Dry Eye and Ptosis

[Gemma90]

Hi everyone!
Its been a while. Things not great, but I am managing. Those of you who followed my posts before will remember me mentioning my ex boyfriend ending our relationship. Its been a very difficult year and 8 months and i've never been the same again.

In terms of my eyes. I seem to get 'flare ups'. I believe somewhat related to my cycle. But i'm not completely sure. My right eye is more affected than my left and this is where my question comes in...

I've probably always had slightly uneven eyes which gets me down. I'd even go as far as saying i've probably got a slight case of ptosis but this has never been investigated. It seems to affect my lower left lid and my left brow.

I've noticed its alot more pronounced when i'm having a flare up with my right eye. I'm wondering if this is because my eye recognises something is wrong and so my right eye opens wider and my brow sits higher. Causing the not as much affected eye and brow to droop more. Could this be possible?

I was considering a brow lift on my one side to even them up. But since its not as noticeable when my eye isn't affected... i'm wondering if the ptosis is mgd/dry eye related?

Thanks.

[Guest]

Hi everyone!
Its been a while. Things not great, but I am managing. Those of you who followed my posts before will remember me mentioning my ex boyfriend ending our relationship. Its been a very difficult year and 8 months and i've never been the same again.

In terms of my eyes. I seem to get 'flare ups'. I believe somewhat related to my cycle. But i'm not completely sure. My right eye is more affected than my left and this is where my question comes in...

I've probably always had slightly uneven eyes which gets me down. I'd even go as far as saying i've probably got a slight case of ptosis but this has never been investigated. It seems to affect my lower left lid and my left brow.

I've noticed its alot more pronounced when i'm having a flare up with my right eye. I'm wondering if this is because my eye recognises something is wrong and so my right eye opens wider and my brow sits higher. Causing the not as much affected eye and brow to droop more. Could this be possible?

I was considering a brow lift on my one side to even them up. But since its not as noticeable when my eye isn't affected... i'm wondering if the ptosis is mgd/dry eye related?

Thanks.

I'm not a doctor, so take this with a grain of salt. What you're describing sound like thyroid eye disease. When you have one eye effected more than the other, sleep with eyes open, lid retraction (look surprised, eyes open wider, could be only one eye also), loss of lashes especially lower lid, drooping lid or brow, swollen inflamed caruncles, conjunctivitis (ask your doc if you have inflammation of the conjunctiva), weight gain or inability to lose weight, extreme mood swings (which is normal when you're in pain but I'm thinking this is ramped up when thyroid hormones are off)...that would all direct me to get thyroid testing, TSH, free T4 and T3. Now if you're hypo, your test could come back just barely normal, so the doc may say you hit the mark. However, you're probably still low. The best way to check if your thyroid is off is to check your temperature 10+ times a day and look for dips. You may very well be regularly low or high.

I could also be wrong, but wanted to throw it out there so you can at least get an answer either way. It's definitely an important factor in dry eye. Good luck, im very sorry you're life is moving in a negative direction. I believe it will turn around for you once you get a handle on your eyes.

[Guest]

http://webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu/eyefor...ye-disease.htm

[Gemma90]

Hi there,
Back again after two years...

Things are better in my personal life. I'm not happy but i'm no longer in ths midst of horrendous heartbreak anymore! So life is improved.

Anyway... what I asked two years ago still stands. I had a few blood tests for hypothyroidism and they came back borderline. All my other tests came back ok aswell, except for Iron which i'm now taking supplements for along with my flaxseed oil.

I still have uneven eyes and brows... particually in a dry eye flare. I believe it must be ptosis or indeed Thyroid Eye disease... but my thyroid is ok?

Its getting me down so i'm finally going to arrange an appointment. Dealing with dry eye is tough, but even more so when it affects appearance being a concious 30 year old woman!

[benja5290]

I also 'suffer' from mild mostly undiagnosed ptosis.
It has a number of causes, but can sometimes be indicative of a muscle weakness in that area. That could explain why during dry eye episodes it would be more noticeable, as during these times you would be using the eye muscle more.

[Gemma90]

Hi everyone.
I'm back here with the same question I started with.

My right eye has the 'foreign sensation' atm. This eye seems to be open wide and the eyebrow high, where-as the less affected left eye, looks more 'closed' and smaller and the brow drooping.

Anyway, i've just about had enough of this now, I feel horrible. I'm planning on seeing an optician next week and will be mentioning these concerns, as I don't quite know where else to turn.
Dry eye/MGD is bad enough to deal with as it is, without having to deal with a face which looks as though i'm having a stroke when the eye is flaring, which is basically all the time.

[lipino]

Do you get migraines? They can cause one eye to droop. Worth seeing a neurologist if you suspect that, because it's not a usual dry eye symptom. There are medications and also non-pharmaceutical treatments to try for that, like magnesium and B2 supplements, and a neuromodulating device like the Cefaly.

I know because I've explored that possibility and the neurologist did not believe I had migraine. If both eyes are dry then you can get eyelid swelling, but you wouldn't just have one eye drooping. I get eyelid swelling from dry eye, but not ptosis. The eyelid puffs up, it doesn't creep down and cover the eye.