Custom Moisture Chamber in Madison, WI

[PAllen]

I found a place in Madison, WI that will make a pair of glasses into moisture chambers.

I printed Saag's instructions, http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...ers-in-Toronto, and took them to the local Super Walmart. the vision center manager, Andrew looked over the instructions and said he'd be happy to give it a try. We found some glasses that met Saag's description and I found some vinyl at a local craft store. Andrew ordered the glasses and when they came in, he fitted the vinyl and painstakingly trimmed the vinyl from the front of the lenses. When I arrived, he measured the distance from various points on my face to the frame and trimmed down the the remainder of the vinyl.

He did a great job. Because of my strong prescription, my only option for wind protection had been over the glasses goggles. They never fit right, didn't do a good job, were bulky and looked just awful. Now I have a pair that look like normal glasses and protect my eye from the wind!!

My eye condition seems to be in remission so I can't easily tell how effective they are in preventing dryness or inflammation. What I can tell you is that I can fan my face with a newspaper and I don't feel the breeze on my eyes. I can also tell you that my eyes didn't get irritated after an hour and a half in the local large grocery store wearing these glasses. with my regular glasses, they feel bad within an hour. I can also tell you that no one gave me a second look. I really don't think the fact that I have vinyl surrounding my lenses is all that apparent to anyone.

Thank you, Saag and thank you, Andrew.

To all you dry eye sufferers, keep looking. Don't give up. There may not be a cure yet, but there are things you can do to get relief in the meantime. You just have to find what works for you.

[Rojzen]

Elated to read of your success with the moisture chambers. I have always believed that the resourcefulness needed to make something like this happen (especially when it involves recruiting a new professional to help in the process) is the signature of someone who is going to prevail against the challenge of our symptoms. When you coached each of us to find what works for him/her, I knew, for sure, that you are going to be a lasting success story in this struggle. In my many encounters with people in our community, I've found that the most stubborn sticking point is getting past the fear that using a prosthetic or other accommodation somehow consigns us to a life of impairment. For me and many, the reality has been just the opposite: When we embrace an accommodation that gets us back into action (as moisture chambers so often do), that seems to trigger a whole cascade of other improvements that end up changing our relationship to our disorder. . .In the end, we are ourselves again, and the symptoms become something we KNOW we can tame. . .That is transformation, and it often begins with the admittedly difficult mental step of welcoming a helpful accommodation into our lives. . .

[Rebecca Petris]

Good job PAllen. Sooo happy to hear how well you're doing!!

In my many encounters with people in our community, I've found that the most stubborn sticking point is getting past the fear that using a prosthetic or other accommodation somehow consigns us to a life of impairment.

(((Rojzen))) great to see you! - As usual you really nailed this one! Can't tell you how many times I've had "that" conversation. Spoken or unspoken, you can hear it: NOT THE DREADED GOGGLES! I CAN'T BE ONE OF "THOSE" PEOPLE!

There is tremendous hope in these words (my emphasis):

When we embrace an accommodation that gets us back into action (as moisture chambers so often do), that seems to trigger a whole cascade of other improvements that end up changing our relationship to our disorder. . .In the end, we are ourselves again, and the symptoms become something we KNOW we can tame. . .That is transformation, and it often begins with the admittedly difficult mental step of welcoming a helpful accommodation into our lives. . .

I encourage people to think of moisture chamber glasses as crutches. You don't use crutches forever - you use them to take the stress off the fracture so it can start healing. You use moisture chambers to reduce or eliminate the constant assaults on the tear film (and consequently on your overloaded pain capacity) so your eyes and you can start healing.