Eye appointment today... | Arthritis Information

              BETTER SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for your support guys...

I'll let you know how it tunrs out.

Hi guys.

I had my appointment this afternoon. Turns out I do have this dry eye thing and that is what is causing my vision problem. I don't think I've ever had so many drops in my eyes in one visit!! They did this thing where they numbed my eyes and put these little paper strips on them and I sat in the dark for the longest 5 minutes of my life!! I had to look at the ceiling and blink like normal. It didn't hurt at all when she put the paper strips on my eyes, in fact I said "That's amazing" I was surprised I usually get kind of freaked out when anyone gets near my eyes....but when she came in after 5 minutes and turned the light on I about jumped out of the chair. (My eyes are very light sinsative too) Anyway; the only thing that hurt was when she removed the paper strips....she said "No doubt their dry" and she read them and said they're pretty dry, not bone dry, but pretty bad. (Whatever that means)

The doctor came back and examined me more and talked to me quite a while about what it all meant. He said it's another progressive condition that will over time continue to get worse. He said although it can be serious; most people do fine with it. He gave me some kind of tear drops to try and said I can get them over the counter for now and we'd hold off on prescription treatment for now. He said it's a pretty common condition where one of the tear ducks (We all have two in each eye) isn't working properly and the other one over reacts causing it to tear too much? (Pam I'm hoping you can elaborate and help me understand it all better)

Sorry if I've got MORE typos than usual. I'm still having a pretty hard time seeing. I thought after a little nap I was feeling better after being dialated; but not good enough to be on the computer.

Thanks for your friendship guys. It means alot to me to be able to talk to all of you about yet another problem I'm faced with. Hopefully this one won't be too much problem.

Hi Lovie,

I'm glad everything went well. 

There are 2 tearing systems one that produces tears when the eye becomes irritated, for example you get poked in the eye, this system reacts to flush out whatever has caused the irritation.  The other should constantly be producing tears to keep the eyes lubricated and healthy.  These are the tears that nurture the eyes so to speak.  If this system is not working properly the eyes become dry and irritated.  Some people with very dry eyes say "but my eyes can't be dry, they tear all the time".  what is happening is that there are not enough natural tears, the eyes have become dry and irritated and this kicks off the other system to try and flush out the irritant.  Yes, there are tears, but they are not the tears that keep your eyes healthy.  Overtime this can cause surface problems with the cornea and conjunctiva.  It can usually be managed with the artificial tears, it's great if you can find a brand that is preservative free.  Always stick with what your Dr has told you to use.  Never try "visine" or other whiteners, it will only make matters worse. Some people when advised by the Ophthalmologist will opt to have there Tear ducts Plugged with little tiny Plugs, this way whatever natural tears are being produced do not drain into the ducts but pool in the eyes to keep them lubricated, still need the drops as well, though.

We saw lots and lots of "Dry Eye Syndrome" when I was working, that was quite a long time ago and I'm sure meds and treatments have probably changed a little since then.  But not to worry "Lovie Love" use your drops and you'll do fine.  When does he want to see you back? 

Don't worry you'll be back posting soon. Sounds like a good visit, I'm so glad.  Just keep your follow up apts and you'll do great!

Take care Lovie,

Pretty much summed up what the doctor said. He told me if the drops didn't help inprove my vision to come back in a few weeks; but other than that he'll see me again in a year.

You guys have a good night. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Lovie

Lovie,

I have Sjogrens and that is dry mouth and dry eyes. My mouth is my biggest problem, thats the truth. LOL I take a med called Evoxac for the mouth dryness and use eye drops for my eyes. It seems there are a lot of secondary autoimmune disorders that can go along with RA. The wonders never cease.

Barb

I have dry eyes and have had the paper test too. It did freak me out a little at the beinning but like you said it didn't hurt. My eyes were foggy for a long time before getting the right treatment. I eventually had plugs put in m tear ducts. This is really the only thing that worked the best. It sounds terrible but I assure you it was a cinch. Because my eyes were so dry any irritant would cause them to get bad again immediately. The plugs helped with this too. I also use restasis drops which supposed to help you create more tears. I'm not sure this has worked that well for me. Warm wet cloths on the eyes will help as well.