Depression anxiety medication advice

[SharonS]

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone had advice regarding medication for anxiety and depression? I am struggling to cope mentally with the severity of this condition, but have been so concerned about drying side effects of medication. Has anyone experienced this as a side effect from
Medication? Are there some types that are safe to use? I would be so grateful for any input xx

[waterbee]

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone had advice regarding medication for anxiety and depression? I am struggling to cope mentally with the severity of this condition, but have been so concerned about drying side effects of medication. Has anyone experienced this as a side effect from
Medication? Are there some types that are safe to use? I would be so grateful for any input xx

Hi sharon

I had a short course of diazepam (valium) to cope with the worst of the panic attacks and endless crying that I went through in the first few months, I'm pretty sure it saved me going down a very dark road and as it was a low dose it didn't effect my eyes, in fact since it relaxed me and actually helped with the strained feeling I had. It was when I had a break from crying it dawned on me how much worse it made my eyes feel! And sleeping finally helped too, which I wasn't. ( I also started taking an low dose of an antidepressant which also acts as a sleeping aid and pain killer called amitriptyline to help with the above) (both of these drugs can make dry eyes worse but in my case, helped a great deal) I tried prozac and sertine too but felt they effected my eyes pretty much right away so did not continue. I would experiment a bit as they seem to effect everyone differently. Xx

[SharonS]

Hi Waterbee,

Thanks for your reply! I had a massive cry last weekend and my eyes were swollen for days and still haven't fully recovered! It's the first time I've noticed how bad crying is for me lol Ive been feeling guilty whenever I feel tears coming! A friend of mine suggested Flouxotine or citalopram. I don't really know about any of them! I will have to try and possibly at the lowest dose possible. I'm so nervous about them making my eyes worse, I am
Already giving myself a hard time over things I might have done that have affected my eyes, I don't want to do anymore damage. But you are right, some might not have any effect on me, I will ask my GP. Thanks again. How are your symptoms at the moment? xx

[waterbee]

Hi Waterbee,

Thanks for your reply! I had a massive cry last weekend and my eyes were swollen for days and still haven't fully recovered! It's the first time I've noticed how bad crying is for me lol Ive been feeling guilty whenever I feel tears coming! A friend of mine suggested Flouxotine or citalopram. I don't really know about any of them! I will have to try and possibly at the lowest dose possible. I'm so nervous about them making my eyes worse, I am
Already giving myself a hard time over things I might have done that have affected my eyes, I don't want to do anymore damage. But you are right, some might not have any effect on me, I will ask my GP. Thanks again. How are your symptoms at the moment? xx

One tip, if you need to cry (and believe me, I still do at times! ) wash out the tears ASAP with your drops, get those tears out and don't let them sit on your eye balls, tears contain salt, we don't have the correct formulae or water and oil to protect the eye call, so what happends? The salt irrates the eye ball and drys it out even more. So just use drops until you overfill your eyes and they will run out, also use a nice cold flannel on your eyes after, to bring down the swelling a little if can. This really helps a lot xx

[SharonS]

Great tip thank you. I was crying before I went to sleep last night and decided I couldn't be bothered doing my eye things before bed- huge mistake! Sorest most swollen red eyes ever this morning!! xx

[Faith1989]

Sharon, I know how you feel. I'm 26 (was 23 when I got rosacea) and it was horrible. My eyes were really red (like scary) and was also detoxing off Visine. My eyes cleared up over the years but still suffer from MGD and have to use doxy and steroids sometimes. I take 30mg of Cipralex for depression and it has helped a lot.

What's your diet like? Are you using antibiotics?

[SharonS]

Hi Faith,

My diet is pretty healthy to be honest but I have gluten, dairy and probably too many carbs - next week (I have a wedding to go to tomorrow) I am starting a 3 month diet plan consisting of only lean meat, cooked veg, eggs and a little fruit (ripe banana and berries). After one month I will introduce some grains (gluten free). I am praying to God that it will help me.

I am not taking any oral antibiotics yet. I am currently using antibacterial ointment (chloramphenicol) for one month but it really stings my eyes, FML for 8 weeks and I am waiting to get cyclosporine ointment. It's really difficult in the UK! I was quoted £200 for a single 3.5g tube that would last 28 days. Ideally I would prefer the drops as my eyes are so sensitive to ointments but it's just impossible as it is ridiculously expensive.

I have been trying to cope and be strong but the pain is just too much and seeing the difference in my eyes (they are so veiny) over 7 months frightens me. I feel worried for the future. I am moving house and going to see my new GP next week for anxiety medication to help me cope mentally. I will be terrified to take it in case it damages my eyes more! Do you think I would notice straightaway if it was hurting my eyes? They are already so sore I'm worried I wouldn't be able to tell lol xx

[waterbee]

I only took a very small dose of my antidepressants (less then half) to test them for a few days first then gradually built them up, that way I could test to see if my eyes felt worse. I wouldn't say it was a dramatic change, just some small things like eyes a little more tough to prize open in the morning and when taking a hit shower the steam wasn't helping my eyes feel soothed like normal, it wasn't dramatic but I knew it wasn't great to stay on those brands so tried another. I actually found prozac to make me less sleepy so I was awake more (already had insomnia,without it!) So it may even of been even less sleep that made my eyes feel worse, it's hard to know. The reason I liked diazepam was because the effect of calming me down was instant so I didn't have to stress about what might happen next, I didn't care lol actually first time I took it I was yawning and feeling so sleepy, my eyes felt great because they filled up with my yawning tears but I didn't realise until after, for a moment I thought I might have found a cure and it was all down to stress! if only! Xx

[SharonS]

Thanks for the advice Waterbee! That's very helpful! I think I will keep a diary! xx