Dr. Rebecca Miller joined Eye Consultants of Texas in 2012 as an optometrist on our staff. Under Dr. Labor, she has become more concentrated on treating Dry Eye Disease to help our Dallas/Fort Worth area patients find the most effective relief.
Perhaps another reason for her focus on dry eyes: Dr. Miller suffers from severe Dry Eyes herself.
Dry Eye Disease (also known as Dry Eye Syndrome, Dry Eyes or Dry Eye) happens when your eyes don’t produce enough tears. As Dr. Miller explains, this caused her tremendous discomfort:
“My symptoms would range from eye pain, dryness, burning and irritation, to having extremely tired eyes at the end of the day. When I wore soft contacts, the lenses would tear up inside my eye causing extreme pain. I would wake up in the middle of the night to put lubricating eye drops in my eyes. Actually, the pain became so unbearable that it affected every aspect of my day and night. I tried over-the-counter artificial tears and gels without relief. I figured this was going to be my life for the next 80 years so I resigned to using artificial tears five to ten times a day.”
Shortly after joining our staff, Dr. Miller mentioned to Dr. Labor she suspected she had Dry Eyes. “After an evaluation he confirmed this and immediately recommended prescription eye drops to specifically reduce the inflammation in my tears, which he said was the cause. My eyes began to feel a little better right after starting the drops which later decreased the inflammation.”
Due to her severe condition Dr. Miller needed further treatment. “Once the inflammation was gone I was able to have punctual plugs placed in my tear drainage canals. This was to keep healthy tears on the surface of my eye for longer. It provided nearly instant relief, reducing my symptoms significantly. I was happy.”
She then began taking purified fish oil to further reduce inflammation. “After one month on the fish oil I was amazed at how great my eyes felt,” she said. “I no longer had eye pain and was sleeping through the night. I was soon able to stop wearing contact lenses, Dr. Labor was able to perform LASIK surgery on me.”
Dr. Miller enthusiastically shares her experience with her dry eye patients. “I can now relate from firsthand experience to what patients are going through before, during and after treatment to put them at ease. That’s very rewarding.”
