[Maven]

I don't really expect anyone to respond to this...it's more of a rant, really. I've been so stressed out lately because I have dry eye syndrome. This is a constant thing...I just have more tense moments dealing with it than at other times.

I've been depressed and stressed lately as it is, and the dry eye just adds to it. The gunk in my eyes makes me sleepy, and I feel drowsy throughout much of the day, regardless of whether or not I've had enough sleep.

The irritation is constant. I always feel like there's something in my eyes. I get out the gunk when I can, but sometimes, I think it's still in the glands or whatever, and although I can feel it, I can't get it out. My eyes get further irritated from the rubbing and stretching of my skin around my eyes, and the digging. They itch and burn. I try not to touch my eyes except when I'm about to wash them, because I feel like the stuff from my eyes is dirty (I have OCD). Plus dirt gets in them easily, sticks to my eyes easily.

I hate when I spend a long time rubbing stuff out of them, wash my hands, and end up feeling something shift in my eye, telling me there's more gunk or debris there. It's so frustrating.

My eyes feel wet a lot of the time, or get crusty. When I try to sleep, besides feeling like there's something in them, they often water for a long time, and I can't sleep when that's happening. Sometimes I break down and cry. But crying irritates them, too, causing the gunk to gather in my eyelids (top and bottom, and the corners of my eyes), so it's like I'm not even allowed to cry. And the crying makes it difficult to breathe, which increases my anxiety, and that makes my panic disorder act up.

There's hardly ever any relief. I've tried eye drops, and some are better than others, but they don't help much, and can make the problem worse in the long run. Plus, they're expensive, and I was mostly only using them to help me sleep when I did use them.

I've seen eye doctors, who just push the eye drops on me. Restasis was never mentioned, but it scares me, anyway, because it can burn the eyes (which suggests damage to me) and have other side effects. I'm terrified of the idea of going blind, so I'm real scared to try anything where my eyes are concerned, but I'm so sick of this. There's no cure for it, and I'm just so frustrated by it.

Hey!

I know how it feels to have eye problems! I´ve had it for almost 2 year now. I´ve used 11 different meds for my eyes... My eye fluid isn´t as it should be and often get inflammation in my eyelids. I have Recurrent Corneal Erosion. When the cornea has got wounds it hurts sooo bad, my eyes get RED and the area around my eyes get very swollen.

If you want to talk about this with me you can PM me...

I´ll keep an eye on you! hihihih

Ninni

[Perzephone]

Yah, I've got dry eyes from rosacea... sticky, itchy, burning, bloodshot eyes to match my itchy, burning bright red cheeks & nose - lovely, huh?

The best thing I've found so far is Genteal - it's a mild OTC artificial tear eyedrop. But at around $10 a bottle & needing to use it constantly, I understand completely where you're coming from about expense.

[Maven]

The best ones for me are Celluvisc and there's another one I can't remember the name of right now.

And thanks, Ninni, I'll keep it in mind that I can PM you about Dry Eye.

[SleepsWithButterFlies]

What KIND of eye doc have you seen?? Have you seen an opthalmologist???? thats the one you NEED to see..DO NOT RUB your eyes..I know it is hard but that can embed the dry crap into your eye...and scratch your cornea.....Get some of the NIGHT gel by Bauch Lomb (sp) put it in RIGHT AT BED and use the other stuff they make by day. NEITHER has side effects and cannot harm your eyes..they both cost near 10 dollars but see an eye DOC not just the kind that do glasses. You could also have Irisitis but I dunno so see a M.D for the eyes and good luck

[ChrisNewYork]

Google "Blepharitis". See an opthamologist, but go prepared to ask questions because they can miss this too. Blephy can present with very little gunk(mine) or (perhaps) like what your talking about.

For me, no cure, but daily cleaning of the eyelids with cotton swabs(once a day) have reduced symptoms to ZERO. It took months to get it under control. It's not fatal, but if you don't deal with it, you'll wish it was.

[Maven]

I'm not sure, but I think they were all optometrists. I will see about finding an opthamologist. I have to rub the stuff out of my eyes...it can blur my vision. It's also irritating and can make me panicky. I've had this for about 27 years.

The problem with the eyedrops is, I can't afford them. The ones I tried only helped to varying degrees, and my boyfriend didn't like spending $50 a month, just so I could take them at night (I tried to live without them during the day). He can't afford that, and I sure can't. And I've read many times that eye drops can make dry eye worse in the long run.

[Maven]

I just Googled bleph, and while the description matches pretty well, the pictures I saw didn't look like my condition. My eyes aren't generally all red like they showed, except when I rub them, and even then, not nearly as badly as they showed. Still, I'll ask an opthalmologist.

[ChrisNewYork]

Blephy is basically clogged oil glands on the eye lids. The oil normally mixes with your regular tears to produce a nice slick, antibiotic film on the eye. Oil glands clogged, the regular antibiotic tears dry up much faster than usual, so you get dry eyes, irritation and more opportunity for infection. I don't get much gunk or redness, but some people do. If you have blephy you basically have to give your eyelids TLC everyday, but it's no big deal. Like brushing your teeth. Except higher.

[Maven]

Well, I told my boyfriend I was going to look for an opthalmologist, and he told me the last doctor I saw was an opthalmologist.

[ChrisNewYork]

WTF? Boy friends come and go. You have one set of eyes. See another othamologist. (I had to see several before it was figured out). Take control of the situation. Now.

[SleepsWithButterFlies]

You may want to stop rubbing and start using tears..see the link below eyes at u of michigan med center

[Maven]

I wasn't saying anything about my boyfriend, except that he remembered the last doctor being an opthalmologist. I thought he'd been an optometrist. That doesn't mean I won't look for another opthalmologist.

As for "Boy friends come and go," I've been with this one for over 12 years. But my issues regarding that belong in another forum.

[Maven]

Thanks, Sleeps, I've read quite a bit on dry eye, actually. I've used eye drops in the past, but just can't afford them. Plus, like I said, continuous use of eye drops ("artificial tears") can cause the dry eye to become worse over time. And the eye drops don't keep the gunk from collecting, so it still needs to be gotten out.