New here, severe dry eyes, NO relief

[angela641]

Hello, my name is Angela. I'm 27 years old, and I have SLE (Lupus), RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis), ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease), High Blood Pressure, and I am on PD (Peritoneal Dialysis). Most of the things above themselves cause dry eyes. Before 1999 everything with my eyes was normal, except for the fact i wore contacts. I had no problems like dry eyes or anything. In 1999 I had a kidney transplant, when i woke up from the surgery my eyes were infected (conjuctivitis). It came and went for several months, almost a whole year. Finally when the infection stayed away, the problem of dry eyes came along. The infections left scars on my eyes, and "little exploding volcanoes" on my corneas, as the doctor described it, which in turn helped produce the dry eyes. I lived in Las Vegas, NV at the time, which didn't help my eyes with the dryness there. I have seen MANY (over 20) opthamologists, and nobody has been able to help me yet. So far we have tried, artificial tear eye drops (preservitive-free), all different kinds/brands... no help, plugging my bottom tear ducts, no help.... scrapping my right eye, no help, Restasis eye drops, no help, I use an eye ointment at nighttime, no help.

My eyes produce a slimy, stringy, mucus substance ALL day, I am constinatly in the mirror wiping it out so I can see. I have to carry a box of kleenex with me at ALL times, as I have to wipe my eyes every 30-60 seconds LITERALLY because of excessive tearing and it blurs my vision. When I am in public, people are always asking "Are you ok?, Are you crying??" because of this... and when I am at home, it's hard for me to play with my children because I always need to wipe my eyes. This has been this bad for almost a year and a half now, and NOBODY can help me... there has to be SOMETHING I can do? Use? Ugh! This is so frustrating.... Is there anybody out there going through this this bad? Is there any relief? Any hope? Any help?

I currently just moved to Iowa, so now I am in search of an opthamologist here so i can be seen and hopefully try something new and something that WORKS.

Thanks for listening.

[sazy123]

Hiya welcome

I am also young with dry eyes. I have found the only thing that has helped me so far is supplements (NAC, flaxseed, fish oil, ester c, GLA) there is info on this site about most of these. Alot of people have had improvement from supplements, you might need to give it some time though. what supplements are you trying?

There is lots of info if you do a search of different things you can try, if your eyes are really severe and allready exhusted the options, you might want to look in to a bandage lense (sceral) if you have abrasions it might give the surface a chance to heal along with providing a more comfortable state.

And of course the other thing is eye goggles- can find these in the dry eye shop. I know being young this is not the most attractive option, but you could consider it.

You might want to try and find a doctor who specialises in dry eye, so if you can get a recomendation from someone in that area.

What type of dry eye do you have? sounds like you might have evaporative problem if plugs etc havent helped you? do you have MGD-can you see any blocked glands?

We know how you feel, you are not alone, through a process of elimination hopefully you will find something that works.

[angela641]

Hiya welcome

I am also young with dry eyes. I have found the only thing that has helped me so far is supplements (NAC, flaxseed, fish oil, ester c, GLA) there is info on this site about most of these. Alot of people have had improvement from supplements, you might need to give it some time though. what supplements are you trying?None yet, I am going to try the Flaxseed and Omega-3 tablets when I get paid this weekend.

There is lots of info if you do a search of different things you can try, if your eyes are really severe and allready exhusted the options, you might want to look in to a bandage lense (sceral) if you have abrasions it might give the surface a chance to heal along with providing a more comfortable state. I just now heard about this option from an eye dr on another eye forum, and I am going to print that off and yours off and take them with me when i fin an eye dr here and ask them if I could try that, it sounds like it would be worth a try for me as a do have abrasions on my eyes that need healing

And of course the other thing is eye goggles- can find these in the dry eye shop. I know being young this is not the most attractive option, but you could consider it. Hey Ill try anything if it works LOL

You might want to try and find a doctor who specialises in dry eye, so if you can get a recomendation from someone in that area.Looking in the phone book today and calling to make an appointment!!

What type of dry eye do you have? sounds like you might have evaporative problem if plugs etc havent helped you? do you have MGD-can you see any blocked glands? Nobody ever told me!!!! I think I have had bad doctors, but then again Nevada (LAs Vegas) has bad doctors... but I am in Iowa now, so we will see if I can find a good one!

We know how you feel, you are not alone, through a process of elimination hopefully you will find something that works.

Thank you so much for the support and encouragment. I am going phone book hunting for an opthamologist and im making sure I ask if they specialize in DRY EYES ... keep ya posted.

[Lucy]

Hi Angela:

Sorry to hear about your eye problems. May I suggest while you plow through all this stuff here that you try the drops available on this website? I have no financial interest. I do know the drops have helped many people, including me. You can get a sample of each for $3.25 each including postage.

[angela641]

Hi Angela:

Sorry to hear about your eye problems. May I suggest while you plow through all this stuff here that you try the drops available on this website? I have no financial interest. I do know the drops have helped many people, including me. You can get a sample of each for $3.25 each including postage.

Where do I find that at on the site? i can't find it.

[kitty]

Click on the link at the top of the page that says Dry Eye Shop. The drops are there.

[AccutaneJay]

Diet

Hello, Angela. Welcome!

First, I am sorry to hear you are experiencing such difficulty with your eyes, I can certainly relate to the incredible devastation that dry eye and related conditions can bring to anyone's life.

With your other medical conditions, I am very interested to learn what your diet consists of. What types of foods do you eat? Do you eat fast food, or eat a lot of processed foods? Do you know about the acid-alkaline (Ph) balance? I am a firm believer that diet can play an INCREDIBLE role in one's health. Perhaps dietary modifications could help in your situation.

Hope to hear from you soon.

[Danny_]

Hello, my name is Angela. I'm 27 years old, and I have SLE (Lupus), RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis), ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease), High Blood Pressure, and I am on PD (Peritoneal Dialysis). Most of the things above themselves cause dry eyes. Before 1999 everything with my eyes was normal, except for the fact i wore contacts. I had no problems like dry eyes or anything. In 1999 I had a kidney transplant, when i woke up from the surgery my eyes were infected (conjuctivitis). It came and went for several months, almost a whole year. Finally when the infection stayed away, the problem of dry eyes came along. The infections left scars on my eyes, and "little exploding volcanoes" on my corneas, as the doctor described it, which in turn helped produce the dry eyes. I lived in Las Vegas, NV at the time, which didn't help my eyes with the dryness there. I have seen MANY (over 20) opthamologists, and nobody has been able to help me yet. So far we have tried, artificial tear eye drops (preservitive-free), all different kinds/brands... no help, plugging my bottom tear ducts, no help.... scrapping my right eye, no help, Restasis eye drops, no help, I use an eye ointment at nighttime, no help.

My eyes produce a slimy, stringy, mucus substance ALL day, I am constinatly in the mirror wiping it out so I can see. I have to carry a box of kleenex with me at ALL times, as I have to wipe my eyes every 30-60 seconds LITERALLY because of excessive tearing and it blurs my vision. When I am in public, people are always asking "Are you ok?, Are you crying??" because of this... and when I am at home, it's hard for me to play with my children because I always need to wipe my eyes. This has been this bad for almost a year and a half now, and NOBODY can help me... there has to be SOMETHING I can do? Use? Ugh! This is so frustrating.... Is there anybody out there going through this this bad? Is there any relief? Any hope? Any help?

I currently just moved to Iowa, so now I am in search of an opthamologist here so i can be seen and hopefully try something new and something that WORKS.

Thanks for listening.

Excessive tearing inside seems strange but they say that dry eyes can cause excessive tearing (normally, this does not go on all the time but is due to environmental changes). I was in a similar situation to you. None of the drops worked for me but my problem is a lack of tears and losing them through my puntua, not scarring. If you have excessive tearing, I don't know why they would even suggest you take drops. I would say. Don't give up hope. I know the despair you were going through. I am the same. I was going through that despair also. Nobdoy could help me and dry eyes were destroying my life completely. I could not do normal things. I still can't to some extent but I am closer to a solution now due to having found something that works for me (punctal plugs - 4 of them). But your situation sounds even worse than what mine was. Keep looking for new doctors. It sucks but eventually, you will find someone that can help you, hopefully, sooner rather than later.

Good luck

Danny

[Abbey]

I know what your going through...

I too have alot of mucous discharge from my eyes and nothing seems to help or get rid of it. On bad days I'm constantly in the bathroom with cold compresses and constantly putting drops in my eyes (not that they work but it flushes some of it out. The skin around my eyes is always inflamed and sore and recently it split from all the watering my eyes do. It too affects how I relate with my children and other people as I'm overly sensitive about it and how it looks especially now I have the scarring. My opthalmoligist said it's because my eyes are irritated, by what I have no idea.
I know this doesn't really help you in any way but sometimes to know your not alone in what your experiencing sometimes helps even just a little.
If I ever find sometihing that works you'll be the first to know.