Eye Health Community

Sorry that you are having problems.

Sounds crazy, but there is some comfort afforded by this problem going on for such a long time. Nightmare issues such as brain tumors are pretty much excluded because these would be progressive and would have declared themselves a long time ago.

Fatigue from prolonged computer and other viewing is pretty well known. Regular breaks are helpful. Probably worth another visit to an excellent eye doctor to make sure that dry eye, need for glasses, and imperfect eye alignment are not adding to your difficulties.

Thank you for your response Doctor. I do have slightly dry eyes, and use glasses and I'm sure this doesn't help my condition. My problem here is that the remedies I've been told to do over the years have never come anywhere close to any long term relief of my problem. Like I said before, they do help to some degree but it is a minor relief that just sort of keeps me going. There is some sort of underlying problem that feels like it needs a more serious remedy to fix. I have no clue what that would be because I don't even know what's going on with my eyes.

My coworkers who also spend endless hours on the computer get pretty fatigued in their eyes too. But the difference between them and myself is that when they lessen their hours on the computer to a regular 8 hours and when they get 7-8 hour sleep their fatigue goes away. They look fresh faced and feel rested. In my case my fatigue never goes away and I never look rested whatsoever. I've been off the computer for weeks on vacation and slept well (and even when I work I sleep a good 7-8 hours) and there has been no change because I simply cannot close my eyes without discomfort and pressure and the feeling of having to force them shut all night. I know my condition is something more than just fatigued eyes. At times when I am able to completely relax and keep myself from forcing any muscles in my face and relax my face how I used to be able to relax it before I had this problem, I notice I begin to fall asleep and my eyes just open up. I mean this is just not normal my eyes shouldn't be opening up that way. It feels as if something (muscle? never?) is just not long enough to do its job properly. That's how it feels anyway, like if my eyelids just want to remain wide open.

Are you aware of any condition that has these sort of symptoms? I know that any conditions you say are just possibilities and I still need to see a doctor in person but I wanted to know if any of these symptoms sound like anything you've heard of? I have never been able to find any info of any condition that sounds close to this and the neurologist and ophtalmologist I had seen had no answers for me.

Thank you so much in advance.

I hear your frustration. Your symptoms do not make me think of any specific problem. Unfortunately, some symptoms do not lead to diagnosis and answers. It is worth another try to see a new ophthalmologist and neurologist just to make sure that nobody is missing a treatable problem.

Danee,

Do you wear prescription eyewear? If so, do you wear progressive lenses or bi/tri-focals? If you do, they do make special lenses designed specifically for computer work, this way you have the entire lens to look through rather than a tiny portion of the lens. Focusing through that small portion can lead to eye strain and fatigue over long periods of time. Also, they make special coatings to help reduce the amount of glare that is given off from a computer screen. As far as the pressure, seems you have taken the proper steps to get that investigated by seeing several Dr.'s Hopefully, you can get this issue resolved. Best of luck!

umm i wear glasses most of the time. i am very near sighted and have high density lenses, they have anti glare coating on it. i dont get much glare from my glasses really. I try to work as comfortably as possible so that my eyes don't strain. When I make a big effort to relax my eyes ( getting good sleep which I usually do, work minimal hours on the computer, take breaks, keep my eyes clean, apply warm compresses on my eyes at night or sleep with ice on my eyes, try to relax in bed, etc..etc..) this does help to a certain degree. But beyond that I am no where near touching the relief I need (eyes are always tired and swollen no matter what) and although my tired look does minimize slightly I still look very very tired. I really feel there is a bigger underlying issue here beyond just eye strain which I know I have plenty of eye strain definitely. I still have the hope that one day it will be found and treated. I guess now the next step is to see another doctor and see what he says. Anyhoo thanks everyone for your responses. I appreciate it

I had similar problems for two months but with inclusion to sensitivity to light. I noticed that about 2 weeks after I stopped taking my iron supplements, the eye problems went away.