Water and Vegetables?

[synes89]

Sorry in advance that this is kinda long.

Ok, so my dry eyes have started last year and escalated to a more severe state within several months. Refer to this thread: http://dryeyezone.com/talk/showthread.php?t=7926. Docs have not taken me seriously and just prescribed tear drops or have told me I have allergies. I'm pretty sure I don't, because I've changed environments, and this is definitely lasting over 1-2 seasons. It would get better and it would get worse. I've been doing warm compresses which keep helping, but only for a short while (half an hour to an hour). I noticed that the biggest thing that helped relieve my dry eyes is drinking lots of water and eating vegetables the day before. What could this mean?
The way that I found out that eating vegetables would help me is the following. I began college 2 years ago, which is probably around the time my eyes slowly started getting drier. I didn't feel it at first because it was very mild. But recenly, I noticed a slight change in my diet since entering college. I noticed that the food in the cafeterias are mostly fried, and there are hardly any fresh vegetables (only in one cafeteria). So I realized I've nearly stopped getting my nutrients from that for 2 years. As soon as I started eating a good amount of vegetables/fruits every day, my dry eyes improved. Could I have some sort of vitamin deficiency? And if so, will I be able to restore my eyes to how they were before?
The last doc I went to told me that I produce enough tears because he did not see any dry spots. But I noticed that drinking more water a day really helps. (Of course, he had no idea about any significant relationship between water/vegetables and dry eyes...)
Anyway, does this sound familiar to anybody on this forum? And if so, can I get an explanation? I really believe that I can reverse my condition, because if things like eating vegetables seem to relieve my dry eyes overnight for a day, then there should be some sort of long term cure for this.
I've been taking Coldpresed Flaxseed Oil capsules, and I just bought Vitamin A capsules which I'll start to take as well and see if it helps.

Thanks in advance.

[synes89]

Also, just to add, the last doc told me that my eyes look like they're producing some sort of mucus? He pressed on my eyelids and said that mucus came, which teared my eyes a lot and said produced the same symptoms I was describing to him. However, the problem is that my eyes -don't- tear by themselves when dry, in fact, obviously the opposite. And manually inducing tears doesn't help..)
He prescribed Pataday, but I can't buy it because it's too expensive and my medical insurance doesn't cover prescription medicine. But could allergies be the case here? I have post nasal drip, for which I sometimes take claritin, but try to restrict it to only several days because they aggravate my dry eyes.

[bernmee]

Hi,


If you have found something that you think may be working you should stick with it for at least 6 weeks to see if there is a long term change in your pain level.

I have included a link to a post I made in the "triumph" section, the second last post will give you more information on the diet that I believe helped a lot in my recovery, I should also say that I am doing even better since that post. I would be happy to refer you to a couple of books if you want to look further into using foods to help your healing.

http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showthread.php?t=8245

As for the allergies...I am afraid I can't help you with that one. I was told in my last appointment when my eyes were going crazy that I had allergies, which I believe was being caused by huge amounts of chamomile I was drinking in an effort to helpt to stay nice and calm, even though many herbalists will warn about allergies and chamomile I had no idea I had allergies until after the fact. Another poster on this site suggested that a compromised tear film will allow yucky particles to irriate the eye. I don't know the reason though, I have one Lasik eye and one non Lasik eye. I have no problem with allergies with my non Lasik eye, just my Lasik eye. I though say though they are more a mild irritation then something that drives me nuts.

As for dry eye, there are two types. A lack of tears being produced, and a lack of oil in the tears that then allows the tears to evaporate. There tests for these so you should ask your Dr. for your results. This will help you track your progress, plus it will let you know if your Dr. preformed these tests. My Stanford educated Dr. did not carry out one of these tests ever, and I have no idea if he carried out the second one. When I asked him to carry out these tests post Lasik he told me he didn't need to as he already knew what was wrong with me. Then I moved Dr. and I had a fantastic experence with a Dr. who helped me in my progress, and more inportently gave me a timeline and treatment plan. So make sure you have a good Dr.!!

Bernadette

[synes89]

Thanks for replying! Yeah, finding a good knowledgeable doctor is not the easiest thing to do, as most doctors will give an unsatisfying textbook answer. I'll try to stick with what I know is working for a while (it's hard to remember to do it everyday). Thanks for the link, I'll make sure to see if any of it helps me.