realize that there isn't a cure for simple dry eyes, but you are at a different level altogether. Your fellow dry-eye sufferers aren't going through what you are, in my opinion because they aren't being overmedicated. Sometimes it sounds like (and I mean no offense) that they almost have you brainwashed into believing that you need all the drugs that you use.

Second, it may be worthwhile for you to investigate alternate forms of medicine. It wouldn't hurt to see a naturopathic physician, at least just to see what he or she has to say. I think modern medicine is great, but all physicians know is to hand you drugs. "Here, take this." "Oh, you got bad side effects?" "Take this drug then!" "You're worse? Put this drug in your eye too!" How long are you going to let this cycle go on? They don't even know exactly what is wrong with you and they really aren't trying to find out. They're only treating symptoms, some of which they are causing by the drugs they are giving you.

Just my opinion

I hate to see you sitting there suffering, week after week. Find someone else who can actually help you.

sabinetje · 07-27-2003, 11:34 AM

Elyse,

What snazzy says makes sense. Aren't you taking too many sort of drops/drugs? Maybe your eyes are irritated of using so many?
Has restasis a chance of working while you're are taking so many other drops?
Isn't it possible just to take artifical tears, preservative free ofcourse and restasis?(after you're healed)
Won't you have side effects later on when you take the FML and other drugs now?
We just don't want you to suffer so much!

Sabine