Confused!

[thanksgiving09]

So, I really want to trust my doctors, but I feel that my eyes just get worse and I keep getting an additional diagnosis along with new Rx! I was told that I have DES, Blepharitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and now ocular rosacea. The dr. told me that having dry eye makes you more susceptible to developing allergies, so that is why I developed allergic conjunctivitis. He said they are all related, meaning the DES, blep, etc.

Has anyone head this? I am just confused by what to do. I have been on Restasis for over 2 years and am now on three additional drops. I love this board, but I read so much conflicting information on the board. I have been tested for lupus, sjogrens, etc. and I do not have any of those. My new dr. blamed it on allergies, but then told me I have allergies due to dry eye.

I guess my question is...why do we all have soooo many different issues with our eyes? Mine appeared out of nowhere! I have NOT had Lasik and I only wore contacts for about a year before eyes went downhill.

I appreciate your time and any input.

Thanks!

[Delilah]

A Specialist?

Hello friend, I am so sorry to hear your having so much trouble, have you had actual allergy tests done? Have you been to an Eye Specialist? I was diagnosed at the Moran Eye Clinic in Salt Lake City, Utah. Seems that the specialists are actually more caring and understanding, they take their time in finding out the cause of your eye troubles, so where ever you live try and find an Eye Clinic with Eye specialists that are close to you so you can make an appointment and hopefully get properly diagnosed. Also Leiters Pharmacy is a wondeful compounding pharmacy in California with many different types of eye drops you can try. Google it, search their website, don't ever stop researching, I am lucky that my local eye doctor is caring enough to have sent me to the Moran Eye Clinic, it's only 2 hours away from where I live.

It's hard sometimes to find doctors that have empathy and understanding, not all eye doctors are like that but there are many who don't truly care or have compassion for their patients and it seems like they are just trying to get rid of you, I've always thought; this is my own opinion that blaming everything on allergies is an easy way out of truly trying to find the culprit of the problem. I suggest you get massive amounts of allergy tests to weed out the allergies they say you might have and also don't forget to research your perscriptions and eye drops, you would be shocked to find that many of them cause dry eye and other problems. Good luck and God Bless Delilah

[thanksgiving09]

As far as the allergies, I had 1 out of 10 say I had allergies and not so much dry eyes. I don't expect you to see 10 before you get an answer - I am an extreme case. If you feel like you are getting worse, but taking more meds, maybe you should look into what exactly you are putting in your eyes and the possibility they are doing more harm than good. Are you using preservatives? They could be drying your eyes and in fact be part of the allergy problem. Are you getting a correct dry eye diagnosis or is your doctor simply treating you based on symptoms.

Thanks for the reply! My dr. said he is trying to keep me away from the Rx with preservatives. I am going to a new doc. (that will be my 5th) so we shall see. The conflicting info. is just so frustrating. I often feel as if they do not know what to do!

[thanksgiving09]

Hello friend, I am so sorry to hear your having so much trouble, have you had actual allergy tests done? Have you been to an Eye Specialist? I was diagnosed at the Moran Eye Clinic in Salt Lake City, Utah. Seems that the specialists are actually more caring and understanding, they take their time in finding out the cause of your eye troubles, so where ever you live try and find an Eye Clinic with Eye specialists that are close to you so you can make an appointment and hopefully get properly diagnosed. Also Leiters Pharmacy is a wondeful compounding pharmacy in California with many different types of eye drops you can try. Google it, search their website, don't ever stop researching, I am lucky that my local eye doctor is caring enough to have sent me to the Moran Eye Clinic, it's only 2 hours away from where I live.

It's hard sometimes to find doctors that have empathy and understanding, not all eye doctors are like that but there are many who don't truly care or have compassion for their patients and it seems like they are just trying to get rid of you, I've always thought; this is my own opinion that blaming everything on allergies is an easy way out of truly trying to find the culprit of the problem. I suggest you get massive amounts of allergy tests to weed out the allergies they say you might have and also don't forget to research your perscriptions and eye drops, you would be shocked to find that many of them cause dry eye and other problems. Good luck and God Bless Delilah

Thanks for the reply! Yes, I have had allergy testing. Also, I went off some meds. months ago bc of the possible drying effect. I am seeing a new doc. in a couple weeks that is supposed to be a dry eye specialist, so I hope thta works. The allergy diagnosis is just odd to me bc I do not feel that my allergies are that severe.

[kitty]

My eye allergies really intensify when my DES flares. Fewer tears mean the eyes are less capable of flushing out the allergens/irritants, making the symptoms worse. What else is going on with you that could be contributing to the DES? Are you a computer user? Are you taking any oral medications that could have dry eye side effects? Are you using drops containing preservatives (can be more irritating). For many with DES, the causes are multi-factorial so the management may be complex. I have learned from personal experience that there are many different treatment philosophies. Have you read Dr. Latkany's book, The Dry Eye Remedy? It is a wonderful resource that may help you with all of the apparently conflicting and confusing information.

[indrep]

Thanksgiving, so many things can contribute to your ocular surface issues; age, birth control pills, other meds, contact lens wear, environment, etc. The DEWS(DryEye WorkShop) report published in April 2007 boils down the treatment options to keeping the lipids as fluid as possible and increasing the amount of water available to the ocular surface.