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  • Gamma Linolenic Acid

    Greetings,

    I've been a dry eye sufferer for 25 years. Now at the age of 51, I've learned some things that I wanted to pass on to visitors at the Dry Eye Zone.

    I first found out about nutritional supplements for dry eyes about 10 years ago when someone told me to try Evening Primrose Oil. I was shocked to find that it worked dramatically for me. When watching tear-jerking scenes on TV, I would have to reach for the kleenex. Unfortunately you had to take about six capsules a day and it left a nasty aftertaste for hours. I eventually stopped using it and relied on artificial tears.

    About 2 years ago my dry eyes were getting worse and I was using AT 10-15 times a day without much relief. I decided to look into Evening Primrose Oil again. Searching on the internet, I found a product called HydroEye, which contained the same active ingredient, Gamma Linolenic Acid, this time from Black Currant Seed oil.

    Well, I didn't have much luck with HydroEye, largely because of that nasty aftertaste. I just could not make myself take it often enough to generate any useful effect. Flax seed oil was being mentioned in some of the eye care journals, but it tasted even worse to me. I started searching for other products that might contain Gamma Linolenic Acid. The oil that had the highest percentage of GLA was Borage oil, from the seeds of the borage flower. It is about 24% GLA. It can also be obtained at a very reasonable cost from various internet health food retailers.

    After a week or two, I started experiencing the same dramatic increase in tear production that I had 10 years ago with large doses of evening primrose oil. I found that two 1000 mg capsules per day was a good amount for me.

    A couple of caveats:

    Dry eye can have many different causes. I think that GLA increases aqeous tear production. If you try Borage Oil for a few weeks with no effect, it may be that your dry eye is caused by something else.

    You may note that GLA is an Omega-6 fatty acid, which is not currently in fashion. Most people are seeking to increase their intake of Omega-3s. I have no idea what effect GLA has on cholesterol. It did not seem to affect mine, but those with high cholesterol might want to combine GLA with flax seed oil just to be safe.

    GLA can cause a mild laxative effect, depending on how much you ingest.

    There is also one other oil that contains 24% GLA. It is called Siberian Pine Nut Oil. I found it on the net and ordered a bottle. It has the same beneficial effect as the Borage Oil capsules and tastes great, a lot like pine nuts. You can use it like olive oil on bread or salads, but it is easy to eat too much and have more laxative effect than you might want.

    Michael S. Brown, OD
    Kaiser Permanente
    Vancouver, WA


    Here is a handout that I give to my patients who ask about oral therapy for dry eye. I mention Theratears Nutrition here so that patients have a choice, but my guess is that Borage Oil is the more effective therapy.

    -------------patient handout----------------------

    Two Nutritional Supplements for Chronic Dry Eye Therapy

    In cases where a chronic dry eye condition is not adequately controlled with the use of artificial tears, I recommend trying certain nutritional supplements. There is one available that is specifically marketed for dry eye therapy and another that is a generic food supplement.

    Theratears Nutrition is a new name brand product that is available at most supermarkets in the area. It can be found in the eye care section next to the Theratears eye drops. Look for a light blue box. Theratears Nutrition contains flax seed oil and fish oil that supply Omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids are also claimed to be good for you in other ways too, so they are currently getting a lot of favorable media attention. The recommended dosage is four capsules per day. I think it is worth trying this product for a month.

    If Theratears Nutrition does not work for you, an alternative is a generic food supplement called Borage Oil. This oil is pressed from the seeds of the borage flower and is available in capsule form from most health food stores or from internet retailers.

    The active ingredient in Borage Oil is gamma -linolenic acid (GLA). This is an Omega-6 fatty acid, which does not get the same praise from health experts as the Omega-3s. The typical dosage for a medium to large adult would be 2 grams a day or two 1000 milligram softgel capsules. The only common side effects are a slight aftertaste and a mild laxative effect. Borage Oil is about 24% GLA which makes it a relatively cheap and convenient source. Other sources are Evening Primrose Oil (10% GLA) and Black Currant Seed Oil (15% GLA).

    I suggest starting with one 1000 mg capsule of Borage Oil per day for 3 days. If there are no problems, then increase to two capsules per day, one in the morning and one at night. It makes no difference if it is taken with meals or not, just do what works best for you. Increased tear production should start to be noticeable in about a week. Maximum effect occurs in about 3-6 weeks.

    Anecdotal reports suggest that the good effects of both products may last for a few weeks or months after you stop taking the capsules, but it is very unlikely that the improvement is permanent.
    Last edited by Michael; 18-Oct-2005, 10:40.

  • #2
    excellent tip!

    Hi Michael,
    You wrote:
    There is also one other oil that contains 24% GLA. It is called Siberian Pine Nut Oil. I found it on the net and ordered a bottle. It has the same beneficial effect as the Borage Oil capsules and tastes great, a lot like pine nuts. You can use it like olive oil on bread or salads, but it is easy to eat too much and have more laxative effect than you might want.
    Welcome to Dry Eye talk! Thanks so much for the tip about Siberian Pine Oil. The oils I use as supplements (Barleans Flax Oil, Udo's Oil) suggest they can be used on salads etc. I know what they taste like and have always wondered why anyone would ruin a perfectly good salad with them . I love extra virgin olive oil on salads but will look up the Siberian Pine Nut Oil and maybe give it a whirl. I like pine nuts a lot.
    Cindy

    "People may not always remember exactly what you said or what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel." ~ Unknown

    Comment


    • #3
      Oils

      Michael Brown - thanks for the information. I do recall seeing evening primrose touted as a supplement for dry eye, but don't think I ever tried it. It does sound like it may be worth trying.

      I tried hydro-eyes. I don't think it did anything for me, although I did not notice any aftertaste at all. Interesting.

      Cindy - do you take BOTH flax and Udo's oil? Or just whatever's available?

      It certainly is interesting what works for some people and not others.

      Comment


      • #4
        Thank you so much Dr. Brown for sharing about your experience with supplements! This has really got my curiosity going. I have not tried anything new (other than Panoptx glasses) lately, and my eyes have been acting up more than usual lately so I decided to order Borage Oil. Will post here again when I've been using it for awhile.
        Rebecca Petris
        The Dry Eye Foundation
        dryeyefoundation.org
        800-484-0244

        Comment


        • #5
          I'm interested also, though I think I'll wait a little while. I'll be very interested in hearing your take, Rebecca.
          Never play leapfrog with a unicorn.

          Comment


          • #6
            Supplements

            Dr. Brown,
            Do you think you can take both the Thera tears and the Borage oil because it will be hitting the omega 3 and the omega 6 components? Thanks for the valuable information. I have been on the Thera tears for about two and ahalf months.
            Peggy

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Peggy
              Dr. Brown,
              Do you think you can take both the Thera tears and the Borage oil because it will be hitting the omega 3 and the omega 6 components? Thanks for the valuable information. I have been on the Thera tears for about two and ahalf months.
              Peggy
              Hi Peggy,

              I'm pretty sure you'd be fine taking both, but there is no way to be sure. Using nutritional supplements is maddeningly unscientific.

              How much improvement have you had in your symptoms with the TheraTears Nutrition capsules? I've only known one person who tried them after Lasik and he seemed to think they worked OK, but he only used them for about a month.

              Take Care,

              Mike

              Comment


              • #8
                omega3s,6's,GLAs etc

                some links about nutritional supplements.

                see www.theratears.com/nutrition.htm
                and www.healthy-r-us.net/gla.htm
                also www.biosyntrx.com/bioTearsSR.htm
                Last edited by markL; 24-Oct-2005, 10:50.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I figured I've got nothing to lose

                  So I'm giving the Borage oil a try. I started taking them on Nov. 23rd One a day for three days and them 2 after. So far the only thing I've really noticed is in the morning when I first wake up, I usually spend the first few minutes digging gross amounts of mucus out of my eyes. Sunday when I did this, I noticed that what mucus there was, was very thin and not so gouppy, there was also more "water" which I thought felt like mucus, I'm so not used to having moisture in my eyes that I just assume it's mucus.

                  I'll keep going with just the bogare oil for a couple of weeks and see what kind of results I get, if there not that great I'll try combining them with flax and see if that helps.

                  I'll keep everyone posted, thanks for the information. Hope it works

                  Arenda

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Flax and borage oil

                    http://www.naturodoc.com/library/nut...for_health.htm

                    Above is a site that discusses the use of both these oils, and how it may be beneficial to combine them.

                    Arenda - keep us posted.

                    I have to make a trip to the health food store. I think I will pick some borage oil up. What's one more supplement, right?

                    Rebecca, did you ever try this?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by jcorbett
                      Rebecca, did you ever try this?
                      Yes but I'm afraid I haven't been very faithful with it! I keep trying to get more consistent. With my fitful use of it so far I can't say I've seen any noticeable changes.
                      Rebecca Petris
                      The Dry Eye Foundation
                      dryeyefoundation.org
                      800-484-0244

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Well, get on it ladies and maybe we'll be toasting borage oil come February 17!
                        Never play leapfrog with a unicorn.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I'm surprised Cindy hasn't weighed in on this. I didn't think there was a supplement she didn't try.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Been a couple of weeks

                            2 1/2 weeks and I have definatly noticed a difference. I hardly have any mucus in my eyes in the morning and what I do have is very liquidy, more water then mucus. I did watch some sappy thing the other day and my eyes did fill up, no tears came out of my eyes, but I usually have nothing at all. I've no other side effects so I'm going to keep going with these for another couple of weeks. The other post said a month and you get what results you get. I think I'll add the omega 3s and see what that does, after the month is up. So far I'm excited with what I've gotten so far. I'm still wearing contacts everyday, the results might be different if I gave them up, but I just can't.

                            So far so good, thanks for the advice, Arenda

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Borage oil

                              I was going to wait a bit before weighing in, but after reading Arenda's post, I just had to speak up.
                              I have been using borage oil for 9 days, two a day. The last three days have been the best days I've had in two years. And considering we have had a cold spell and the heaters have been running full blast, I am really surprised. The humidity at my cubicle has dropped to 15, I'm staring at the screen all day and my eyes are not bothering me like they normally would.
                              The last two nights when I used Dwelle, my eyes didn't even sting at all. My eyes always sting when using Dwelle in the evening as that is when my eyes are worse.
                              Will check back in after a couple weeks and let you know if things continue to stay improved.
                              (Note: I refuse to give anything credit until I've seen consistent results over a longer time period. )
                              Anyone else give this stuff a try?

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