Good oil and tear production but?

[DebbieZ]

Hi,

I've dry eye for about two years. It started with a severe vertigo attack due to Multiple Scleroisis.

I've all the tests, started Restasis, uses Azasite for 1 month which improved my oil production to 98% from 5%. I produce enough tears. I had my lower ducts cauterized.

All this and I still have problems. It seems to me that the tears that I do have evaporate quickly which in turn leaves my eyes dry and red.

I'm not sure what causes that but it sounds like my doc doesn't know what to do for me. My eyes feel much better when I'm on Azasite and Restasis but he says Azasite is not for everyday use.

What to do. I don't know. Any thoughts and/or suggestions would be much appreciated.

I'm 53 years old, surgically induced menopause at age 38, on hormones.

Thanks,

DebbieZ

[Teri]

Debbie,

Welcome to the site. I'm sorry you're having such a rough time.

I don't know very much about MS and its possible connection to dry eyes. My first thought was to wonder if you're taking any medications (hormones or MS meds) that are contributing to your dry eye problem?

I, too, have used Azasite. It's in clinical trials now to determine if it's an effective treatment for blepharitis, but doctors who are in the know are prescribing it for that purpose now. The typical usage seems to be to use it for one month (like you did), and then to take a break. So after one or two months, perhaps you could use it again?

The fact that Azasite helped you so much, as well as your statement that your tears evaporate too quickly, suggests blepharitis/MGD, and there's been a lot written on this forum about those problems.

The short story is this: the typical treatments for blepharitis/MGD are warm compresses (4 times or more a day, 10 minutes each time), lid washes (2 times a day, immediately following a warm compress), oral antibiotics, periodic Azasite, and omega-3 supplements.

Oh, and stay away from any artificial tears or ointments that are oily. They seem to worsen blepharitis in the long-term.

I encourage you to poke around the site more to read more about all of this!

Good luck and be patient. It seems to take a long while to 1. figure out what helps you, and 2. for the inflammation and pain to dissipate.

Teri