Is there any hope?

[ninja.angie]

I have severe dry eyes. It is so bad that I walk around with a box of Kleenex to wipe the tears running from my eyes every 30-60 seconds, -literally-. I also walk around with a pocket mirror or I am going to the bathroom every 10-15 minutes, -literally-, to wipe the slimy mucus from my eyes so I can see and so it doesn't continue to drive me insane feeling like something is in my eyes.

Due to all this wiping, rubbing, and touching, my eyes look red, old, and bleh 24/7. I always look like I have been crying, or like I haven't slept in 5 years, and they make me look WAY older than I am. I can't wear make-up (which I don't care that much about anyways but still an issue) because I have to wipe my eyes so much the make-up is gone minutes later.

I am only 30, but my eyes look as if I am 80. It's very hard on my self-esteem and makes me think I will be single forever. Not to mention the pain, and time consumption of always wiping my eyes and running to a mirror.

I take Restasis Eye drops 2 times a day, and Optive Moisturizing Dry Eye Solution (recommended by my eye dr.) every 15-20 minutes in each eye. I use warm/cold compresses multiple times a day when I can, and I drink plenty of water. Still all of this, and no relief. Will this EVER change????

Angie

[Sammy B.]

Ninja,

With over-tearing, I can imagine there are limited things that you can try (you cannot ADD more tears because you already have too many and you certainly cannot PLUG your ducts because, well, you'd never get any relief!).

But I have done a lot of research on omega supplementation and the theory behind it is that, if you induce more oils into your tear film, it will become less watery and therefore, less dripping will occur.

Do you currently take any omega 3 or 6 supplements? They will take a while before you see results (your body has to absorb and use them).

Of course, check with your doctor to make sure adding them would be ok.

- Rose

[ninja.angie]

I just bought some Omega 3 pills I am gonna start taking them tomorrow.

I do have my ducts plugged, FYI. That helped keep my eyes more moist so they don't run as much as before, but still way too much.

What about the slimey stuff? Will it ever go away?

[izzy3usa2002]

Hi Angie,

So sorry to hear about this. It must be much harder when you are younger. I just turned 50 so it's probably not as hard for me. I wish I know the answer to the excess tearing but I don't but if you check around on here I am sure you will find some people with some advice for you.

Good luck and I hope you get to feeling better soon.

Vicky

[Sammy B.]

Angie -

Good luck with the omegas. The trick may lie in getting the right omega 6 to 3 ratio. Some experts say that is 1:1, some say 2:1, etc. So don't give up hope if they don't work for you right away. If you don't eat a lot of fattening foods (i.e., "bad for you" items), you may need some more omega 6 in your diet. You can obtain that through evening primrose oil.

Do you have the typical dry eye sensations, along with the excess tearing? Do you feel grittiness, burning, scratchiness, etc.? I always assumed that those who had the watery version of dry eye had it better than those who us who don't have enough tears, but that could be entirely wrong!!

- Rose

[sanna]

I just wanted to say that i know how you feel. I am 30 just like you and i hate this thing with my eyes. My eyes do not tear as yours do, but i have red eyes and i hate it.I am hopeing that there will be a cure for that myabe anti vegf, sometime. It dosn´t look like anytime soon but i hope in a few years. Do your eyes hurt anytime? Do you have red eyes all the time or not? and as Angie wrote do you feel grittiness, burning scratchines? I always thought that it is when you do not have enough oil you feel this because I have oil but not enough tears and i do not have burning or scratchchiness...Just some pain (ache) where my eyes are red,

Let me know if the omega 3 pills help you

[ninja.angie]

I don't know much about omega's, except that they are good for you when taken in moderation, and they come from nuts and fish and such. I take the pill form since I know I don't get enough through foods. Is omega 6 already in the omega 3 pills or do you have to buy them separately?

Yes, I feel the grittiness, burning, scratching, redness, soreness ect ect. I have dry eyes, infact I have SEVERE dry eyes, which is the exact reason I have all the stringy mucus and excess watering.

Here is how my eye dr's have explained it to me. My eyes do NOT produce enough tears, which in turn now makes them go into emergency mode and produce tons of excess tears and mucus to try to protect the eye. Since it is way too much tears, they cause watering. I get the stringy, slimy mucus stuff because of this exact reason, it is too dry, and therefore it produces this stuff to try to protect the eye and keep it moist.

Hope that explains it well enough, as I didn't understand at all how I could have dry eyes yet all my eyes do is water, until they explained it to me like that.

I am wondering if there is certain questions I have yet to ask my eye doctors about to further there treatment ideas to find something that may help me.

Another note. I have scars on my eyes as well from past infections. On my right eye one scar is directly on my line of vision so my vision is blurry, 2400, and cannot be corrected except by having a cornea transplant. Which they don't want to do until my dry eyes are under control.

I also have Lupus, it has been in remission since 1999 though, before my dry eyes even started. I take 9-11 different medications for different things such as: high blood pressure, immunosuppressives(kidney transplant), antiviral, cholesterol, pain meds, sleeping pill, and a couple others.

To top it off, I also have allergies and no over the counter allergy medicine helps at all. (Got the runny nose and all as well, non stop past 7 months) I am going to make an appt with an allergist when I have time.

There currently is no cure for dry eyes, as we know, but I should be able to get SOME relief to be able to manage my life. I just can't seem to find it yet, and I don't know how to help the doctors get going in the right direction either. Frustrating.

PS: I put Optive Eye Drops in my eyes before I go to sleep at night and when I wake up my eyes get all crusted from it, and they are SOOO dry. Any suggestions on what to use that may work?

Thanks everyone.

[Sammy B.]

Angie,

Omega 3s and 6s are something that our bodies do not produce naturally, therefore we need to deliver it to our systems via supplements. Omega 3s and 6s are totally different from each other as well. You need a good balance of them to achieve results, but that varies from person to person, depending on their diets, body composition, etc. Here is a good article that explains omegas (and surprisingly it mentions how omega 3s can help with lupus!).

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/omega-3-000316.htm

I am wondering about the variety of medications you are on. Anti-histamines, contraceptives, anti-depressants, blood pressure meds, and many others can cause or exacerbate dry eye. I would start by listing your medications on a piece of paper and then systematically checking out their side effects either with your doctor or online to see if dry eyes (or even "dry mouth" would be a clue to me that it has a drying effect) can be a side effect. If any of them can, I would speak with your doctor about it. Every little bit helps.

As for the crustiness/dryness in the mornings after Optive, I have been using Dwelle (you can buy it from this site in their shop) for a little over a week and I must say it is superior to any other nighttime product I have tried. You will get some crusting but the dryness should improve.

[Rebecca Petris]

Angie,

Considering the serious vision involvement and how much your corneas have gone through, I would definitely look into Boston sclerals to see if you might be a candidate. It's possible that it may not be an option but it's also possible that it may be a good option. Sclerals, for many people, have eliminated the need for a corneal transplant.

I wear sclerals for vision and dry eye and for me they have been a good solution.

[Aaron77]

Sclerals? With and Without Comparison

Rebecca, how are your dry eyes without the sclerals? Occording to the opthamologist I don't need glasses, no prescription +-25-50 in one eye maybe. 3-4 hrs of pretty simple computer wok is all I can handle at the moment, just trying to figure out if some lenses could possibly make a big difference.

From yesterday morning to this morning I went without eye drops, last night the right eye was super red and in the morning both sets of lids were very swollen with a greyish slime in the eye lashes.

[Rebecca Petris]

(oops, edited, didn't read your email carefully at first)

Basically they hurt a lot, though much more so in my right (worst) eye. Without sclerals I can't do prolonged work at all, because of the combination of poor vision & pain.

EDIT: Sorry my post was ambiguous. When I said "they hurt a lot" it was in answer to "How are your dry eyes without the sclerals". The lenses don't hurt.

[GinaJ]

Hi I can relate. I am 31 but I have this and peripheral neuropathy and RSD. Every day is hard to face but we must hold to HOPE. Even in the smallest things and I feel support of forums like this and of course family/friends is very key. Things I have read and met people do get better when they find the right treatment and that can vary from person to person. I have been to so many specialists that it does get frustrated and the moods go up and down.I try to stay in the day and do the best as I can. My pain doctor said something that helps me and may others on the good days do as much as you can and on the bad do the best you can. Now back to you I wonder if your Lupus and dry eye is connected. Have you been tested for sjogrens(sorry spelling?) An allergist is a good idea too I have been and it is a simple test. Have you had a full blood work done? Also do you have any skin issues cause then possibly a dermatolgist.
Now I am an odd person but I can't handle any type of preservative drop or oil or eye meds. I had been on every one basically through my 11 eye specialists and was only getting worse. Now I just use otc drops preservative free,my foam to keep the eyes clean,and warm compress. I still have the dry eye and bleph but not the daily crying pain from it though am in a flare up right now.
Please hang in there and take care.