Hi,

[DebbieZ]

I've been dealing with dry eye now for over two years. I have Multiple Sclerosis, Sjogren's and MGD. Triple threat!!!!!

I have it under pretty good control with Restasis, permanent duct plugging (lower only) and doxycycline 20mg.

The MGD in the left eye is at 70% clear but the right eye is only 40% clear. My doc suggested I up the doxy to 40mg a day and this is where I have a problem.

My stomach has started to bother me with worsening nausea (have nausea already from MS), headaches, and a dry cough. I have an all around feeling of unwellness.

The doxy has really helped but my quality of life with the MS is already compromised so I don't want to add anything that is going to make it worse.

My question is do they have anything like doxy that is easier on your body? The one I have is generic for Periostat.

Dry eye sucks (sorry) and to have it with everything else that I have going on is so unfair. Sorry for the pity party but I'm just so frustrated right now I could scream.

My only recreation since I'm home bound is reading, computer and TV. And with dry eye that makes it hard to enjoy these activities.

My routine right now is:

Restasis twice daily
doxy 20mg twice daily
Genteal Gel at night

The doxy is whats killing me but it works so well. HELP!!!!!!

Thanks for listening.

DebbieZ

[indrep]

Debbie
Suggest to your doc Azasite as an alternative to the Doxy. Or take doxy with a meal at least an hour before bed and no Dairy products.

[odydnas]

Hi Debbie,

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. Are you doing warm compresses plus lid massages twice a day? That should help with your mgd. Dr. L always says that that helps more than doxy. If you already are, maybe you can try tetracycline or minocycline instead of doxy to see if its easier on your stomach. Everyone reacts differently to these medications. For example, I am allergic to doxy, but the side effects from mino is mild for me. There are other people on this board who can't take mino but can take doxy, and vice versa.

I definitely recommend adding warm compresses and lid massages to your regiment if you aren't doing that already. Good luck!

[DebbieZ]

Thank you for your helpful tips!

indrep: I had been taking with food since I know how sensitive my stomach is. When I was only on 20 mg of Doxy I did fine. It's when I upped it to
40 mg (per doc's instructions) that my stomach went haywire.

I've had diarrhea ever since plus stomach cramping. I stopped the Doxy on the 24th so I'm hoping that my symptoms will soon subside.

odydnas: I stopped doing the warm compresses when the Doxy kicked in. But I will need to start up again.

How do you do lid massages?

What dosage of Doxy were you on? What dosage of Mino are you on now? The Doxy at 20 mg made my eyes feel much better even though my oil production was not ideal (L-70% & R - 40%).

I know this is where my problem lies. If I could just get my MGD under control I would be super.

Thanks again for your help.

DebbieZ

[indrep]

Deb
The only other suggestion I have heard is do not lay down for an hour after taking. it. The truth is you could take the Azasite and stop the Doxy probably.

[odydnas]

Hi Debbie,

There are several ways to do a lid massage. I would suggest you do a search on DEZ. Dr. L's book describes a way with q-tips, but its hard to know if you're doing it right. Here is another way to do it: http://www.agingeye.net/otheragingeye/blepharitis.php

I don't remember what dose of Doxy I was prescribed (perhaps its was 100 mg twice a day), but in a day it made me sick to my stomach and a couple days later, I broke out in hives. As for mino, I've been on 100 mg twice a day for about 4 months. I started on 50mg twice a day before that. My glands supposedly look better upon examination, but I am still symptomatic. I have not been able to get my mgd under control. My doc thinks that I might find relief after a couple more months.

I wonder that if you add warm compresses and lid massages twice daily, that it will help enough that you will not need to increase you doxy dosage. Try it for at least two weeks and see if it makes a difference. It may take longer than that, depending on how clogged your glands are, but from what you say, they don't sound that clogged. Good luck!