Hellobee Boards

Are you going to an ophthalmologist? I would definitely get a second opinion. I have severe eye problems and see a cornea specialist.

@Anagram: that is crazy. I'm so sorry you had to deal with him. Hopefully you get an answer soon. I basically get cold sores in my eye (it's from the same virus). My eye gets super red and it feels like I have sandpaper on my eyelids. It also gets really crusty in the mornings, so gross. Luckily I've only had it a few times but it has been bad enough that it has caused other problems along with scarring on my cornea. So I'm very protective of my eyes and try to get it at the first sign of anything.

I feel your pain. In 2015 I had an eye infection for EIGHT WEEKS. I went to the eye doctor three different times, saw three different doctors, and got three different diagnosis. One said I had a viral pink-eye, one said I had chlamydia of the eye and I needed to talk to my husband since I said we were monogamous, and one told me I had some kind of mite on my eyelashes and that was causing my problem. Six weeks and $120 later, my eyes were still super red, itchy, and watery.

I ended up going to urgent care and getting a $5 antibiotic that cleared it up. Whatever.

I changed eye doctors after that.

@Anagram: ugh what a nightmare! I would definitely go to a different doctor but not urgent care. I recently had a severe corneal abrasion and went to the ER since urgent care was closed. A good friend is an NP at urgent care and said the ER was the best place to go after hours. Urgent care rarely has access to specialists and you definitely need an ophthalmologist for this. I would also think it could be what @KT326 said, the herpes virus. My mom recently had that and her symptoms were identical to what you describe. it was easily cleared up with antibiotics. Hopefully you can find another ophthalmologist in your area that insurance covers! Go ASAP!

@Anagram: I'd go get a second opinion. The eyes are tough, and I was having issues with them after both boys as well. I got pink eye while I was pregnant with LO2, and my eyes have never been the same.

I did realize that I had some pretty significant allergies that I didn't know I had and I've been putting Zaditor in each eye every morning and every night...especially now that it's spring. I've found that helps quite a bit. But if you think it's dry eye and it's not being helped by artificial tears, it certainly doesn't hurt to find someone else.

@Anagram: Yes...I specifically went to an allergist to find out if I had environmental allergies. It was a fairly long appointment with a scratch test on my back. I lit up like a Christmas tree. The only things I weren't allergic to were grasses and some animals. But almost every type of spring tree pollen popped up, summer/fall weeds popped up, and molds as well as dog and cat dander popped up. Dust mites and cockroaches were also high on the list.

So while it might not be what's going on with you, it wouldn't hurt to try to go and see if you have seasonal allergies. In the meantime, I'd try and find a new ophthalmologist.

@Anagram: Absolutely. And funny you say that about GI issues. I'm going to go completely off subject, but my dermatologist wrote a white paper on IBS and how it might be a food allergy. He discovered that his IBS was really an intolerance for garlic. Once he eliminated garlic from his diet, all of his IBS symptoms disappeared. So he wrote this whitepaper about it. He had done scratch tests on himself to see what types of food he was allergic to, and the garlic was the only thing that popped up.

It's all incredibly fascinating to me, but I do recommend seeing an allergist if not just to rule out allergies as the cause.

@Anagram: This may not be helpful but when that happens to me it's a severe allergy attack.

@Anagram: I sent you the dr info via FB messenger. Let me know if you have any more questions.

@LBee: that's interesting about the steroid drops. I've been on and off them for my eye issues and have never had a problem. Maybe it depends on the type of steroid?

@LBee: 6 times a day is a lot! I never used it more than 3 times a day. I don't remember the initial steroid drop I used, but I was on it for about 6 months before I was switched to Lotemax. I think the Lotemax is a lower dosage and safe for long term use. I was on that for about a year. It took a long time for my issue to clear up!

@Anagram: My mom thought she had pink eye so she went to the eye doctor and it turns out she has a plugged tear duct...the symptoms presented the same, and she's on antibiotic drops.