Reassurance about symptoms please

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   Hello everyone,This is my first post here.

I feel quite alone with my problem as it seems quite different from people I know and wondered if anyone here can identify with any of it please?

I work with three people who have dry eyes of varying degrees from sore gritty feeling to red eyes and getting infections due to the dryness (which is a side effect of another condition).

None of these three people experience the pain in the eye as I do.  I first became aware of this when I went for an eye test four years ago and when the puff of air went on to my right eye, I nearly went through the ceiling!! Left eye no problem.  Being quite anxious I had convinced myself that the instrument had damaged my eye, but feel that if they were that dangerous they wouldn't be used and have dismissed that theory.!

However, over the next couple of weeks I developed feelings of something being in my eye, though I could never find anything. Soreness and pain in the eye ball to the degree that it kept me awake at night.  A visit to the GP told me I had a lesion on the lid which was scratching and he gave me antibiotic drops.  This did nothing to help and in fact has never been noted again since   Eventually I went to eye casualty who diagnosed dry eyes with some "itis" or other and was told to put artificial tears in for a couple of weeks and it would clear up in two weeks.  I left it for three and still had symptoms so returned to eye casualty.  I was told that the " itis" had gone, but dry eye persisted, was given a more full explanation and told to continue with artificial tears.  It did improve, but generally the right eye feels as if I have muscle strain, particularly in the mornings.  I can feel my eye moving around behind my lids as if it were too big for the socket!! lol  Left eye normal.

I am very sensitive to light and find that I get a lot of "after shadowing" if I have looked at an object I can see it superimposed on everything else I look which is quite disorientating.  

When I get a particularly bad flare up, I get pain in my eyes, my nose,(almost like a sinus feeling) across my cheek bone, top teeth (dentist x-ray showed no problems)  my right temple and recently in my ear.  It makes sense that all of these nerve endings are connected and so I try to reassure myself with that fact and just put drops in every hour, use lacrilube at night and take paracetamol when the pain is stopping me from sleeping or concentrating.  I don't think it helps because it makes me anxious worrying about it which sets up a circle of stress and tension.  I confess though, that because I feel so alone with these symptoms my mind does go off imagining that it could be something much worse that has  been missed. 

I had eyes tested 2 months ago. retinal screen the works.  Nothing abnormal noted and optician again confirmed dry eyes, told me the right eye is probably not closing properly at night and did a test with a torch to illustrate his theory. (I am not fully convinced!).  Recommended lacrilube at night.

SORRY THIS IS SO LONG............................. It has been difficult to find anywhere to explain this fully to people who will not just think I am potty so I guess you are all getting the full boring story from me!  You probably wonder why I am asking this form for reassurance if I have seen opticians, but I think it is because my symptoms are so different from other people I know who have the same diagnosis and also I have it worse in the right eye.

I have quite a high pain threshold, but must admit that having something in my face that creates pain and difficulty with vision at times, I find very difficult to deal with as it makes me feel very disorientated at times.  

I would appreciate any help or comments just to reassure me that I am not going completely mad!

Many thanks.
!"

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Jules Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List New member Joined: Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Quote Reply Topic: Reassurance about symptoms please Posted: at 9:16am
	Hello everyone, This is my first post here. I feel quite alone with my problem as it seems quite different from people I know and wondered if anyone here can identify with any of it please? I work with three people who have dry eyes of varying degrees from sore gritty feeling to red eyes and getting infections due to the dryness (which is a side effect of another condition). None of these three people experience the pain in the eye as I do. I first became aware of this when I went for an eye test four years ago and when the puff of air went on to my right eye, I nearly went through the ceiling!! Left eye no problem. Being quite anxious I had convinced myself that the instrument had damaged my eye, but feel that if they were that dangerous they wouldn't be used and have dismissed that theory.! However, over the next couple of weeks I developed feelings of something being in my eye, though I could never find anything. Soreness and pain in the eye ball to the degree that it kept me awake at night. A visit to the GP told me I had a lesion on the lid which was scratching and he gave me antibiotic drops. This did nothing to help and in fact has never been noted again since Eventually I went to eye casualty who diagnosed dry eyes with some "itis" or other and was told to put artificial tears in for a couple of weeks and it would clear up in two weeks. I left it for three and still had symptoms so returned to eye casualty. I was told that the " itis" had gone, but dry eye persisted, was given a more full explanation and told to continue with artificial tears. It did improve, but generally the right eye feels as if I have muscle strain, particularly in the mornings. I can feel my eye moving around behind my lids as if it were too big for the socket!! lol Left eye normal. I am very sensitive to light and find that I get a lot of "after shadowing" if I have looked at an object I can see it superimposed on everything else I look which is quite disorientating. When I get a particularly bad flare up, I get pain in my eyes, my nose,(almost like a sinus feeling) across my cheek bone, top teeth (dentist x-ray showed no problems) my right temple and recently in my ear. It makes sense that all of these nerve endings are connected and so I try to reassure myself with that fact and just put drops in every hour, use lacrilube at night and take paracetamol when the pain is stopping me from sleeping or concentrating. I don't think it helps because it makes me anxious worrying about it which sets up a circle of stress and tension. I confess though, that because I feel so alone with these symptoms my mind does go off imagining that it could be something much worse that has been missed. I had eyes tested 2 months ago. retinal screen the works. Nothing abnormal noted and optician again confirmed dry eyes, told me the right eye is probably not closing properly at night and did a test with a torch to illustrate his theory. (I am not fully convinced!). Recommended lacrilube at night. SORRY THIS IS SO LONG............................. It has been difficult to find anywhere to explain this fully to people who will not just think I am potty so I guess you are all getting the full boring story from me! You probably wonder why I am asking this form for reassurance if I have seen opticians, but I think it is because my symptoms are so different from other people I know who have the same diagnosis and also I have it worse in the right eye. I have quite a high pain threshold, but must admit that having something in my face that creates pain and difficulty with vision at times, I find very difficult to deal with as it makes me feel very disorientated at times. I would appreciate any help or comments just to reassure me that I am not going completely mad! Many thanks. !"

Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Quote Reply Posted: at 4:22pm
	like you,jules i suffer from very similar symptoms and also feel as if i am moaning about something no one else can understand.I have had my symptoms for about 18 months and if i had known what i know now might not have suffered so long. I dontknow if you are male or female but if you are a lady of a certain age,like me,and you are taking a soya supplement,give it up for a while.A lady pharmacist advised it and she was right in my case.I wont be taking soya again.it has made a huge improvement. My optician told me about a new eye drop.its called clinitas soothe.your doctor may prescribe it for you,but mine wont and i buy it direct from the company.it costs £18 for 60 days and worth every penny!its preservative free daily ampoules.i havnt tried lumecare. i use lacrilube at night.i was hoping for a magic medicine that would solve the problem but its not out there.nights are the worst as my eye sticks and i feel that if i could solve nights the days would be much better. i use clinitas 20 times a day if i need,or twice but never miss a day.optician says thats ok.once you are in charge of the problem,dont let up,its probably not better.use sunglasses in windy/bright conditions if you are outside. regarding eye compress,once again optician gave me an idea and its good.put about 3 tablespoons of uncooked rice grains in a clean plastic sandwich bag.squeeze out air and knot the top.microwave for 20 secs or so.wrap in a clean dry flannel and mould to your eye.simple.and inexpensive and easily replaceable.ive just started using mine but already see advantage over wet flannel.hope that helps.