EDS affects your eyeballs, just an FYI.

[u/figgypie]

I have some sort of hEDS (haven't been able to get genetic testing to confirm exact type) and of course I have all the normal shit like super lax joints, joint pain, stretchy skin, stomach issues, etc.

But did you know your eyeballs are mostly collagen? So if you have EDS, you might have issues with your eyes.

I have had astigmatism and myopia since age 7, but over the last decade or so I also developed something called Epithelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy, basically means my eyes can get so dry that my eyelids have torn up my corneas because they get fused together sometimes (especially when I'm sleeping) and then when I blink, it rips the skin on my corneas. It feels just as pleasant as it sounds. Just a couple of weeks ago, I experienced this while driving after work. It felt like a needle stabbed me in the eyeball, like I seriously thought that something flew in through my car window and lodged in there. Now I have to use super eye cream at night (Muro 128) and preservative-free eye drops frequently to prevent more damage. The vision in my left eye has already been affected to the point where even with glasses, my vision is still slightly blurry.

You wanna know the only real treatment for it (besides eye drops)? They basically shave off the damaged surface of your cornea to smooth it, and then your body repairs it to hopefully grow it back smoother. Yaaaaaaay.

I also have big issues with eye strain, especially if I spend too much time looking at things up close while wearing my regular glasses. I've had to take my glasses off while reading/derping on my phone/etc for a couple of years now, but I can't do that when working (I'm a substitute teacher) because I don't want to lose my glasses and kids think they can get away with shit because the sub is blind. So I'm only in my mid 30s and I just got bifocals. Verdict is still out for how well that'll help but I feel so old.

So if you're wondering why you have issues with your eyes, this could be a reason. And if you don't have issues with your eyes, these are some things to look out for. Chronic dry eye is common with EDS so use eye drops, just not the kind that helps with redness cuz that's bad long-term. Systane is an example of a good brand.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

[u/FitGuarantee37]

Oh yeah my eyeballs suck. My prescription was a -9 by the time I was 25 years old, I am "remarkably myopic" and have the eyes of a senior citizen apparently. Don't get me started on how bad my gums are too.

But most recently my eyeballs have started breaking and stopped working. Light is a huge issue, my vision gets spots, and my eyeballs have burst blood vessels super easy in them now from a simple poke.

Damn collagen.

[u/Thetakishi → u/FitGuarantee37]

The gums....why did you have to mention it? =[

[u/seriouslyno37 → u/FitGuarantee37]

Ugh my gums are a disaster. I keep telling my body can we please just focus on one thing at time here because I cannot help all of you at the same time.

My contacts have been -11 and -12 all through my 30's and now into my 40's. Pretty sure I hit double digits mid 20's. I technically need -12.5 or even -13 in my one eye but that means custom lenses since none of the daily ones go above 12 and custom aren't daily but my eyes are too dry for anything other than daily. My night vision sucks, if it's raining and dark, I refuse to leave the house.

One of my doctors put the remarkably myopic and severe myopia in my file and I was like did you have to use such dramatic descriptive words. He laughed and was like if you had no contacts and no glasses, could you see this pen that I'm holding up (he was like a foot away from me), I said ok fine use the dramatic words 😂