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Healed with AIP

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  • Healed with AIP

    Hi everyone! I'm a long-time lurker (10+ years) and I NEVER in a million years thought I'd be posting how I healed my case of dry eye. I thought I would suffer for the rest of my life. If I could help even *one* person heal their eyes, that would be so worth it to me. That's why I'm here.

    Backstory: I was first diagnosed almost 10 years ago, at age 21, with severe dry eye and MGD. I tried it all: Restasis (for a couple of years), every over-the-counter drop ever made, omega 3, flaxseed, warm compress, lid scrubs, Lotemax, long-term doxycycline, Lacrisert, punctal plugs, and Tobradex.

    My eyes were really bad for about 1 year when I was first diagnosed. Then they sort of plateaued and were *tolerable* but still dry (with daily lid scrubs, warm compress, fish oil, drops, the whole nine yards) for 7-8 years. Then, about 1.5 years ago, things suddenly got MUCH WORSE. My left eye became extremely irritated, blood-red, I could barely keep it open. At that point I was using steroid drops regularly, and that was the only thing that worked. I knew there had to be another solution.

    So I started looking for solutions to autoimmune disorders. (I'm convinced I used to have some form of autoimmune disorder, not necessarily Sjogren's but *something.* My last test came back with some elevated autoantibodies, confirming my theory.) This is when I found the AUTOIMMUNE PROTOCOL, which I'm sure many of you have heard of. It's a healing diet with a lot of restrictions but also a lot of room to experiment with food and return to a more natural way of eating.

    It was very hard for me to eat this way because I was seriously addicted to carbs & sugar for many years. I now know that these addictions contributed and probably jump-started my eye problems. So it took me over a year to REALLY get the diet and be able to do it consistently. Once I stayed on this diet for 60 straight days -- without cheating -- I noticed that my oil glands (lower & upper lids) looked healthy, pink (not BLOOD RED), and there was absolutely clear, beautiful oil coming out!! Before this, I always had severely clogged oil glands. My eyes became bright again -- the irritation & redness is gone.

    I have replicated these results 3-4 times by reintroducing what I used to eat before (especially sugar, gluten, rice, any other grains, chocolate, processed food) and my eyes get worse in 2-3 days. Then, I go back on the AIP and they get better and better again.

    The main caveat here is that, if you're going to try this way of eating, you MUST do it for 60-90 straight days without cheating (or cheating only minimally) to really evaluate if it will work for you. You have to give your body the time to learn a new way of eating and start shutting off the inflammatory response in your eyes. This takes a while. BUT IT'S WORTH IT.

    Now, my eyes are almost completely back to normal, which is truly like some sort of miracle. In the past, I even had to quit 2 part-time jobs because I couldn't use the computer for over an hour per day. Some days I had to close my eyes before shutting a door because the wind from that was too painful. Crazy! I'm sure many of you can relate. So my case was not mild or moderate, by any means. And the AIP is completely reversing my symptoms -- even though every single eye doctor I've ever had (about 7-8) always made me feel silly for asking whether food or diet could have anything to do with the eyes. Now, I can use the computer as much as I want and play tennis in windy conditions! I never thought I'd be doing that again, ever.

    If you don't know anything about AIP, here's a good intro: https://www.thepaleomom.com/start-he...mune-protocol/

    A good way to evaluate whether this diet will work is also to ask yourself, what have I been eating for the last few years? (Or when my eyes were at their worst?) If you are in any way addicted to sugar, wheat, gluten, carbs, etc then it's a good chance your gut is compromised and this kind of healing diet can REALLY help. Please try it! And do not give up, because dry eyes don't just happen out of nowhere. There IS a solution -- you just have to be a detective and keep digging! You can do it!

  • #2
    Hi Amy

    Thanks for sharing and so happy for you too.

    My diet is about the same except sometimes I take bio musli, wheat & black chocolate for example. I can not stand sweets. I take many different nuts/oils, ginger and garlic/onion almost daily. Maybe that is why all doctors say I dont have inflammaion issue??? However, what have helped me are: omega 3 + GLA.

    Questions
    Sugar
    you dont take any sugar, right? Do you also avoid/reduce sweet fruit? Do you take honey? I have heard our body still need sugar??

    (bio) diary
    Do you take cheese, milk? if not, why?

    Thanks again.
    Last edited by MGD1701; 26-Jul-2018, 14:53.

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    • #3
      Thank you for sharing your story!

      One of the things my Doc recommends to people is the Whole 30 book.

      I personally think that it does not matter what diet you try, as long as it is a good one (whole grains, lots of veggies, no sugar and processed foods, no diary).

      Sugar is my vice.

      Comment


      • #4
        I love that post - so happy that I found it!!!! I suffered about 6 years from MGD, after excessive contact lens wear. I never thought that paleo-AIP (how its usually called) would help that FAST!!

        I eat AIP for about 6 weeks now, and my eyes don't even feel itchy anymore. I can withstand warm and cold windy situations, and my eyes feel more "gliding" then before. The redness is A LOT better then before! Thank you so much!!!!!

        I tried about 20 different eyedrops, warm compresses, eyelid compression, massage, acupuncture - but nothing lasts more than 1-3 days. I have high myopia so the diagnosis of sicca and MGD was horrible to me! Everyone with high myopia knows what it means to wear glasses again...

        And now I'm so happy that my eyes get more resistant and wet every week! It's VERY VERY hard to eat AIP, especially when you love to go out eating with friends, family, and you are so fcked up!
        But now I always cook my meal at home and take it with me - EVERY TIME I meet with ppl. Its necessary for me to have a good time with the people I love and so that's how it works best for me.

        In the beginning I cheated a lot, because I didn't knew exactly what to eat/not eat, but after a few days I realized that my eyes got worse. So it's a little bit of trial and error - and after some weeks I imagined that I have to be STRICT!

        Please to everyone with dry eyes - JUST TRY PALEO-AUTOIMMUNEPROTOCOL just a few weeks! And you will SEE the change! One after another my glands opened up, and the more opened, my symptoms changed in a positive way. Lesser itchiness, red eyes, dry eyes in the morning, burning...

        I hope I could inspire a few people to try that way of eating - thank you again for the posting amy_lakes! You changed my life - I'm not healed right now because my goal is to wear contact lenses again - BUT it get's better from day to day!!!!

        Comment


        • #5
          I follow this healthy food choice and still had painful ted dry eyes so my cure was tea tree oil wash twice daily from Trader Joes Tea Tree Shampoo along my closed eyelids....I’m so happy I’m cured after years of dry eyes and healthy foods gluten free vegan... now I indulge now and then because food wasn’t my issue afterall...Tea Tree Shampoo saved my painful dry eyes and painful dry eyelids.

          Comment


          • #6
            Hello guys. I'm thrilled to see these testimonials! I'm starting this healing diet tomorrow and will post my results here soon. Gratitude.


            Jean Paulino

            + 55 83 9 8215-0552

            jeanpaulino@outlook.com

            Comment


            • #7
              I cut out coffee, and that helped quite a bit. I was really good for a few days, then I returned a little over baseline. I'm starting to suspect that I might need to do this awful sounding diet. I'm going to eat just chicken and broccoli for some time and see what happens.

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              • #8
                I also have Dry eye..helped with AIP

                Comment


                • #9
                  I'm Shellie I'm in my mid sixty's I've had Chronic DES for around seven years .
                  My husband has leaky gut, started Paleo for him.
                  I just thought I would give Paleo a go for me ,and it did help me greatly; However as soon as I cheat , even slightly it comes back with vengeance, even worse than before.
                  Its so easy to forget how shocking extreme DES is when it leaves you for a while.
                  Have you stuck with your AIP and are you still doing OK.
                  Shellie ...Melbourne Australia.

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                  • #10
                    AIP saved my eyes. My story is almost a spitting image of Amy’s now.
                    thank you so much for sharing

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                    • #11
                      Thank you all! I feel like I am reading about myself and after one year, two different doctors, salves, ointments, Brudder masks, & fish oil supplements I finally “see” a glimmer of hope. I suspected my severe dry eye was related to an auto immune condition (psoriasis) and started the AIP regimen three days ago. No coffee, no wine (difficult in these uncertain times), no dairy, no starches, no sugar, no processed foods...lots of “NOs” but if I can achieve your results I will not care. Thank you for giving me the boost I needed!

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                      • #12
                        For those on AIP, how do you get enough calories in?
                        I'm fairly skinny so want to get over 2,200 calories.

                        I have also sent off for a food sensitivity test (provided a blood drop) they test my antibodies against different food and drinks.

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