Guest guest Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 FWIW just in case this strikes a familiar note to someone: I have keratoconus in both eyes. This is a rare (that's my middle name) abnormal curvature (cone-shape) and thinness of the cornea, that eventually progresses to scarring, and very poor vision. The curvature plus scars means that any improved vision only comes from extremely specialized (and EXPENSIVE) gas-permeable (GP) contact lens (not quite the old hard glass little ones, but a more comfortable version of same). It's thought that this condition is hereditary but the jury is out. It's also thought that it comes from very excessive rubbing of eyes, as a child (but manifests twenty years later). Which I admit to doing. No one told me not to and I was quite young. But I do recall it vividly, it makes beautiful curving checkerboard patterns of flashing colors. In any event, it does correlate with dry eyes, which I have. In my case, it got eventually so bad that I had one cornea replaced (with donor tissue, sewn in). This more or less worked (with additional correction), but I still need this expensive and (for me) problematic surgery in the other eye. You generally choose to have the worst eye done, and then wait maybe years to " see " the result. It's risky, some percentage of people lose all vision in that eye, one way or another. In my case, there were some complications and hence I'm not a good candidate for the second eye. That despite the fact that now my best (only, really) vision is in the operated eye. So perhaps this correlates with mito, anyone? Steve D. Watering eyes Snow- I¹m very new to this, with a lot of symptoms but no solid diagnosis based on labs. I have Ophthalmoplegia (droopy lids, and reduced eye muscle function), and periodically my eyes water like crazy. For me, this is due to a combination of corneal exposure due to the disease and really bad allergies: the problem only happens when I¹m in a highly allergic state. During this time, my ophthalmologist inserts a (temporary) plug in one of the tear drains in each eye to increase the amount of lubrication and the over-the-top tearing is completely or nearly stopped. It seems really counter intuitive- your eyes are watering, and you want them to drain more, right? But, if you have ophthalmoplegia, and your lids don¹t function well, your eyes probably have more exposure than normal and can become very dry, especially if they are irritated by allergens. Plugging one of the drains allows tears to stay on the eye longer, and the dryness is relieved. If my eyes still tear after the plugs are in, I use frequent doses of synthetic tears to lubricate my eyes as much as possible. The more lubricated my eyes are, the less they tear. At the end of allergy season (mid-October in No. Cal, for me) the plugs are removed and my eyes are fine, until the whole cycle starts again. I¹m working with an allergist, and I¹m hoping that the immunotherapy I¹m doing will lessen the allergic response eventually. I¹d see your ophthalmologist first so s/he can determine if your eyes are tearing in response to allergens or corneal dryness or some other reason readily apparent. Dry eyes and excessive tearing are commonplace eye complaints, and happen to people without mito, too. Good luck! Kathleen > > laurie > > >> > but I don't know much about this disease. And since I have been >> > reading and checking in on the sites everyday, I have discovered so >> > much and found that the things I am going through, other ones are >> > going through it too. I am not imagining it or becoming a >> > hypochondriac. What a relief. But I don't want to be a bother either, >> > there are probably more important e mails for needing a response. So >> > when any one can, I am experiencing at times, that all of a sudden my >> > eyes will start to water and it feels like they overflow and looks >> > like I am crying. Is this possibley related to mito? So I know what >> > and whom to go see about this. It has become bothersome. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Steve, I was told 20-some years ago that I had keratoconus, as well as other scarring and abnormalities, most likely due to wearing the old hard contact lenses for many years. The doc said my corneas were " a mess. " I switched to the gas-permeable and within 6 months there were some signs of healing, which continued very slowly. Now I have no keratoconus, though I do have extreme astigmatism. I have never connected these problems with the mito diagnosis. Barbara > FWIW just in case this strikes a familiar note to someone: > > I have keratoconus in both eyes. This is a rare (that's my middle name) abnormal > curvature (cone-shape) and thinness of the cornea, that eventually progresses to > scarring, and very poor vision. The curvature plus scars means that any improved > vision only comes from extremely specialized (and EXPENSIVE) gas-permeable > (GP) contact lens (not quite the old hard glass little ones, but a more comfortable > version of same). > > It's thought that this condition is hereditary but the jury is out. It's also thought that it > comes from very excessive rubbing of eyes, as a child (but manifests twenty years > later). Which I admit to doing. No one told me not to and I was quite young. But I do > recall it vividly, it makes beautiful curving checkerboard patterns of flashing colors. > In any event, it does correlate with dry eyes, which I have. > > In my case, it got eventually so bad that I had one cornea replaced (with donor > tissue, sewn in). This more or less worked (with additional correction), but I still > need this expensive and (for me) problematic surgery in the other eye. You > generally choose to have the worst eye done, and then wait maybe years to " see " > the result. It's risky, some percentage of people lose all vision in that eye, one way > or another. In my case, there were some complications and hence I'm not a good > candidate for the second eye. That despite the fact that now my best (only, really) > vision is in the operated eye. > > So perhaps this correlates with mito, anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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