Dry Eyes...do I or don't I?

[reesatay]

A few weeks back I went to a cornea specialist to be evaluated for dry eyes.  He said I soaked the schrimer strip and my eyes are great with just minor age related dryness... and I have no signs of ocular Sjogren's... bla bla bla... so then I went to my regular eye doc and told him those results and he checked my eyes and said there is dryness and there is no way I could have soaked the strip.  Both did say I have not cornea damage with is great. 

I notice my mouth dryness changes throughout the day so wonder if the same can happen for eyes.

Does anyone notice differences in their eye dryness from morning to night... day to day, etc?   

[long time dry]

I'm not certain why but sometimes my eyes are more irritated than others and then I use the artificial tears more.  They are probably more dry at those times and they are definitely drier than they used to be.  Both of my eye doctors have noticed the dryness so I do believe it is always there.  So far I'm holding my own with the artificial tears but don't know if that will change later on.

[Cassi307]

A few weeks back I went to a cornea specialist to be evaluated for dry eyes.  He said I soaked the schrimer strip and my eyes are great with just minor age related dryness... and I have no signs of ocular Sjogren's... bla bla bla... so then I went to my regular eye doc and told him those results and he checked my eyes and said there is dryness and there is no way I could have soaked the strip.  Both did say I have not cornea damage with is great. 

I notice my mouth dryness changes throughout the day so wonder if the same can happen for eyes.

Does anyone notice differences in their eye dryness from morning to night... day to day, etc?

I see a difference in my eyes from day to day. My eyes were dry as paper during my worst symptom days but now that things are improving so are my eyes. Still, some days I use drops more than other days. Don't forget that environmental factors will influence dryness as well.

By the way did you have any eyes drops instilled (even those instilled in the ophth office) prior to your exam?

[Navigator]

It is counterintuitive but sometimes the symptom of dry eyes is actually excessive tearing.  The problem arises that the makeup of these tears lacks the fats that should be there and is mostly water which evaporates quickly.    If your eyes are dry and "sticky" after a night of sleep there is definitely something going on.  If you can afford it I would get another opinion. 

Your primary care physician can also do a blood test to see if you have the markers for SJS.  If they are there it doesn't matter what the eye doc. said. 

[stprdi]

My eyes feel like glue in the morning, so dry.  I do use the heavy ointment in the tube at night.  During the day they are more likely to burn or itch and I use the thicker eye drops.  Eye doc said my right eye has a large dry area. 

[Cassi307]

I also have dry patches in my eyes that cause blur spots. I also still produce tears and sometimes they spill when even slightly emotional (like at my son's Confirmation). I was told that because of my plugs at moments like that tearing occurs.Not long after the teary moment I will have dry eyes. Used to make me think I was crazy.

Be so careful with your eyes and keep following up with an ophth who will help.

[Calli66]

Might be a stupid question to ask: Did the technician put drops in your eyes prior to checking the eye pressure? (glaucoma test)

Every time I go to my cornea doctor, the assistant always wants to put the drops in first, do the test, the preliminaries, then put me in the exam room to wait for the doc. I always have to remind them, and sometimes INSIST that they wait, because it throws off the evaluation for my dry eye status if they put drops in my eyes.

Same goes for the Schirmer's strip test. Some doctors put drops in beforehand to numb the eye. This can either cause a complete drying up of tears, OR a watering from reaction to the irritating drops and the strip itself.

A good doctor should be able to see that the ocular surface is dry without having to use the Schirmer strip. It's not quantitative or reliable.

One eye doctor (forgot name, wrote a book I read once) said a more reliable test is whether the visual acuity improves with the use of simple moisture drop. He tests vision before and after the drops.

Calli

[long time dry]

Calli66 has a good point.  The drops are put in after part of the exam at my regular ophthalmologist's office and they can easily check for dryness.  At my retina specialist's office they are put in during the routine first testing.  I'm going to keep Calli66's point in mind when I go for appointments.

[reesatay]

The eye doc did the Schrimer test after putting in numbing drops even though my request from UCSF said to do the test without drops.  Thanks for the heads up on why it is good to do the test without drops.  I remember him using something to dry off the extra moisture before placing the strips.  He also put in staining drops to check for damage but I can't remember if that was before or after the strips.   

[eric555]

Sleeping with a humidifier on helps me. I used wake up with bloodshot eyes but since I started using the humidifier it's not so bad.