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Medical Forum / General / Vision / February 2005Is there still hope for dry eye??
I am really becoming hopeless on this. I was diagnosed to have dry eye problem about a year ago (and it also started to really bother me a year ago). All the answsers I got from doctors are "this is becoz of dry weather, contact lens, long-time computer usage". And I was told there is no cure for this. So now every day, I am tortured by this disease. My eyes never feel as comfortable as when I did not have it. I am not wearing contacts no more. I am using flaxseed oil and I am using theratear drops. Nothing really helps. I have to go to work everyday and everyday when I sit infront of computer, this dry eye is torturing me. Work becomes so stressful becoz of this. If there is something I can use and say give me a hour's symptom free time, I would be the happiest man of the world. But no, nothing... It seems that I just can do nothing about it excpet for waiting until it's getting worse and worse. I am going to be 30 and the thought that in the rest of my life I will have to live with this problem is eating me alive. Is there anyway that this condition can be controlled? Is there any doctor that can treat the problem? I would be really happy if someone can tell me "yes in 15 years they will find something that can totally cure you". This kind of hopelessness is killing me. I really don't understand why the insurance does not cover those drops. For a dry eye patients, all these drops are essential to their lives and they are not cheap if you have to keep using them every hour. This is totally a debilitating disease and it deserves more attention from the medical field!!! > I am really becoming hopeless on this. I was diagnosed to have dry eye > problem about a year ago (and it also started to really bother me a [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > hour. This is totally a debilitating disease and it deserves more > attention from the medical field!!! Ask your doctor to prescribe a trial of Lacriserts. Here's a link to learn a bit about them. For many people who are not wearing contacts, they offer /significant/ relief of discomfort. http://snipurl.com/chx2 They're a little "plastic" capsule that you stick under your lower eyelid. They dissolve throughout the day, providing a tear thickening film that helps lubricate and protect the eye. Also speak with your doctor about "punctal occlusion." This is a process where they put tiny plugs in (usually) your lower eyelid tear /drains/. With the plugs in place, your few tears do not drain out as quickly. They can even plug the upper "puncta" as well. It's cheap, easy, painless, and usually covered by insurance. They can even put in "trial" plugs that will dissolve after a few days. This is a good, inexpensive way to determine if the "real" plugs will be helpful. Virtually no downside. Are you using an eye /lube/ at night? I tend to use the lube made by GenTeal (http://snipurl.com/chx6). Best of luck! Neil Treatments for dry eye besides "thin" artificial tears: 1. Thicker tears; for really dry eyes, I like Genteal Gel 4 times a day 2. Punctum occlusion by removable rubber plugs, or closure by cautery of laser 3. Restasis - a realtively new, expensive medication - cyclosporine-A as an eyedrop, in cases of inflammatory loss of the tear function. May take several months to even find out if it at all helpful. Can cost about $150 per month or so, depending on how it is purchased. On 2/2/05 4:28 PM, in article 69e24087.0502021628.fd5d1d1@posting.google.com, "Darrian" <mrpengwang@gmail.com> wrote: > I am really becoming hopeless on this. I was diagnosed to have dry eye > problem about a year ago (and it also started to really bother me a [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > hour. This is totally a debilitating disease and it deserves more > attention from the medical field!!! BUT WHY DON'T YOU TRY SUN-GAZING??? Is the only thing that REALLY WORKS!!! You start it just for ten seconds with the sun low on the horizon. Why not? Once you have understood this profession is criminal, why don't you discard it and start your own search on the side of Nature? You come from Nature, not from so-called science. Try different types of drops... try Poly-Gel (or Genteal Gel already suggested). Try Poly-Visc or Lacri-lube before sleep. Also, try lid-hygiene-- look for a product called Lid-Care (pre-moistened sachets to scrub your eyelid margins with). Also try gently massaging your eyelids with your fingers a few times a day. Drink plenty of water, avoid caffeine & alcohol. Avoid airconditioning, fans, heaters, wind, smoke, dust, etc. Don't drive your car with the window down or the air vents blowing on your face. Avoid medications such as cold & flu tablets, antihistamines (and many others). Don't stare at things when you are concentrating (e.g. computers, driving) - take breaks and blink a lot. Consider (as already suggested) punctal plugs, Restasis, low-dose steroid drops. Do a google search for blepharitis - especially if you have skin problems or dandruff. Treat (if possible) any systemic conditions you may have, such as arthritis, Crohn's disease, irritable bowel, lupus, etc etc. It does tend to be a chronic condition but it is manageable. Did anything else change in your life a year ago? e.g. health issues, work environment, etc. It's unusual for a male of your age to get it that bad. Definitely do NOT look into the sun, you may burn your retina. Dom. > Try different types of drops... try Poly-Gel (or Genteal Gel already > suggested). Try Poly-Visc or Lacri-lube before sleep. Also, try [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Dom. Why hasn't anyone mentioned plugging up the tear ducts, or the whatever. My girlfriend had dry eye problems after lasik and that's what the doctor did to increase moisture. He simply put a plug in what I assume must have been something like drane ducts or something. PR  SignaturePhil Roberts, Jr. Why We Turned Out Like Captain Kirk Instead of Mr. Spock: The Psychodynamics of Genetic Indeterminism http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/dada/90/Kirk.htm > Why hasn't anyone mentioned plugging up the tear ducts, or the > whatever. My girlfriend had dry eye problems after lasik and > that's what the doctor did to increase moisture. He simply > put a plug in what I assume must have been something like > drane ducts or something. Why people does not ask WHY after lasik one develops such nuisances? > Why hasn't anyone mentioned plugging up the tear ducts, or the > whatever. My girlfriend had dry eye problems after lasik and > that's what the doctor did to increase moisture. He simply > put a plug in what I assume must have been something like > drane ducts or something. Several have. Punctal occlusion, punctal plugs, punctal cautery . . . it all means plugging up the tear duct /drains/. I might also refer the original poster to the Sjogren's Syndrome online forum. Sjogren's patients have zero, or virtually zero, tear production -- severe dry eyes. This particular forum concerns eye problems and treatment effectiveness. http://p073.ezboard.com/fsjsworldforumsfrm16 I'm 40. Have tried all of the suggestions, including Restasis. Currently using variously drops, gels, Lacriserts, and TheraTears capsules. Have had all four of my puncta cauterized. It's definitely a serious challenge. You might try wraparound glasses. If you need correction: many frame manufacturers, including Oakley, can make prescription glasses. Also, since the OP mentioned all-day computer work, how about a humidifier in your work environment. Can't hurt. Again, good luck! I 've talked to my doc about getting punctal plug. but his opinion is my dry eye is not that bad and he would not want to do that for a person at young age. I remember I saw another eye doc before and she actually put one temporary plug (according to her, it would disappear in a few days by itself). I did not feel any relief so she said that probably means plugging more would not help either. I've done blood test and did nto find any auto-immune disease. The thing for me is now the dryness has not hit to a point that I am having pain or something totally unbearable. It's just the discomfort and burning are really taking away the quality of life. After seeing a couple of eye doctors, I really lost my trust since they all tend to be like "well, there are nothing we can do here" and i would be dismissed. If I can find a docotor that can be really patient and is willing to try different treatments, I probably will feel much better. But really,thank you guys for all your support and suggestions! > I 've talked to my doc about getting punctal plug. but his opinion is > my dry eye is not that bad and he would not want to do that for a > person at young age. I remember I saw another eye doc before and she > actually put one temporary plug (according to her, it would disappear > in a few days by itself). I did not feel any relief so she said that > probably means plugging more would not help either. I'd go back and try them again. It's entirely possible that--if the practitioner put in the wrong size plug, for example--the plug may have washed right down "the drain" almost immediately. If that were the case, you would never know whether plugs would help or not. The issue of you being "too young" for punctal plugs is strange to me. You're old enough to have dry eyes. Unless I'm missing something--and I don't think I am--you're plenty old to try punctal plugs, too. In terms of your dry eye being "not that bad--" it's bad enough to bother you. That's bad enough. Try the Lacriserts and/or punctal plugs. No downside. Thanks Neil and all ppl here! I really appreciate the help and response! It means so much to me. I used to feel that I was left in the darkness all by myself coz I did not get much help from the doctors I am seeing. It's like something really bad is disrupting one's life but you simply do not know what to do. The help I got from ppl around me normally is "well, that's life. you just have to live with it". Maybe I am weak, but really I did not find much help from those words. I heard a lot of ppl are having dry eye problems. If that's the case, is there way i can find a peer support group or whatever? so ppl with the same conditions can exchange what works and help each other. Dry eye does not sound like a deadly disease, but as a sufferer, I can tell you that it's really affecting one's life. > I heard a lot of ppl are having dry eye problems. If that's the case, > is there way i can find a peer support group or whatever? so ppl with > the same conditions can exchange what works and help each other. Dry > eye does not sound like a deadly disease, but as a sufferer, I can > tell you that it's really affecting one's life. People with Sjogren's Syndrome have /extremely/ dry eyes. Here's a link to a forum where they share their experiences, what treatments they've tried, what's worked, what hasn't, current medical info, etc., etc. They welcome people who are /not/ Sjogren's patients as well. http://p073.ezboard.com/fsjsworldforumsfrm16 Happy to help.... Oh about thick gel, I tried them before. they are so thick that they tend to blur my vision for qutie a while. how can I use this at work? I won't be able to work for a a while after using it. Also, according to the doctor, I've got enough tear volume. It's just the other tear layers somehow become bad and it evaporates too fast. One doc said the oil layer is not that good. The other doc said the mucus layer. Another said both. I am really confused by this and I guess really if they can not figure it out exactly which one, how can I ? To make things more frustrating, after saying that, they would suggest eyedrops which I've tried and did not notice much difference except for the first 5 mins using it (the first 5 mins I think when I feel "better" is simply because there is some liquid drops in my eyes). I wonder if my expectaton is too high? coz I always think the one should work is when I put the drops in, my eyes feel like normal. > Also, according to the doctor, I've got enough tear volume. It's just > the other tear layers somehow become bad and it evaporates too fast. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > eyes). I wonder if my expectaton is too high? coz I always think the > one should work is when I put the drops in, my eyes feel like normal. Tears are made of three components (see below). If the 'recipe' is wrong, you can have gallons of (aqueous) tears and still have dry eyes (that's me!). People see tears dripping from my eyes and say I /can't/ have dry eyes. I tell them it's like being in a swimming pool with your eyes open: sure, they're wet, but the recipe is wrong . . . and they will hurt!. Review this page: http://snipurl.com/cjol for further info. There's some basic stuff in with the mumbo-jumbo. It will give you a better understanding of what that doctor meant. You need an adequate amount of all three, in the right proportions, to avoid dry eye. If it's off, you've got troubles. Again, Lacriserts can thicken and stabilize the tear film, slowing their evaporation. Make sure you blink regularly. Most of us virtually stop blinking when we're on the computer. >I am really becoming hopeless on this. I was diagnosed to have dry eye >problem about a year ago (and it also started to really bother me a [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >hour. This is totally a debilitating disease and it deserves more >attention from the medical field!!! Do the sun treatment, use a burning glass. Keep your eyes closed frequently while imaging something perfectly for long periods of time (at least 15 minutes). Learn to see best where you are looking and not so good where you are not looking. If you feel strain in your eyes, don't ignore it, but rest them. Learn to look at the sun. -- "It is not faith that cures, but a proper use of the eyes." >>I am really becoming hopeless on this. I was diagnosed to have dry eye >>problem about a year ago (and it also started to really bother me a [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >>hour. This is totally a debilitating disease and it deserves more >>attention from the medical field!!! after lasik my girlfriend experienced some dry eyes and her physician put small plastic plugs in her tear ducts which helped keep the moisture in the eye. pr |
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