Suddenly Struggling

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Matthew_
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Suddenly Struggling

Postby Matthew_ » Thu 24 May 2007 9:17 pm

Hi Everyone!
Got my lenses last November(ish). Got on with them fine all through the winter but come spring things have gone rapidly pear-shaped.

I suddenly found I was intensely photo-phobic and couldn't go out of the house with lenses in. I struggled for about a week and then got an appointment at Gartnaval. They told me it was probably my Hayfever in the first place but by then I had abrasions on both eyes. I treated the hayfever with sodium cromligate and gave my eyes some time off. Things were OK for a while when I went back to lenses but not for long. I got one full day of lens use before I was back to square one. I am managing about 2 hours with the right lens and about 5 minutes with the left all week this week. The pollen count has been low all week.
I am worried that the hayfever drops are making things worse since they burn a bit. I wonder if my eyes are sensitised by the hayfever season and perhaps I have developed a low tolerance to my solutions? Or maybe I need different lenses? Its all very strange.
I am back to the clinic next week, but I wondered if anyone has had any similar experiences?
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mike scott
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Postby mike scott » Thu 24 May 2007 9:28 pm

hi mathew

I started to have similar problems with my right eye at the start of spring too, i thought perhaps the "fit " had changed as my lens wear time suddenly was starting to reduce and also becoming more photo phobic.
Fortunateley i managed to stabilise things by drinking loads of fluids and after a few weeks it calmed down. I can only put it down in this case to drier weather possibly causing my corneas to dehydrate.
This is obviously only a possible solution and may not be the case for you , but maybe its worth a thought.

best wishes
mike
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Lynn White
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Postby Lynn White » Thu 24 May 2007 9:39 pm

Matthew..

you know, most people here want to get guesses before they get seen in the clinic.. hehe. The bottom line is no-one and I mean no-one can say anything with any certainty unless they look at you with the right tools for the job.

There are so many variables - it makes daignosis at a distance impossible. Many conditions present similar symptoms because there is only a limited way the body can react.

Let the clinic have a look at you and make sure you tell them everything!

Lynn

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mike scott
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Postby mike scott » Thu 24 May 2007 10:01 pm

yes
Lynn is quite right of course

mike
onwards and upwards

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GarethB
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Postby GarethB » Fri 25 May 2007 7:43 am

Matthew,

I agree with Lynn (hard not too :twisted: ), but what you describe is very close to what I wen through in April 2005 and it was not until the December 2005 that we found the problem.

It was a combination of things;

Dry eyes; the test for dry eyes came out normal but low on the range so it was concluded the lenses were exacerbating the problem. This took longest to sort as I had to find what eye drops were best for me so tried a ifferent set each month. Initially I was using them every 2 hours to get a days wear, once other factors were taken into account I could back off the eye drops once found the right ones but this took three months.

Dehydration; At that time I was still drinking loads of coffee, other caffeine containing stuff and drinks with dieretic properties. Was not until I had a kidney problem that this became highlighted and things improved with a slight diet change. Cut out what I mentioned above, increased dairy product intake and drinking loads more water and eating whole fruit.

Air conditioning/ Central heating; Offices and homes are quite dry which do not help us, so at work there is a small humidifier on my desk. In the lab is a bit harder so I take breaks every hour or so. At home, instead of using the dryer all the time or puting washing on the line we put a few things on the radiators regardless of if they are o or not just to up the humidity in the house.

General health; as soon as I get the start of a cold well before a feel a sore throat, snotty nose and so on I will always find my eyes are more sensitive 7 to 14 days before the cold effects hit.

Once I got over these, 2006 was a beeze and touch wood, so far 2007 has been too.

You need to go back to the hospital and delve deeper into the problem and get the specialists to talk. It is quite possible the hayfever treatment has an effect on your eyes which to a non-KC person is no problem, but is to you.

Unfortunatly there is no quick fix, but once you find the cause the fix often comes with it and you can manage fine again.

Good luck.
Gareth

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Matthew_
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Postby Matthew_ » Sat 26 May 2007 10:03 am

Thanks a lot guys.
Lyn, you are right of course. I was just a bit desparate because I haven't been able to drive and my eyes are very sore (even without lenses in).
But it is not long until wednesday. Thanks for putting me straight. :D
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Lynn White
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Postby Lynn White » Sun 27 May 2007 10:06 am

Hehe....

I am not unsympathetic guys, its just that truly you can't guess whats wrong. And sometimes, trying to self diagnose can be positively dangerous.

From what you say and the observations of the clinic so far, then Gareth's points are well made. If they confirm its the hayfever again, then his advice is invaluable, though again, its all rather personal to him. Often, with allergic conditions, you have to find what works for you.

Good luck!

Lynn

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Andrew MacLean
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Postby Andrew MacLean » Sun 27 May 2007 12:06 pm

:D

When I worked in Aberdeen we had a community tea room where people came each morning. There was no pharmacy in our part of the city, so people would bring their prescriptions from the doctor and our volunteers would make a pharmacy run to collect the various medicines.

The worrying thing was the amount of trading that went on. One of our elderly friends would complain to her neighbour "I've an awful pain just here at my side, and it keeps shooting all down my leg".

The neighbour would reply, "I had the very same thing. My doctor gave me these (offering some pills), two to be taken four times a day."

I guess that we can tend to be in the same position as the women who trade their prescription medicines when we share our experience.

EXCEPT: we don't actually trade medicines. Image

Rather, by sharing experience we may encourage each other to seek professional help in the assurance that others have gone the same way before and have come out smiling!

Andrew
Andrew MacLean

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GarethB
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Postby GarethB » Mon 28 May 2007 2:47 pm

The main point of my message is that you sometimes need to look beyond the eyes and once a cause is found a fix soon follows and puts us on the straight and narrow again.
Gareth

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Matthew_
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Postby Matthew_ » Wed 30 May 2007 7:16 pm

Hi Guys,
Just to let you know what happened today when I went to sort this out.
Basically, the whole thing is allergy driven. My hayfever has made the cornea surface very soft & spongy. I am also allergic to the hayfever drops which made it unbearable. I am off lenses for 3 weeks to allow the cornea to settle down a bit. Then I will build up my lens use with preservative free solutions.
The solutions I got from the clinic are actually for soft lens (Oxysept 1 step) but I guess that must be OK? :?
Anyhow thank goodness for Gartnaval! I will be back on track soon :D
Does anyone know where I can get preservative free solutions from?
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