Puffy, watery eyes - update - muscle cramps??

[Stephanie]

My left eye has been driving me nuts the last two weeks. On occassion, my right eye joins in on the fun. My eye swells sometimes to a point where it is noticeable and it affects my vision slightly. This occurs during the day, not just when I wake up in the morning. It feels like it wants to swim away - almost like I have a cold and my sinuses are totally clogged, but they aren't. They aren't pink, they don't itch, they're a little glassy and bloodshot.

I did have my 4 year eye exam ( ) and my doctor didn't see any signs of a detached retina or glaucoma. Has anyone else had a problem with their eyes like this?

I'm going to try and get an appointment at our Wellness Center at work tomorrow, but they've cut back hours due to the economy, etc.

[Miss Mary]

Wow Steph, definitely get this checked out. Occasionally I'll notice my eyes ache and feel tired. But usually washing off my makeup and mascara, making sure none gets in my eyes and soaking with either wet tea bags or a cold washcloth on top of my eyes, soothes them. A coworker recently told me that you can develop dry eyes when you reach Menopause. I don't think you're old enough to be there but this could be a symptom of Peri-menopause? If it's just a matter of dry eyes you can buy over the counter drops for minor irritations.

Hope you feel better!

[CajunMama]

My left eye waters alot. I think it's just allergies. Things are ablooming so it could be an allergy.

[Stephanie]

Wow Steph, definitely get this checked out. Occasionally I'll notice my eyes ache and feel tired. But usually washing off my makeup and mascara, making sure none gets in my eyes and soaking with either wet tea bags or a cold washcloth on top of my eyes, soothes them. A coworker recently told me that you can develop dry eyes when you reach Menopause. I don't think you're old enough to be there but this could be a symptom of Peri-menopause? If it's just a matter of dry eyes you can buy over the counter drops for minor irritations.

Hope you feel better!

I'm close to menopause (in perimenopause) and dry eyes are common after you reach 40. Dry eyes can actually mean watery eyes because of an over production of tears to compensate for the lack of tears. I'm going to call that Wellness Center today.

Thanks Miss Mary and Cajun!

[abajan]

Wow Steph, definitely get this checked out. Occasionally I'll notice my eyes ache and feel tired. But usually washing off my makeup and mascara, making sure none gets in my eyes and soaking with either wet tea bags or a cold washcloth on top of my eyes, soothes them. A coworker recently told me that you can develop dry eyes when you reach Menopause. I don't think you're old enough to be there but this could be a symptom of Peri-menopause? If it's just a matter of dry eyes you can buy over the counter drops for minor irritations.

Hope you feel better!

Well, I have dry eyes too and I'm a man, so perhaps I'm going through Male Menopause! And let me tell you, this "dry eyes" business is no fun at all. In my case, it usually happens in the daytime, and symptoms can be triggered by a slight gust of wind or an allergic reaction to something in the air or both. It starts with my left eye feeling more sensitive than usual. Eventually, it begins to burn, sting and feel like a pin is poking it all over. It gets very red and watery to the point that vision becomes distorted. The right eye soon follows suit. Of course, if I happen to be driving, I have to pull over and close both eyes as tightly as possible - this helps to relieve the burning/sticking/stinging sensation just a bit.

I keep artificial tears in the car and once the burning/sticking/stinging subsides enough that I can open my eyes somewhat, I put some a few drops in each eye which helps a lot. But the redness remains for a good hour or so and one of my nostrils becomes temporarily blocked with tears and mucus.

Very annoying, peeps.

[Stephanie]

I'm glad that I don't have the burning and stinging that you experience, abajan! My vision does become blurred, I guess from the pressure of the swelling I and the tears.

I have an appointment tomorrow at 3:00 pm.

[coriolis]

Good luck with it Stephanie. I hope you get this straightened out.

[Stephanie]

Thanks Ed.

They recommended that I go and see and Ophthalmologist. I have pressure from the swelling and the doctor said that the only other thing it looks like is that I got bit by something. Since the eye doctor I went to, an optometrist, said that I didn't have glaucoma, she said that I may need more of a specialist to look at what's going on behind my eye.

[coriolis]

Maybe it's from looking at a computer screen too much.

[Stephanie]

Maybe it's from looking at a computer screen too much.

Like now??

It's the truth though - I go from working on a computer all day long to "relaxing" here at home on the internet.

[Cookiely]

My left eye has been driving me nuts the last two weeks. On occassion, my right eye joins in on the fun. My eye swells sometimes to a point where it is noticeable and it affects my vision slightly. This occurs during the day, not just when I wake up in the morning. It feels like it wants to swim away - almost like I have a cold and my sinuses are totally clogged, but they aren't. They aren't pink, they don't itch, they're a little glassy and bloodshot.

I did have my 4 year eye exam ( ) and my doctor didn't see any signs of a detached retina or glaucoma. Has anyone else had a problem with their eyes like this?

I'm going to try and get an appointment at our Wellness Center at work tomorrow, but they've cut back hours due to the economy, etc.

Is the eye lid affected? Is it drooping? This can be a sign of a benign tumor behind the eye. My grandfather had one. If it is get to a Dr. Right Away as these tumors grow very quickly and can damage the optic nerve.

[Stephanie]

[quote="Cookiely]
Is the eye lid affected? Is it drooping? This can be a sign of a benign tumor behind the eye. My grandfather had one. If it is get to a Dr. Right Away as these tumors grow very quickly and can damage the optic nerve.[/quote]

Not the lid, but in the area above it, below and along the brow. My right eye is starting to swell, but not on the side as much as with the left eye.

I have an appointment with my primary doctor. The opthamologists that I called didn't have hours that were good for me right away - one wasn't taking appointments until May. If anything, he'll get the ball rolling I'm sure with tests, etc.

My friends and Marty think that I'm having problems with my sinuses, that they're inflamed. I'm not congested though and they don't hurt. Weird.

Thanks for the FYI Cookiely.

To be continued...

[Cookiely]

I'm glad you got your appointment. I got to thinking have you had your thyroid checked lately.
http://www.4woman.gov/faq/graves-disease.cfm#a
It probably is just sinus because the pollen count has been horendous this year and a physician told me that it was going to last longer this year than usual. Let us know how things progress.

[Stephanie]

I'm glad you got your appointment. I got to thinking have you had your thyroid checked lately.
http://www.4woman.gov/faq/graves-disease.cfm#a
It probably is just sinus because the pollen count has been horendous this year and a physician told me that it was going to last longer this year than usual. Let us know how things progress.

Everytime I think of Graves disease, I think of bulging eyes, which I don't have. Anyway, I guess it's a possibility too. Thank you for the link.

[Stephanie]

Okay, so the opthalmalogist didn't see anything wrong with my eyes last week. I did have blood tests taken for my thyroid and metabolism. I'm going to see my doctor tomorrow on a followup but I called him on Friday to tell him that my legs feel like they have charlie-horses in the calves and hamstrings. He said that he wanted to see me next week (not realizing that I already have an appointment). This has been going on since Wednesday and it's working to my arms. It's even woke me up in the middle of the night. Ibuprofen has been helping. WTH???

[Miss Mary]

Wow Steph, was hoping by now you had answers and were feeling much better.

Are you a vegetarian by any chance?

Reason I ask is my oldest daughter is and she gets charlie horses that are very painful. We determined she was low in calcium so now she takes 2 Caltrate with Vitamin D chewable pills a day (adult dose). Problem cleared right up.

Maybe you're deficient in calcium?

[Stephanie]

I'm not a vegetarian - I love my meat and potatoes.

Hopefully I'll get this resolved soon. This is driving me batty!

[CajunMama]

low potassium for the muscle cramps? try eating more high potassium foods for a couple of days and see if that works...bananas, lima beans, baked potato to name a few. I found a list of hp foods.

High Potassium Food List


Age sucks..doesn't it?

[southerngale]

I too was hoping you were feeling better, Steph. You could have a calcium deficiency even if you're not a vegetarian. I did and took the same thing as Miss Mary's daughter. Perhaps just mention it to your doctor tomorrow. If that's all it is, that's a very easy and inexpensive fix.
Also, does the pain in your legs happen at night when you're trying to sleep or all the time? I couldn't help but think of atrophy when I read that. Of course it could be something much more minor. And while I'm not very educated in atrophy or Graves Disease, while searching, I saw some people on a Graves Disease message board talking about charlie horse's and atrophy. Again, there's probably links to just about everything, so that doesn't necessarily mean anything, but since I saw Graves mentioned above, I thought I'd mention it.

Good luck & I'll be praying it's nothing serious!

[Stephanie]

low potassium for the muscle cramps? try eating more high potassium foods for a couple of days and see if that works...bananas, lima beans, baked potato to name a few. I found a list of hp foods.

High Potassium Food List


Age sucks..doesn't it?

LOL! Yes it does.

Thank you for that link.

Kelly - The pain in my legs is an all day occurance. I do have restless legs which bug me at night, but they rarely wake me up. What I have noticed is that if I move around a lot, it's not as bad. Once I sit down it's almost as if they stiffen up. I also have some pain in my arms. Today doesn't seem as bad though.

Thanks guys for the information and prayers.