Recurrent Corneal Erosion (b)Log

After being diagnosed with recurrent corneal erosions, caused by anterior basement membrane dystrophy (aka epithelial basement membrane dystrophy, Cogan's dystrophy, and map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy) and dry eye in the summer of 2007, I have been on a long road to recovery.

The following sets up the weird and esoteric nature of this affliction. My narrative is a little long, but the pattern may be familiar to you-- an eye injury that seemingly clears up with no problem, eyes sticking upon waking, and altered vision. There may be pain, tearing, redness either after forcing the eye(s) open or waking you up in the middle of the night, as happened to me. Then, there are doctors who cannot see a problem unless they catch the erosion at just the right time. If some of these symptoms sound familiar to you, you may be experiencing recurrent corneal erosions.

About a year ago from today, I was experiencing my eye lids sticking to my eyes, shadows on words (which I thought was a worsening astigmatism), dry feeling eyes all day, and general discomfort.

I had had a corneal abrasion the month prior, and I thought that it had healed up and was okay. However, when I was grilling one evening, it was raining out, and when I opened the lid to the grill, steam poured out, and my eyes felt worse. Again, they seemed to be fine the next day, and I continued as normal but with a sense that all was not quite right.

Later in the month, I was in my general practitioner's office, complaining of severe pain, tearing, and he was horrified to see a gaping hole in my epithelium.

I was sent to an ophthalmologist promptly that day and was given Genteal Gel. I was told to use it for a month.

I did not make it two days. Luckily for me, that doctor was not in, so I went to my second ophthalmologist, and he diagnosed me with recurrent corneal erosions that had become ulcerated. He sent me home with a patched eye and told me to relax. I was up all night, because the erosions were waking me. I sat by the phone, waiting for his office hours, so that I could call him. About 10 minutes before his office opened, his nurse called me, said that he had arranged for me to see a corneal specialist as soon as I could get in. She said, "Dr. Mesaros must have been thinking of you all night, because he told me to contact the corneal specialist as soon as he came in today." Without that caring doctor, I don't know where I would be right now.

I went to the corneal specialist, and he put me on Muro 128 5% eye drops every four hours and Muro 128 5% ointment at night. I was to go back in two weeks. I could feel the saline burn in my eyes as soon as I tried it, but I also felt a good kind of "drying," the kind of drawing feeling that one gets on a cut when there is peroxide on it. Something was happening!