[Ski]

#1065819

For those with severe TED symptoms, it is actually rather common that their eye doesn’t shut all the way at night, and it is ESSENTIAL to your future sight that you do something to cover the eye while you sleep. It can cause a great deal of damage not to. At our last conference, one of the doctors pointed out that using tape to hold something over the eye can actually be counterproductive, because the tape itself can pose a threat if it comes loose. I know there are some posts on here with the recommended eye covering, you may want to do a quick search for those ~ I haven’t had to take advantage of it myself, but I think one of the best solutions I’ve heard is to ring the eye with a thick line of vaseline (over the brow bone and top of the cheekbone), then put saran wrap over that, then use a sleep mask to hold it in place. You could do the saran wrap just on the eye that isn’t closing, you wouldn’t have to use it on both eyes. You may also want to use the nighttime eye gel in the eye as a lubricator, because even covering the eye doesn’t keep it from getting dry.

[snelsen]

#1065820

Thanks, Ski, I will proceed to those steps. Forgot to ask (and I will also ask the surgeon) if eyelid repair might be appropriate now. The reason I am saying this, is that My OD was necessary, even though I was in the active phase..to protect my optic nerve, relieve the pressure on it. BUT I could close my eye just fine when I had marked protrusion. Now I have no protrusion, cannot close my eye. So it is definitely not because exopthalmus. I suspect it is damage to the VII cranial nerve during the OD. It took a while to get that from the surgeon, however, he finally said that is what caused my problem. If that is the case, this could be a permanent situation. Not happy about that.

[snelsen]

#1018582

Has anyone been unable to completely shut an eye? Unfortunately, this has happened AFTER my OD. Of course it increases the risk of corneal abrasion. I am being very vigilant about eye drops, almost to the point I am worried I am using too many. I rotate between preservative free and not preservative free. Has anyone taped an eye at night? I can’t imagine doing this, but I am sure that when I am sleeping, my eye is not completely shut, and it is very uncomfortable in the morning.

When TED has run its’ course, does the photophobia improve at all? Mine is severe. Even living in Seattle, where there sun is not around for several months, it is to bright for me.

I guess I am still in the active phase, I find it very hard to believe I will be in any other phase. It has bee way over a year.
My formal diagnosis was a year ago, but counting all the times I got new glasses "because you eyes need them" it has been close to two years with visual changes. Perhaps SEVEN years, for I stated at an eye exam in 2003 that "i have to tip my head way back to see the eye chart clearly."
Today I am very discouraged. CAn you tell????????
Shirley

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