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I have been a dry eye sufferer for 15 years, mainly with symptoms of blepharitis, meibomian gland dysfunction, allergic conjunctivitis, but also with mild rheumatoid arthritis like symptoms. Recently I made a discovery that changed my life. Since I started a gluten free diet in the beginning of September my dry eye symptoms have dramatically improved!
My story starts with a cooking class on a July evening. Before this class started I was already experiencing some mild chest pain, but a few hours after the class had finished my chest pain became unbearable. The next morning I was hospitalized thinking I might have had a heart attack. The initial diagnosis was that it was pericarditis, which is an inflammation of the sac around the heart, but further testing ruled out that it actually was pericarditis. Blood testing for RA also came up negative once again. Finally, I was diagnosed with Tietze syndrome, which is an inflammation of the cartilage of one or more of the upper ribs. Not long after this diagnosis I also had a sudden onset of inflammation in my right hip joint. Things were not going very well for me at all, and in my view it would only be a matter of time before I would be hospitalized again. Just getting by each day was a challenge for me.
Then one day I passed by a local bookstore and picked up a book called 'Serve to Win' by Novak Djokovic. After reading the cover I decided to buy this book, which turned out to be one of the best purchases I ever made. In his book he describes how a gluten free diet helped him decrease inflammation and increase his energy levels, enabling him to become the world’s number one ranked tennis player. He advises you to try a gluten free diet for 14 days and then introduce some gluten again to see what happens. I thought to myself, why not give it a try? Just 14 days and see we’ll what happens…
What happened next was far beyond my expectations – which I had none – I thought this dry eye syndrome would be a part of my life forever. After just two days into the diet I felt something very strange was going on. I noticed that I didn’t really have a feeling of dry eyes. A feeling I couldn’t even remember since I had dry eyes each and every day for the past 15 years. The strange kind of underlying neurological pain in the eyes was just gone. I looked at my hands, moved my fingers around and was amazed about how flexible they were. It literally felt like a dark shroud had come off and seeing the world in much more vivid colors.
It’s now three months later and my eyes are still going great. My meibomian glands are producing noticeably more and clearer oils. The recovery from Tietze syndrome and inflammation in my hip is very slow, but eventually I will get there. My chest is still sensitive to pressure, but at least the constant pain is gone. The inflammation in my right hip joint is slowly subsiding and I’m currently undergoing physiotherapy to restore the movement. I’m confident I will almost fully recover. I will still have dry eyes sometimes, but at a very acceptable level for me.
I still remember how it was before. Now I can actually look someone in the eyes when talking to them, without constantly being distracted by the continuous eye pain. Or just watch a movie without having to worry about your eyes all the time. It still hurts when I think back of how it was doing these things a few months back and knowing that there are still people out there who have to go through this every day.
It took me 15 years of hard struggle to find the cause of my dry eye syndrome. I had pretty much given up all hope of ever finding a cure, thinking dry eye syndrome was not curable. I had learned to accept it as part of my life and tried to manage the symptoms as well as I could. But just as things were getting out of control I stumbled upon my cure with a sheer stroke of luck. I do realize I’m probably one of the lucky few, but you should never give up looking for answers. There is always hope! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best of luck to you all,
Bart
My story starts with a cooking class on a July evening. Before this class started I was already experiencing some mild chest pain, but a few hours after the class had finished my chest pain became unbearable. The next morning I was hospitalized thinking I might have had a heart attack. The initial diagnosis was that it was pericarditis, which is an inflammation of the sac around the heart, but further testing ruled out that it actually was pericarditis. Blood testing for RA also came up negative once again. Finally, I was diagnosed with Tietze syndrome, which is an inflammation of the cartilage of one or more of the upper ribs. Not long after this diagnosis I also had a sudden onset of inflammation in my right hip joint. Things were not going very well for me at all, and in my view it would only be a matter of time before I would be hospitalized again. Just getting by each day was a challenge for me.
Then one day I passed by a local bookstore and picked up a book called 'Serve to Win' by Novak Djokovic. After reading the cover I decided to buy this book, which turned out to be one of the best purchases I ever made. In his book he describes how a gluten free diet helped him decrease inflammation and increase his energy levels, enabling him to become the world’s number one ranked tennis player. He advises you to try a gluten free diet for 14 days and then introduce some gluten again to see what happens. I thought to myself, why not give it a try? Just 14 days and see we’ll what happens…
What happened next was far beyond my expectations – which I had none – I thought this dry eye syndrome would be a part of my life forever. After just two days into the diet I felt something very strange was going on. I noticed that I didn’t really have a feeling of dry eyes. A feeling I couldn’t even remember since I had dry eyes each and every day for the past 15 years. The strange kind of underlying neurological pain in the eyes was just gone. I looked at my hands, moved my fingers around and was amazed about how flexible they were. It literally felt like a dark shroud had come off and seeing the world in much more vivid colors.
It’s now three months later and my eyes are still going great. My meibomian glands are producing noticeably more and clearer oils. The recovery from Tietze syndrome and inflammation in my hip is very slow, but eventually I will get there. My chest is still sensitive to pressure, but at least the constant pain is gone. The inflammation in my right hip joint is slowly subsiding and I’m currently undergoing physiotherapy to restore the movement. I’m confident I will almost fully recover. I will still have dry eyes sometimes, but at a very acceptable level for me.
I still remember how it was before. Now I can actually look someone in the eyes when talking to them, without constantly being distracted by the continuous eye pain. Or just watch a movie without having to worry about your eyes all the time. It still hurts when I think back of how it was doing these things a few months back and knowing that there are still people out there who have to go through this every day.
It took me 15 years of hard struggle to find the cause of my dry eye syndrome. I had pretty much given up all hope of ever finding a cure, thinking dry eye syndrome was not curable. I had learned to accept it as part of my life and tried to manage the symptoms as well as I could. But just as things were getting out of control I stumbled upon my cure with a sheer stroke of luck. I do realize I’m probably one of the lucky few, but you should never give up looking for answers. There is always hope! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best of luck to you all,
Bart
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