Going Crazy..

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danabarb

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If I were you, I would go see a good allergist and be skin tested for everything. Make sure you are tested for chemical allergies as well as for pollen and mold and fooRAB. I say this because an allergist where I moved to told me I was only allergic to chemicals, which is not the case. He has cost me two and a half years of my life. I lost all my energy and got to the point where I didn't care to live. I have been back on my injections for over a year and feel much better. I am allergic to pollen and mold as well. Allergies can raise all sorts of problems with people and if not taken care of, can be a very serious issue-much more serious than I had EVER dreamed. Carpets in a house can trigger allergies as well as animals,perfumes and the list goes on and on. I never had allergies until I was in my 40's or early 50's, so they can strike any time.
 
So, about 2 months ago, I started having problems with red, itching, burning eyes. I normally wear contact lenses but when these symptoms started, I took them out and wore my glasses. I have been to the eye doctor 4 times and had 3 different prescription eye drops. Nothing seems to work. I went on vacation to the beach in Florida ( I live in Georgia) and within 3 days of being there, my eyes totally cleared up. I came home Wednesday and my eyes were fine for 3 days. I even wore my contacts. I put the contacts in on Sunday and within 2 hours, my eye symptoms returned. Itching,burning,red.

Obviously, I am allergic to something in Georgia or something in my house. I have never had this problem before. I work for an MD and had some allergy bloodwork drawn which didn't show I was allergic to any of the obvious things (cats,dogs,mold,etc). I don't know how accurate the blood work is vs the skin tests.

So, my question is, what next? Do I see an allergy doctor to try to pin down what it is I am allergic to? I have racked my brain and can't think of anything that changed 2 months ago. No new shampoo, laundry detergent,rugs or anything like that.

This is driving me crazy and I am tired of looking like I am a.)tired all the time, b.) drunk, or c.) upset.

Any ideas??:mad:
 
I have been on 5 different eyes drops , steroid drops, mast cell stabilizers, antihistamines) - none have helped.

I am going to call for an appointment with an allergist today and se if I can get this all figured out.

I will post an update when I have one.

Thanks so much, everybody, for the advice and help!
 
Starting 2 months ago suggests it might be grass pollen. If that's the case, another month or two might be the end of it, this has been the worst pollen year in living memory. And pollen levels are almost always lower at the beach, because the "sea breeze" carries in nice pollen-free air off the ocean.

Now, the skin testing is better for airborne allergies. So it might indeed be time to see an allergist. Meanwhile, try to keep down your exposure to triggers.

Or, it could be it isn't an allergy but a sensitivity. Are you regularly around smoke? Fumes? Or pets for that matter? Do you use any cosmetic or skin products near your eyes?
 
OK, so I had my allergy testing this morning and it showed I am allergic to absolutely NOTHING!

I guess that's good but I was hoping to find a solution.

The allergist recommended I go back to the eye doctor with this new information. The eye doctor had been treating me with the assumption that we were dealing with an allergy.

I am so frustrated!
 
You indicate the doctor said you don't have dry eyes. Did he/she test you for it?

If you don't have allergies, that might be something worth taking another look at. I have both allergies and Dry Eye Syndrome and the symptoms for both can mimic each other in my case. My eye doc did a simple litmus paper test years ago to test for the dry eye. Not sure if they have something more fancy than that test now though.

I'm surprised the steroid drops didn't help at all. They should have helped relieve some of the inflammation. Of course, until you can figure out why you have the inflammation, the irritant would still be present.

In my case, I frequently use natural tears (Refresh brand Optive is my favorite). I also find Restasis helpful, but had to stop using it due to the high cost. I also have plugs in my tear ducts to help.

I can totally understand your frustration though. Eye irritation is really annoying and can effect daily functioning at times. When mine gets bad, I get the reflex tears which make things even worse.

Good luck with figuring things out.

MountainReader
 
Eye doctor said I don't have dry eye.

I am not regularly around smoke or fumes and have pretty much quit using any cosmetic products around my eyes. I did switch to a hypo-allergenic eyeliner to see if it made a difference. It didn't and that's the only makeup I wear on my eyes now.

I do have a dog and a cat. I've had my dog for 10 years now and the cat for about 3 years.

I've never had this problem before but I guess it's possible to develop allergies, right? And allergy testing would pinpoint what I am allergic to? If I am allergic to anything, that is.

Thanks for responding, by the way.
 
My doctor did test me for dry eye and said I didn't have it. I have used the natural tears just in case anyway, with no help.

I was actually on 3 different steroid drops, each one stronger than the last, with no real improvement.

I'm thinking of seeing a differernt eye doctor, just to get a second opinion.

Thanks for replying!
 
Yes, allergy testing would show any allergies. And yes, you can develop them any time...sadly! And antihistamines may even dry your eyes. Have you asked about allergy eye drops?
 
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