AN eye is drier

[kkl]

Hi,

I had my surgery 7 weeks ago.  Left face was paralyzed on 2nd week but recovering now.  I  can smile now but not very even yet. 

Initially I couldnt shut my left eye but now I can with minimal extra effort.  I can blink at the same time but the left eye doesn't fully shut when I blink yet.

My question is --- anyone experience a much drier AN eye?  I was wondering if I can now close my eyes at night, I shouldn't experience dry left eye in the morning, right? Any other thoughts? 

K

[mk]

Two thoughts: A damaged facial nerve can mean reduced lacrimation (tear production), so this could be the cause for your dry eye. The other possibility is some slight damage to the trigeminal nerve - this would reduce corneal sensation, so that it wouldn't give proper signals for tear production.

I hope it gets better - Use eye drops in regular intervals, so that you don't let the eye dry out.

Marianna

[kkl]

Dear Marianna,

I was told that my facial nerve is intact and what am experiencing (facial palsya) should be temporary.  But yes when I cry, no tears on my left eye.  Do you know if this is the last one to come back?   I have movements on my eye, nose and mouth now, but just not as strong as the other side yet (hopefully).

Thanks again,

K

[Tod]

This can take awhile. I am year out and still do not produce adequate tears, particularly emotional tears. However, I am able, most days, to just using a night-time ointment before bed. Occasionally during the day I may need to use some kind of artificial tears. The most important thing is to keep the eye well lubricated and protect the cornea. It often a good idea to see and ophthalmologist on a regular basis to make sure the eye is doing okay.

-Tod

[Cheryl R]

Wrong,  You might have a bit of dry eye for some time and we all seem to vary.      You can do the lube gel at night and not have to do anything else to your eye, like tape it shut etc but still need the gel.      Also have to find what brand works best for you.    I am almost 3 yrs past had a facial neuroma and graft at same time and I still use a night gel.     I a little different case of course but do close my eyes ok.     I use some Refresh Liquigel an occ day as some things do seem to dry it out.    Cold pills, too much wind in the eye, at somewhere where it is really dry.             Good luck with this and a continued good recovery.     
                                                              Cheryl R

[jennifer7]

Hi
I am 3 days short of a year from surgery.  My eye has been closing for 6 months, but I have a tear duct plug to prevent the little tears that I have from leaving and I am going in later this week to have the second duct plugged too.  I don't cry even when I cut onions, my non-AN eye will water like a fountain but my AN-eye is dry.  I use PM refresh ointment at night, drops during the day and sometimes the ointment during the day when my eye is extra dry. 
It's not just my eye that is dry, my mouth on that side is drier.  At the end of the day (this sounds gross) my teeth on my AN side are gritty & gross like I haven't brushed in a couple days, but only on my AN side.  And my nose on that side is drier.  Talk about weird things to deal with.
Like everyone else has said, keep your eye moist.  Lots of ointment or drops, don't wait for it to feel dry and get in to an opthamologist as soon as you can, they can help prevent damaging your cornea.  I didn't know this all of this and ended up scratching my cornea and having to wear a band-aid on my eye lens, I didn't even know they made such a thing.
Jennifer

[nancyann]

Hi K:  my oculoplastic surgeon told me that because my eye is paralyzed, even if I squeeze shut my eyelid, the tears (I do have them) won't lubricate my eye because of the paralysis - he said there is an ever so slight horizontal movement when we blink that distributes the tears, but because I have total paralysis I will never have this.
I agree that for those of you with function returning,  it could take a long time to get total eye closure, & then the 'horizontal' shifting needed to lubricate the eye.
In the meantime,  continue to keep your eye lubricated to avoid corneal damage.  I am 4 1/2 years out & have not damaged my cornea because of continuous lubrication !
Always good thoughts,  Nancy