greasy eyelids

[Katewest]

What causes them? I have ocular rosacea and my eyelids seem to be getting worse this week.... i have been eating kinda bad

[Faith1989]

Hey kate. I get greasy lids when they are inflammed too. I guess just an overproduction of oil?? Can you try a short course of steriods? I have FINALLY quit using restasis but have been using Lotemax twice daily this week to get rid of some of the redness restasis caused. I mean I DO feel better but I ALWAYS do when using Lotemax so I guess we will see what happens when I SLOWLY taper off... ughh if only I could use steriods forever!

[Katewest]

My doc gave my 6 little sample bottles of a "very mild" steroid...lotamax. It really doesn't help me that much

[Faith1989]

The first time my doc gave me Lotemax, i didnt think it worked either until about two weeks in, then all my inflammation was down. Just a word of advice if you havent had it before, dont stop completely right away, slowly taper off. I remember the first time I used it for a month (best month I've ever had) then I think I stopped to fast...but this time I am going to use it twice a day for two weeks then once a day then once every second day ect...

How long have you been using it? and How many times per day?

[Katewest]

Like two weeks now i think...twice a day

[Faith1989]

Thats surprising it hasnt done anything...i cant remember r u taking doxy too? I am taking 100mg once every second day now and although it doesnt make my eyes less dry it helps the lids. nothing has really helped my dryness problem , im starting serum in january tho.. hopefully that will help :S

[Katewest]

I'm taking 100 mg doxy daily! Im glad you are doing better without the restasis! And hopefully serum drops are going to work. I'm going to see a corneal specialist this month to talk to him about serum. I am worried though, because I think it's prescribed more for post LASIK pain than ocular rosacea. Boston foundation for sight got my referral and want me to try wearing a soft contact lenses before coming all the way out there. If it helps and doesn't irritate my eyes more than Boston might be an option.

[Katewest]

Oh and I just saw your chat question about winter ....my eyes seem worse in the office because of the stupid heating!! Yuck!

[LaDiva]

Kate, I used Lotemax last year, and it didn't help, but am using it now once a day, and it is helping. I noticed a couple of months ago that Restasis was really making my eyes red when I used it at night, but the redness was usually gone by the next morning. A couple of days ago, the redness was still there when I got up, so I decided to quit Restasis for awhile, and go back to the Lotemax once a day for a week or so. My eyes look much better, and so far I am not missing the Restasis. Not sure why it would work now, and not last year. The only thing I can think of is that my eyes were much worse last year than they are now, and maybe they just needed a small jump-start this time instead of a major overhaul!

[Katewest]

That's so good to hear about your improvement and gives me hope . What do you think helped you the most?

[Faith1989]

LaDiva, I recently stopped Restasis too. I was on it three months twice a day, my eyes also were pretty red from it and kinda still are as I have only been off it a few days. I started using Lotemax twice a day five days ago and am already feeling much better and the redness is going down. I plan to use it twice a day for two weeks then taper off slowly. I will start serum next month. I am kinda worried that once I taper off Lotemax things will get bad again...I am hoping the Lotemax at least brings the inflammation down until I can get my serum made. How long did ur doc say u could use it for??

[LaDiva]

Wow. Hard question. I am still not in great shape, but last year my eyes were much drier and I had photophobia. It has been a really long haul, and like I said, it isn't over. Drugs didn't really work very well. I think the Doxy ended up messing with my insides which were not in very good shape anyway. I got sicker, and sicker and sicker, and tried all kinds of things to make my eyes and body feel better. I ached and hurt all over, and decided to get a massage. Accidentally, I booked a massage with a reiki therapist. I felt better within three visits. What I realized is that I had been under an incredible amount of stress for almost three years, and hadn't really relaxed for a very long time. I also connected with a good vitamin person who fixed me up with some potent vitamins and minerals, some of them in liquid form. Physically I felt better within a week, and now feel much better. I also started drinking more water and decaf green tea, and the food I do eat now is organic when possible. I don't eat glutens or inflammatory foods, including sugar, and don't drink anything with caffeine. It is my hope that I will be able to eventually add some foods back into my diet. I think my body had become toxic from a variety of things, including a couple of bouts with food poisoning. I now sleep well, and feel hopeful. The next step is to take the saliva test for hormone balance, and if that is also a key, I think things might get much better. My goal is to be healthy enough so that my body can heal itself, which it has not been doing very well. Don't know if this helps Kate. It has been a physical, mental and spiritual journey. I do not know if I will be "cured" or "in remission", but certainly now have hope, which was rapidly running out. I've tried many things, but think that so far, reiki has been the most helpful. We are all different, and I think there are different things that speak to each of us. I so hope you will be better soon; that we will all be better soon. Did you have your lip biopsy done?

[Katewest]

Thanks so much for all that info. I really think what you said about not relaxing in three years hit home. I am going to get back on the non inflammatory diet and look for something else to help. I went to the rheumatoligist who looked at my blood work and concluded that the lip biopsy wouldn't be worth it because its invasive and he didn't think i had sjogrens.

[LaDiva]

Best of luck. I believe you will get better, but it is a journey to be sure. Glad to know you don't have Sjogrens, and good to talk with you.

[Katewest]

Thanks for being so hopeful, it helps im looking up reiki massages in my area now!