Chronic Severe Dry Eye Resolved 98% - Really!

[justamom]

Hello All,


I have a story with a happy ending!

First a little background. I have for years been combing these boards for my daughter's sake, looking for tips and hints of what to try and how to cope. She tried many of the things others suggest here. She is now 25 years old and has had severe dry eyes for 4-5 years. In all that time she has hardly gotten a full night's sleep for waking painfully dry multiple times a night. Not just her eyes, but her throat as well, stone-dry.

It's a long story all the docs, specialists, tests run, supplements, medications and elimination diets tried, desperately seeking answers and solutions and relief. Nothing brought relief more than a few hours at best. To explain her journey with this would be a book, with similar stories that are throughout this forum.

No tests found anything. She was repeatedly told it must be autoimmune, Lupus, or Sjogren's, despite that blood tests all showed a healthy young woman. As the years wore on, it took it's toll. MGD she was told, no cause, no cure, go see a Rheumatologist. Meanwhile the fear of atrophied glands and beginnings of dental problems. Lipiflow was tried. It did seem to help resolve her chilazion problems but she did not find moisture returning. As I said many things were tried and tested.

She reminded me that dry eye and Sjogren's both largely effect women, aside from the lasik situations. We had wondered hormones before and so she was seeing an endocrinologist. He suspected thyroid but that checked out ok. Despite his disinterest in delving further, we started looking deeper into the hormone possibility as she did suffer from erratic cycles and possible PCOS that she was told only the birth control pill could help. Well. It is well known that menopausal women can benefit with testosterone, but it seems very few doctors are willing to prescribe it.

Then it dawned on me. What about progesterone cream? Once I plugged that into the search engine, I did find a couple reports of women that it helped, along with a scientific study that had impressive results about a decade ago in easing dry eye in younger women. Oh?! As well I found that the hormone component is well known.. so why it was never looked into her her case, considering.., I just don't know, but it wasn't.

So yeah!! She picked up a bottle of natural progesterone cream at whole foods, the cheapest natural brand they had. Within a couple hours she felt an increase in saliva, and she actually slept through the night. Next day only minor day time eye dryness. Must be a fluke we thought, because there have been times when she might have a random couple days when things weren't so bad... But, this improvement continued, day after day, week after week, omg.. and now it has been over a month. Stable moisture! A full month free of middle of the night and daytime eye drops. She still feels slightly dry when first waking in the morning, but it is only slightly, and she says she starts the day with drops but thinks she could manage without them, it's that much improved. That is why I'm calling it 98%.

Anyway, it truly has been like a miracle for my daughter. I can also sleep night's now too, instead of worrying how she is surviving the night. I had to pop in here and relate her triumph in case others may be able to benefit. I swear we looked under every rock for an answer, and just when it seemed we left no stone unturned, we stumbled into it.

Still in a bit of shock that not one of the specialists or doctors, not one considered the hormones. Especially considering it was her only health issue in her history and everything else tested looked great. Certainly the Opthamologist and the Endocrinologist should have had a clue?! Years of suffering, not to mention the emotional and financial toll was substantial, and the whole time an affordable product on the store shelf was the answer. Unreal. It is hard to stay angry when you're so overjoyed though! The relief is immense as you all can imagine.

Now that I think about it it makes perfect sense really and I can't believe we didn't see it sooner. All those docs pointing us in the autoimmune direction was quite a distraction. Consider that when a woman ovulates, her body produces moisture in it's attempt to hang on to the released egg. During this time in her cycle, progesterone becomes the dominant hormone, it really surges. Birth control pills inhibit this action and estrogen dominance in general, because progesterone is meant to be dominant for half the cycle. Ovulation-Progesterone-Moisture all connected.

I know this will not be the solution for everyone, but if it can help even one person I thought it well worth posting. Much thanks to all for sharing your experiences here, I have learned alot in reading all your stories. Never dreamed I would be here on the Triumph pages, but so happy I can be. It provided hope for us when we were running low. May every single one of you triumph as well. As they say, it's always in the last place you look.

Here is that study I found from 2007 -
The Use of Progesterone Cream to Treat Dry Eye:
http://iovs.arvojournals.org/article...icleid=2382585

[scanner78]

How much progesterone cream is she using? And how often a day?

[sophie0416]

Hi! I'm really interested in this! My dry eye started due to hormone imbalance (please don't put your daughter on birth control, just don't it's the most horrible thing a woman can do to her body!) I bought a progesterone cream because Barbara Hoffman (YouTube) said you can reverse dry eyes with progesterone!

Please visit her channel she has a lot of info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpwkSJ7Av74


Anyway, I've been using the cream only for 4 days now so of course I don't feel the difference yet! But I have high hopes now with your daughter's reaction!

[justamom]

Wow sophie, thanks for that video! Fantastic. Wish we'd seen that years ago. It may not be the issue for all, but it clearly was in this instance and I suspect for many others. The birth control pills were certainly not my idea but were suggested by her OBGYN due to her erratic cycles and imaging suggesting PCOS is present. She did try going off birth control before but it did not resolve dryness and cycle became impossible again. She decided better to have a terrible, painful, irregular cycle than this godawful dryness and decided to stop it again. No relief until the cream though. Hormones are complicated, tricky to understand, and even trickier to manage. Glad you are giving it a try! I so hope it can work for you as beautifully as it did for my daughter. You may need more, some suggest much much higher dosing. Also applying to mucous membranes is a better method for direct absorption they say. I'm no expert to be sure to be giving any advice, I only know the miracle it was for my daughter. She felt a difference very quickly, got a headache at first few days, probably a shock to her system. I suspect she had nearly zero progesterone in her system so her reaction was sudden and dramatic.

Hi scanner78, she is using one pump a day of the progesta care brand which is 20mg, 3 weeks on and one off, pretty much as the directions indicate. It is recommended best in two doses a day, but she has a hard time managing this with her job and only applies once at bed time. In my research I saw others who suggest much much higher dosing, but it seems not to be necessary in her case. Some say that just a little progesterone can excite estrogen so cause more estrogen dominant symptoms, so larger doses of progesterone are required. I cannot say.. She simply followed the directions on the bottle. Most importantly I think is that it is paraben free, and natural.

[PrettyEyesMel]

I just started on oral progesterone supplement. I was on BC pills for over ten years. Hopeful!

[justamom]

Congrats to you in getting off the birth control pills!! It can be rough those hormonal changes. Mood swings generally accompany such a switch too. I was given oral progesterone a couple times in my life and it was not good for me either time. I hope you'll have a better experience! I cannot speak about effects on eyes there as I have not experienced dry eye myself. The oral form of progesterone is a synthetic progestin, it was given to me to regulate my cycle, it did not. I ended up with a full hysterectomy in the end. Transdermal natural creams are the optimum method of delivery from my understanding and very much safer, and much more effective too because it delivers directly to the blood stream instead of it having to navigate the stomach and digestion and all that. I'm no doctor, but I would encourage you to look into the difference. Definitely keep us posted on it's effects, or lack of, on your eyes. I can only speak of the cream, but others have inquired about the pill form so it would be good to know. Hope you have brilliant results of course!

Here is just a short and basic article comparing the two forms of progesterone, fyi.

[sophie0416]

Gosh! I hope it helps me, I’ve had headaches you are right maybe it’s because of the cream, and actually at the moment my feel eyes worst, but I’ll wait and see how it goes.

Question, can your daughter wear makeup? Like eyeshadow and eyeliner? Does it affect her eyes at all?

[justamom]

Hi Sophie, so sorry you are having less than stellar reactions. Do hope you will feel some improvement and soon! There is some mechanism where progesterone can temporarily excite estrogen receptors and make symptoms worse at first. So hang in there!
There is a bit on that explained here: http://www.drrind.com/therapies/estrogen-dominance

Ideally a hormone panel would be the best place to start and then just listening to our bodies I guess, but knowing our baseline numbers would be helpful of course in reaching for that balance. Testing levels is tricky too just because those numbers ebb and flow throughout our cycle naturally, timing matters very much. My daughter hopes to find a good naturopath for guidance with this. For now she is lucky that so little has made such a big difference, but everyone's balance is unique. It is helpful to look at one of those graphs that show the ideal hormone flow because it rises and falls and some days our bodies want twice as much as other days. The cream is nice in that way because you can easily increase or decrease the amount.

About the makeup, she only occasionally wears any, not daily. She goes all out at events though and I never heard her complain about it irritating her eyes. She is wearing contacts again at last, very happily.

[sophie0416]

Thank you! And yes they tested my hormones, at the time, according to my calendar I was ovulating so my test came back “normal”; I think of course at the time I had enough progesterone to alter the results as “normal”.

thats what I don’t understand! Can you believe I can’t wear makeup? At all! Like any little eyeshadow near my eyes and they get itchy and super dry!!! I’m so desperate, I used to wear makeup every single day and not one day had an issue!

I absolutely hate this dry eye!! Don’t mnow what’s wrong with me, it’s so so depressing

[justamom]

Glad you were tested, it is the ratio and balance that matters from my understanding.
It's a horrible thing to be sure! And frustrating. You are not alone. Though my own experience was not direct I was close enough to it to know the hell it is. My daughter became terribly depressed as well, every day a struggle, barely able to hold on to her job. The boards here helped just knowing people do survive this and "triumph". It happens! Thing we always focused on was finding the cause. Relief of symptoms is first of course, anything and everything you can do to be more comfortable, but we always kept seeking the cause despite the attitude that it's just something that happens to people for no reason and there is no cure, just no, not accepting that. Where there is a cause there is an effect, and where there's a problem there's a solution. Where there's a start there is an end!

If the progesterone is giving you headache it just may be a good sign, as it was for my daughter. Some use the cream directly around the eyes and on the lids. Messy though, perhaps some creams absorb better than others. It's supposed to be great for skin and fine lines.

The sensitivity to makeup almost sounds like an allergy. Keep a journal in case there is some trigger or allergy that has surfaced, or some pattern to it. There are many possibilities. "Leave no stone unturned" has been my motto, and convince yourself this is temporary. There is nothing wrong with you, your body is just telling you it has an imbalance of some sort, needs help with something.. and you will figure it out. Could very well be that you're on your way to healing right now. It can all turn around in a day. Calm and self care has to be the priority. Hang in there!

[sophie0416]

Thank you so much for your kind words! My mom doesn’t understand my pain! I lover her but she really thinks I’m making this up. No one understands the struggle

and yeah sounds like allergy to me too, but it’s so weird? Why would I develop allergy because of dry eyes?

[Faith1989]

I got my local health center to order me the natural progesterone cream but said it may take weeks to come in . My doctor had prescribed me 5% compounded testosterone cream to put around my lids. It didn't really work a year ago but we have decided to try it again. I also believe that gut issues can cause hormonal imbalances which may be a factor. Maybe rosacea is actually an autoimmune disease although it is not officially classified as one. I spoke with a woman on facebook that went on the autoimmune paleo diet and said her blepharitis dissapeared. I know I have some sort of imbalance as well.

[justamom]

Sophie sorry your mom doesn't get it. People tend to think this is a minor discomfort or irritation, but it is entirely debilitating. Maybe she should spend a little time on the forums like I did for my daughter. It becomes pretty clear pretty quickly how devastating this condition can be. People become suicidal and this needs to be treated by doctors as the serious and critical condition that it is.

We explored the allergy possibilities ourselves. Not that the dry eye is a cause but an effect. Allergies are tricky because they can come and go and it can be external or internal, can be a food, or a chemical, a shampoo, a supplement, or a flower or anything. It is something to consider certainly.

Hey Faith, that is interesting you tried the testosterone. Might as well try again too. Sorry you have to wait so long for the progesterone cream. It's quite easily available here. In my research I found it is helpful often for menopausal women but not so much in younger women, but progesterone was. There is this 10 year old study showing that: http://iovs.arvojournals.org/article...icleid=2382585

And you are on to something about diet! I had insisted my daughter go on strict elimination diets after I learned just how critical gut flora is. An imbalanced gut is likely the cause of all allergies, all food intolerance, autoimmune disease, and possible to disrupt all bodily functions including hormones. I had my own personal experience in healing my own dramatic health issues by following a strict elimination diet, so I am a believer in healing the gut. In my opinion all autoimmune disease is merely a gut flora issue. Afterall, our immune systems are 90% in our guts so.. it only goes to figure if our immune systems are are attacking us, the healing must be focused there. It did not however ease my daughters dry issues tho she eliminated all dairy, grains, and sugar for weeks. The same diet however did cure me of an inexplicable attack of hives and all food allergies/intolerances. I also lost 50 lbs in two months and am now free of all food intolerances and I can again eat anything without issue. I suggest everyone give it a go for a couple months. The body will detox and many health issues can be restored. I have learned that people are very defensive about their food though. No one wants to consider their illness could be resolved by strict diet, but really a good 6 weeks of strict elimination will cure many things. that are considered incurable, imo. Sure it's difficult, but it's only temporary and so worth it.

[MGD1701]

Hi justamom
Thanks so much for sharing. Your daughter is indeed very lucky!

Such diet only lasts for 6 weeks then we can eat anything we want? or should repeat it every 3-6 months or so?
Not sure if I need it, but I guess it only brings benefits so why not?

Dry eye/MGD: in reality many doctors still do not examine properly and early enough. When MGD/inflammation becomes complciated/serious, it is really hard to treat.

[justamom]

I am not a nutritionist or expert in any way, I can only speak of my own experience and the things I found in my research on the topic of gut health. We were led to expect this dryness was an autotimmune issue so I looked for people who claimed to have healed theirs, and their stories were all similar, they did it with diet. "Leaky gut" is something to look into. I suspect more than anything, it's pesticides and gmo foods to blame. Glyphosate is everywhere now, nearly unavoidable, and my question is that it's maybe not food allergy as much as a glyphosate allergy!
In anycase, when our guts are healthy, it is very capable in defending us against all kinds of toxins that make it into our tummy, but when it is compromised it is no longer able to protect us so well and toxins make their way into our blood streams. Then whammo, inflammation. Even the healthiest food like raw veggies have some degree of toxins that is generally not a problem.. unless we have developed a "leaky gut".
How I healed my gut was I started being extremely strict the first week. No dairy, no gluten, no starches, no sugars at all. I pretty much lived on chicken, broccoli, onions and garlic. After a week in or so, I reintroduced fruit, but only on an empty stomach. Another week or so in I allowed some small grains like brown rice in small amounts, maybe some potato but no gluten. It is the first 6 weeks where I believe it is critical to stick to it. For a full 2 months I had zero gluten, processed sugar, or dairy, and I kept starches very limited. Now I can eat plenty of anything without my body getting angry, within reason of course. Still a couple slices of pizza make me feel icky, but I don't get ill like I would have before. Candida is part of the equation I believe and it was the candida diet recommendations that I followed, although you will find contradictory opinions on what that should be. Of course it is helpful to repeat short term depending on how much you slip back into old habits. I will still some days avoid those things, and am continually cautious about consuming too much of them. One tool too that I discovered about healing is fasting. When you put no food into your stomach for a day or two, your immune system rebuilds itself in miraculous ways. I was amazed at the reports on the benefits of fasting. So I think leading a strict diet protocol with a day's fasting really jump starts the process. Health really does begin in the gut. Doctors really should have more training in nutrition.

Diet was not however the solution for my daughter, her moisture only returned with the introduction of the progesterone.