20 year old male, with eye problems...

[crispen_2000]

Greetings everyone! I'm Trevor from Canada and I have been having dry eye problems since Oct. of last year. The dry eye problem "blossomed" after a bad case of pink eye and what seemed like a snippet of eye allergies. I do not wear contacts, only eye glasses. I have been tested for a lot of auto-immune disorders and, so far, none have shown their faces and
I take three flax seed capsuls a day and I wear safety goggles over my glasses (and weldes goggles when I'm outside). I have been using THERA TEARS because I find them the most soothing. I will be having temporary plugs put in temorrow that will dissolve after three months. I have been able to order RESTASIS from the USA from a doctor friend of mine, however, the opthomologist doesn't want me to use it yet because my dry eye problems are quite recent.

Anyway, dry eye has thrown me into a terrible state of depression because my main passion is reading...(I want to be a writer) and reading is something that is difficult to do with dry eye. Also, I have had to give up alchohol and caffine because I notice that it exacerbates the eyeballs.

I am so sorry for all of you because each of us kind of live in our own private hell - and other people with "healthy" eyes have no idea what a terrible thing this is. I was SO depressed that I went to see a psychiatrist who thinks, because I'm so obsessed with my eyes, that I have an obsessive compulsive disoder and she wants to put me on anti depressants. I went on them for a week and it made them worse and I have gotten rid of her. Anyway, I'm hoping that because I'm still young my tear film might come back. I'm just about to start university next fall and I don't know how it will be possible...has any other students out there developed this problem?

I just wanted to say how sorry I am for all of you that you have to deal with this debilitating wretchedness. How brave you all are.

[kitty]

Welcome. I am so sorry for the agony that brought you here. Your story is similar to mine in that my severe symptoms came on late last fall. I was just diagnosed a month ago. I'm not sure I understand why your eye doctor thinks it is too soon to try Restasis. From what I have read, the earlier on in the disease the better the outcome from Restasis. I started Restasis one month ago on the day I was diagnosed, but was taken off of it due to sensitivity. I was telling a friend the other day that I have yet to find a drug for which the side effects are not worse than the affliction it was designed to treat! Please let us know how the plugs work for you. I wish you luck with them. I fully understand your depression and am fighting it myself. I hate living in pain and isolation. I think I most hate how the majority of the world does not understand. I have shared my disease with several friends who have admitted they have dry eye, blepharitis, etc., they don't really treat it and it does not bother them much. All I can say is lucky them. I'm sorry now I ever told them. You will find that most of the people here share similar experiences as you. This is the one place where you will find people who understand. Don't give up on school just yet. Read the posts here and learn the techniques others are using to help them get through their days without losing the ability to participate in life.

[sazy123]

Hiya

I am 20 also, have bad dry eye and am at university. I know how hard this is at 20, im doing psychology, although not as much reading as english. Any academic degree requires lots of additional reading from the libary etc. So i can deffiently relate to how hard it is. I havent told anyone about it at my uni, coz i know they wouldnt understand, and i havent made any good friends coz i dont spend enough time with them. I am also suffering with depression because of this eye problem, because it has stoped me doing almost everything i wanted to do. Anti depressants are what caused my eyes to be like this, 10 months on and not much improvement. My GP said i should see a psychiartrist, but the way i see it is: the depression isnt going to go away unless the eyes become more manageable. I also keep thinking because im young, my eyes will heal, if i keep taking all the supplements etc, i have had some improvement lately in that i have a few more better days, hopefully you will get some improvement and university will become more manageable. You are on the right track if your able to get restasis. The plugs may give you the relief you need.

[untkicker29]

I am a college student suffering from dry eye, and it is manageable. It is definately harder than what other students have to go through because reading, at least for me can be difficult. Along with the pain, everytime i read, my vision becomes much worse. The words start becoming very fuzzy. So, I can only read in spurts.
I believe you will get much better. When I first was diagnosed, I thought there was no way, but my symptoms did get better.

[neil0502]

For whatever reason, I've been trying not to 'pour it all out' on this forum, but... your post demands it ;)

I've had a lot of down days. A lot. I've welcomed a trial of anti-depressants here and there because ... I didn't see much reason not to. In addition to severe dry eyes (Schirmer's and T-BUT both about 2-5, with all four corners cauterized and regular use of drops, oil caps, nighttime ointments, and wrap glasses), I've got eye alignment problems and ciliary spasm (think charley horse in your eyes' focusing muscles). It's a downer. I've been declared 'visually impaired' to access disabled student services at universities, read via a Plextalk PTR1 (http://www.wnt.ca/content/view/114/1/) , and dramatically limit any print/computer work. It's a miserable loss that I can't quite make peace with.

I, too, want(ed) to be a writer, but you're right: it's difficult to imagine writing what I want to write without tremendous quantities of reading--something that, apparently, I'm just not built to do.

Have you tried reading with a humidifier parked right next to you?? I remember, in 1995, being in tropical, humid Indonesia. It was the best my eyes felt in years.

Have you tried Lacriserts (http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/l/lacrisert/lacrisert_uspc_pi.pdf)? They're not always easy to find, and they don't work well with contact lenses in, but some people find blessed relief from them. They're not only palliative (make you feel better), but they're therapeutic (actually make the problem better over time), too! They're by prescription, so talk with your ophthalmologist or optometrist about them.

Don't be afraid to get all four puncta plugged if two helps. Most people won't leak tears with all four plugs in place because plugs don't usually stop the drain hole 100% of the way. Even if you 'leak' a touch ... it may not be the worst thing in the world.

Don't give up. Find anything that you can that will help you manage the rough times: exercise, music, walking, hiking, time with (good) friends, meditation, charitable work, naps, ... anything. It's a battle that we wage one day--often one hour--at a time.

I wish you health, strength, and improvement....

Neil

[Lucy]

Having worked at a community college until last year when my eyes went totally kaput, I can agree with Neil on some advice. Colleges and universities have help for handicapped individuals. It's there for the asking. I'm using "handicapped" for anyone needing assistance or special needs. They want you to succeed, even if it means some special services. Please talk to your school counselors and advise them of your problems. You may be surprised at the help available.

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask for help!

[crispen_2000]

Thank you for all your replies! I've had plugs that will dissolve in about three months put in my tear ducts. I haven't noticed any "immediate" relief but I'll report over the next couple of days....I am also going to go on biosyntrx supplements...have any of you benifited from this or tried it?

[Amy09]

hey, i'm sooo sorry to hear about your eye problems- and up in canada with the colder, dryer weather, it must make your problems even worse. I'm a 18-year-old (19 next week) whose began having eye problems since I was only 14 years old. my senior year things got extremely bad and i had to stop wearing contacts and had several eye surgeries. I completely understand what you are going through and was severely depressed my senior year in high school, but things have definately gotten better. know that, yes, it is a very painful and frustrating problem to deal with, but that with time, dry eye does become more managable. you learn that you can still live and carry on a social life even with the problems- you just might have to make a few adjustments, do things a little differently that most people your age, and it might take a while to get used to.

i take dry eye supplements and I feel like it might help me a little bit- definately take some type of supplement with high doses of omega in it. i agree with your comment about restasis, but if you still find yourself having problems in a few months, i would definately try it. i've found that restasis is the best thing i have tried for my dry eye (although some would disagree with me). you also might want to look into plasma tears. again, i'm so sorry about your problems, but know that you're not the only young person here dealing with this. good luck with everything!

[radiohead1983]

Hello there everyone. I am new to this web site and am glad i found it. I have had a rough time with my dry eyes as well they started late last year. I never quite undestood why i had chronic dry eye since i was only 21. My doctors all seem shocked when they find out my age. I didnt know there were others so young with this illness. I know its hard and no one understands. I'm glad to be speaking to people who understand for the first time.