Seems like in my case, this shouldn't be a difficult fix...still not giving up.

[synes89]

I haven't been on this forum in a couple years and thought I'd share and ask something. Not going to make this a huge essay as my profile history has my background with my dealings with dry eyes.

Here's what I know from going to an eye doctor recently. My corneas are fine, no tearing (excuse the pun). I do not have any infections in my eyelids or anything like that. However, whenever the doctors try to do a dye test, it is very difficult because the dye evaporates almost as quickly as it enters my eye. My tears just drain and evaporate very quickly and new tears aren't being produced very efficiently. I asked my doctor to put in temporary punctal plugs to see if that would help, but he said that at this point he would just prescribe Restasis for me, and said that I would have to be on it for at least 3 months to see any difference. However, Restasis is very expensive and I cannot afford it right now. My eyes are not so painful that it affects my daily life, but they are a nuisance (I would say ranging from mild to moderate - at times - discomfort). Humidity helps a lot.

So, here's what I want to find out. My doctor told me that by using artificial tears it will allow my eyes to heal as they start to produce more tears. Is this true? I've been dealing with this ailment for the past 3-4 years now. I've tried a lot of artificial tears and gels, none of which did much at all. If my corneas and eyes are structurally good, what can I do to increase tear production naturally??

I want to wear contacts again. I hate wearing glasses. Is there hope?

[indrep]

It sounds like your issue is evaporative not an aqueous deficiency. Restasis works as an anti-inflammatory agent on the lacrimal glands ducts and allows aqueous to be secreted.

So the next two options are:
Lipid layer deficiency form the meibomian glands. This causes the aqueous(water) to evaporate rapidly.

Mucin layer deficiency from lack of goblet cell secretions. This causes the aqueous to not adhere to the cellular surface of the eye.

The plugs would hold what tears are made on the ocular surface, however, something would need to be done to enhance the regulation of evaporation and/or "runoff".