tears return????

[tenai98]

I'm almost ten months post op and did not experience any eye problems from surgery. (translab)...I know I do not have tears given the fact I had opportunity to cry (when son and family moved away). but I DO have moisture emitting from the eye when eating spicy/hot foods. Also sometimesin the morning, I will notice(feel) moisture or a small pool of moisture in the corner of the AN eye...I\m guessing this is all  good and anticipating the return of tears
JO

[Jim Scott]

JO ~

Yes, it would seem as if you'll eventually be able to produce tears again.  These things have their own 'timetable' so exactly when, is unknown,  However, I'm sure you'll be crying and needing tissues, sooner rather than later. 

Jim

[Kathy M]

Hi Jo!

I'm over one year out and still don't cry out of my AN-side eye!  It has always been moist enough to keep me from having problems, but no tears yet.  I've tested it numerous times over the past several weeks, and still none!!  Crazy!!  The good thing is that when my family is on my AN side, they don't always know when I'm having "a moment" and shedding a tear or two!

My neurosurgeon told me that they would likely come back over time. 

Hang in!

Kathy

[ombrerose4]

Hi! My surgery was also in Sept. 2009. I had plugs put in my upper and lower tear ducts about 2 months ago because my eyes were so dry. Yesterday I had one plug removed because my eye was tearing too much. So yes, it sounds like you are making a comeback on the tear trail

[Nickittynic]

I'll be watching this thread - I'm only 4 months post op and no tearing or any signs of it, but dreaming of a day when I don't need to spend $20/week on eye drops! Is it possible?

[cinnamon]

I had no idea my tears would be coming back. I am almost 4 years post op and still do not produce tears.No matter how much I cry no tears. The only time I can get it to heavily water is with certain foods that trigger my taste buds. I would like to have my tears back on the an side though.

Lisa H.

[Katiedee]

My tears did return after 6 months.  I was supposed to get minor eye surgery and an insert to make the eye close but the neurosurgeon who did the brain surgery asked me to wear an eye patch and tape my eye shut instead.  I did, I'm glad now, but at the time it was embarrasing to return to work like that.   I wore eye patches for over two months, and an eye apparatus at night to keep moisture in.  I found that eye drops with perservatives in them caused terrific pain.  The most effective for me was the night time gel which I put in the day time.  I was putting drops in, moving the tape and patch to do so sometimes every 30 minutes.  I'm relieved to say that ordeal ended but now I'm experiencing synkinses and endless extremly loud tinnitus. 

[tenai98]

Welll for me even though I have no tears in my AN  side eye, I dont need any eye drops whatsoever...So I guess I have enough moisture to keep my cornea wet...Just no tears yet!
JO

[texsooner]

I'm about 18 months out and still don't produce tears on the AN side. However, my dry eye issues improved a lot. Since about 6 months post op, I've only needed eyedrops about 2 to 3 times per day.

Patrick

[epc1970]

I am about  20 months out and produce lubricating tears but do not produce emotional tears-who knew there were two types of tears??? I saw a neuro-opthamologist a few months ago who felt that based on my recovery to date he felt that my emotional tears who come back even this far out! Every once in a while when I cry it feels like I have tears welling up but they do not come out. I
Erin

[opp2]

My an eye is very dry now, pre op so I don't know what to expect post up. I can hope, but if this is what I end up with, I'm good with that.

[tenai98]

Nikki
I anticipated dry eye after surgery so I went out and bought the eye drops that were recommended on this site..refresh, renew, somethinkg like that when  I was in Florida last yr. I used one small bottle a couple of times and that was it...
JO

[Goldie]

I had dry eyes before surgery but not enough that I had to use anything for them.  Things were manageable after surgery until I went back to work.  I expect it's because of dry circulating air plus a lot of computer work, as it's not as bad at home.  I'm using Refresh artificial tears plus Refresh Celluvisc at times, ointment and Tranquil Eyes (mask) at night, and now started Restasis a week ago.  Restasis can take up to a month to work and doesn't work for everyone.  With my insurance coverage it will still cost me $75 a month, so I'm starting to wonder if a plug is the way to go.  Will give things a little more time.  Since I have hardly any facial paralysis, this isn't something I expected, but I've been told it's because the nerves were cut during surgery and it likely won't improve...just need to find ways to deal with it.  Guess I'll just have to stay home and be thankful everything else is good!   

Denise D.

[ombrerose4]

Hi Denise,
I had a plug put in my lower duct a couple of months after surgery. While that helped somewhat, it wasn't till I insisted on an upper plug (actually I had to change doctors because for some reason the doctor I went to wouldn't do it), that I finally got complete relief from dry eye. Within an hour I was free of pain and irritation. Two months later I went back to the doctor because now my eyes were tearing so much that I asked him to take the bottom plug out. For me the top plug alone is enough now, I guess some of my tearing function came back. The plugs do not hurt at all going in or coming out. I would suggest you look into them some more. I only use drops once in awhile now, usually on a windy day, otherwise I'm drop free. Good luck!

[Goldie]

Thanks, Ombrerose.  You were reading my mind and answered questions I had about the plugs!  I see my eye doc in a couple of weeks again and will definitely ask more about them.  He did mention them earlier but wanted to try these other things first.  Hopefully we can find a good solution sometime soon.

Denise D.