A National Championship and Severe Dry Eye Syndrome

The Florida Gators beat the Choklahoma Sooners last night for the National Championship title and trophy. The final score was Florida 24 - OU 12. WOO HOO! I actually rooted for Florida for the one and only time in my life. That was probably the hardest thing to do for this avid UGA fan. Trust me, when it was all said and done, I had to take a very long bath to scrub the nasty gator off of me. I felt so dirty after rooting for them. So wrong!!!!!! However, it sure is nice to keep the National Championship title and crown in the overall best college football conference, the SEC, for the third year running! So awesome!
I went back to the eye doctor for yet another agonizing visit today. I was diagnosed with severe dry eye syndrome back at the beginning of December. Man has is been a struggle. At the beginning of November I started having what I thought was really bad allergies or possibly pink eye. Both eyes were really red, my eye lids were red and swollen (looked like I was wearing bright red eye shadow) and it hurt so bad just to blink. Felt like I had sand in them all the time. And they watered like crazy!
After doing everything that I possibly knew to do I was at my breaking point and finally called the eye doctor. The very minute he saw me he said " you have severe dry eye syndrome". He looked at my eyes with his special machine and confirmed what he already had thought. My eyes looked like raisins. Oh, gross! So he put me on some over-the-counter meds to see if I could get some relief. It helped, but still was bothersome. I went back a week later and he then put me on a steroid eye drop. If I got relief from that then he would most likely put me on RX Restasis. I about had a heart attack when the pharmacist told me that the eye drop would cost me $50 and said that I was lucky that I had insurance. Had I not it would have been $150. NO WAY! It was worth the money because my eyes felt tons better.
I went back to Dr. Burgwald right before Christmas and he told me that I may need to consider Restasis. Only problem is that it would cost me $100 a month. I almost passed out! I asked him if I could continue on the steroid a little longer but only use it once a day and keep up my OTC regime. He said yes, and wanted to see me in two weeks to reassess.
Which brings me to today! I'm much better, sorta. I can't continue taking the steroid for much longer. Could cause major issues down the road for my eyes. So I have one of two options. 1. Go ahead and swallow really hard and pay the $100 a month for the Restasis or 2. Have tear duct plugs put into my eyes. Oh, I thought that I would pass out at that thought. See, I have a really hard time putting eye drops in my eyes. I can't stand to have anything near my eyes. It wasn't until two years ago that I started wearing sunglasses because it bothered me. Dr. Burgwald reassured me that I wouldn't feel a thing. He told me that this really is my best option. He told me that this is what he would do for himself and would have his wife or kids do if it were needed as in my case. He told me to go home and think about it and call him on Monday.
So, here I sit. Wondering what to do. I'm leaning toward having the tear duct plugs. Uggggg, decisions! If you or know of anyone else who has had this done, please let me know. I'm totally stressed over this whole thing. I've always prided myself on having really good eyesight and just perfect eyes in general. Oh, he did say that my vision is perfect.......BONUS! I'll keep ya posted on my agonizing decision.
Until then............