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I'm doing pretty well w/ producing tears (Restasis 2x/day) and w/ staying mostly comfortable (Oasis Tear Plus 2x/day) but my eyes water a lot (computer use, wind, cold air, movies, TV, reading just about anything really) and my eye dr said it's b/c my TBUT is 5 seconds. She recommended HydroEyes or any supplement like it, but I've tried it before a few years ago and it didn't help at all even after using it for 6 months. Is it worth another shot? Or is there another supplement that does work? Or is there another way to increase TBUT? I do take flax oil supplements and have tried fish oils and other Omega 3-6-9 such as borage, hempseed, evening primrose in the past also w/o improvement. Thanks!
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do you have MGD? if so you might want to try hot eye compresses. It will make it so that your oils flow better preventing your tears evaporating too quickly. -
Originally posted by Ahmet View Post
Yeah, that's what books say but when you put that into practice, it doesn't work.Comment
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Originally posted by Chemia
I have MGD and have tried plugs wieth no relief. I do produce some tears but they're just bad quality tears and plugs won't prevent them to evaporate too quickly. So I don't think plugs can help people with MGD/Bleph, actually they can make it worse because the eye is in contact with inflammatory cells more time than it should.
You can try Probing/IPL, in my opinion they are the only effective treatments available right now.Comment
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How do you guys measure your TBUT?
I dont know officially what mine is but I learned from somewhere that you can test your own
If you blink hard then stare at an object in front of you and start counting
Usually i can only count to 5 until i have to blink again
On bad days like today only 3
When i was at my best for the last 2 years - when my condition was under control i have been known to count to 8 or even 10
My husband can count to 17!! lucky fellow
It is a pretty acurate and simple way to confirm what you probably already know anyway -- how your tear film isComment
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If my eyes are tired I can't go more than 5 or 6. If I am well rested then I can do 11 -12. My actual break time is 10-11.Comment
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I don't think you can measure your own TBUT and in any case it would be very inaccurate. By the time you start to feel pain, your tear film has already vanished. That's why doctors use fluorescent drops so as soon as tear film breaks up they can notice black spots on the eye surface.Comment
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My TBUT increased from 3 to 20 after using 1% and 2% cyclosporine for some time. But if I do not take any medications it might go back to the previous measurement over time. So, there is no cure really for this. As long as the inflammation is down, the eyes produce better quality tears; once it goes up (not controlled with medicaqtion) quick deterioration occurs. I just hope and pray that in the next decade doctors find and market something more efficinet in stablilising the tear flm.Comment
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Sorry but I'm a bit confused. Are you talking about meibomian gland, lacrimal gland or eye surface inflammation ? What has TBUT to do with tear volume ?Originally posted by ringo View PostComment
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I forgot to mention that I do have plugs, have had them for about 5 years. And I always do compresses at least 2x per day, I feel great immediately afterward of course, but it doesn't last long. My eye dr specifically said what is missing is the oil supplement issue. I'm really just wondering if anyone has found a supplement that does what my eye dr is assuming they are supposed to do -- increase the oily layer of the tear film and prevent the tears from evaporating.Comment
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Hi Sparrow
If I had the answer to that question my problem would be over
To work backwards --
I know instinctively/can feel that the tears are evaporating too quickly because the oily layer of the tear film is inadequate,and that is because I have MGD and that is due to blepharitis (inflamation of the eye lids)
So if someone somewhere could find a drop that resembled and replaced the oil that would relieve the symptoms
The nearest drop i have found has been clinitas ultra 3 (Freshcote in US)although at the moment it is not helping that much.It does claim to replace all three layers of the tear film and has helped me in the past
It would not solve the underlying inflamation of the eyelids of course
Doxycycline is supposed to do that -temporarilyComment
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Hi Sparrow
If I had the answer to that question my problem would be over
To work backwards --
I know instinctively/can feel that the tears are evaporating too quickly because the oily layer of the tear film is inadequate,and that is because I have MGD and that is due to blepharitis (inflamation of the eye lids)
So if someone somewhere could find a drop that resembled and replaced the oil that would relieve the symptoms
The nearest drop i have found has been clinitas ultra 3 (Freshcote in US)although at the moment it is not helping that much.It does claim to replace all three layers of the tear film and has helped me in the past
It would not solve the underlying inflamation of the eyelids of course
Doxycycline is supposed to do that -temporarilyComment
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my tbut went up a lot with ipl with dr. toyos in memphisComment
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Flaxseed oil increased my tear break up from 5 s (R eye) and 6 (L eye) to 9s and 10 s.Comment
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I am on both flaxseed and high dose omega 3 fish oil but cant say it makes much difference 'though maybe if i was'nt on them i would be even worse
I dont intend to stop them to find outComment
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