My Dry Eye Story

[lsfii2]

I have been struggling with dry eyes for about 15 months now. They are not very severe, I had them checked out by one of the most reputable ophthalmologists in the country, but they are present and the problem is they affect me from wearing contact lenses (I notice them without contacts in but they would not affect my day-to-day life). The only time they are debilitating without contacts in is in the morning. I almost always wake up with really dry and scratchy eyes.

I play NCAA baseball and so I have to wear contacts during games. I wear glasses the rest of the day, but it is virtually impossible to wear glasses during games. Also, I have looked into ortho-k which does not work for me because of my astigmatism.

I just wanted to ask a couple questions regarding the best possible treatment for dry eyes. Currently I lid scrub 3x a day (morning, afternoon, and evening), take Biotears supplements twice a day, take flax seed oil, and use Restasis 2x or 3x a day. The current treatment I am doing has helped a ton, my optometrist says there is a noticeable difference in my tear film, but they still are not close to what they used to be, which is a hassle especially with a sport like baseball so reliant on vision.

The issue is I also have pretty bad allergies. I cannot breath through my nose, the right side being worse than the left and in turn my right eye is also more dry than my left. I used to take a bunch of allergy medication, Clariten and Patanol, but stopped once I found out it was dry eyes and not just GPC / allergies. Problem is I used Patanol for 2+ years, which I believe made my dry eyes worse. I sinus rinse 3x a day which I find has been helping, but am looking into allergy shots to see if they provide any benefit.

So sorry for giving you all my winded life story, I’ll sum up the questions below:

1. Do you have any advice for additional treatment that I can do. I ordered the Rice Bag as well as tranquileyes (hoping that helps with the morning dryness). I was thinking of heat compressing twice a day, before bed and upon waking.
2. I am considering switching to the Synergeyes Duette contact lenses. I have a fitting next week. Does anyone have any experience with them? Or can anyone offer any other recommendations for contact lenses that may be worth a shot? I currently use Focus Dailies Toric.
3. Do you guys know any allergy connection to dry eyes? My allergies are pretty bad and I am considering allergy shots but I am worried they will make my eyes worse, similar to the Clariten and Patanol.

Thanks again for all the help. This site has been an absolute blessing.

[pecan121]

I have the multifocal Synergeyes . They help tremendously with my photo phobia but I do have problems with protein buildup and mucus. Using Restasis 4x a day helps clean up my tear film. I have severe dry eye and you may not have much trouble since your symptoms are not as severe. I just mainly want to tell you to use a hydrogen peroxide cleaning system like ClearCare instead of the multipurpose solution that you will probably receive in your kit. Someone on this board once posted a link about the danger of infection with Synergy eyes if you used the multipurpose solution. The same article said not to swim or shower with them. By the way, the hydrogen peroxide system seems to clear the protein deposits better than the multipurpose ones.

[liz56]

Hi, lsfii2.

I'm sorry to hear about the pain you're in. I find that to be the hardest thing as I cope with problems that are different from yours but that result in pain, nonetheless.

I think that the TranquilEyes will help with your morning dryness. They have helped me. I just use them dry (based on excellent advice that I got here at the DEZ from Lucy!), but the warmth from my face and the moisture in the air seem to be enough to make a big difference.

It sounds like you may be becoming sensitive to contact lens wear. Are there any times when you can get a break from playing so that you can go a time without the lenses to see if things improve?

If you have allergies and inflammation, perhaps you may want to talk to your doctor about certain dietary adjustments that you could make, like certain foods that help to reduce inflammation.

Best wishes,
Liz

[PotatoCakes]

For your nasal congestion, have you tried either Flonase or Nasonex? They are both steroid nasal sprays. I use Flonase and have found it to be a Godsend. My daughter's pediatrician prescribed Nasonex for her and it really helps her through hayfever season.

Ditto Liz re: dietary modifications. I recently saw a newstory on certain foods making seasonal allergies worse (likely they make others worse too). I believe tomatoes were on that list, along with some others. I found this chart online: http://www.nyc-allergist.com/food_se...ergy_chart.pdf

[schybrid]

Dont use any flonase , steroid nasal sprays, it caused me to have dry eyes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Stay as far away from any type of nasal spray, period, unless you want to ruin your life and have severe dry eyes.

I used a nasal spray called rhinocort aqua 4 years ago, now my eyes are severly dry, and i have multiple floaters.

good luck

[jads]

The allergies could be making your eyes irritable and uncomfortable but that should clear up with the right treatment. One member here mentioned an allergic reaction to the preservative in OTC eye drops causing issues, so that is something to look out for.\

Have you had your hormones tested for deficiencies? Overloads of estrogen and \ or androgen deficiencies can be an underlying cause and very commonly goes undiagnosed or treated.

When I say deficient, I even refer to the low side of the normal range. i.e. in a range of say 10-30, being 12 or 15.

[magoo]

I have used Flonase periodically for years. At times it's the only way I can breath through my nose at night. I've never had any adverse reaction to it.

The allergy shots won't make your eyes dryer, at least not the type that I know about.

[Eagle1]

This is my first Reply as a new member. Just want to say I've been googling about Dry Eye for a while before finding this forum and have read that allergy medications can cause Dry Eye. So I've stopped mine, which never helped much anyway.

My severe low thyroid, although I take medication, is probably causing my Dry Eye, not to mention many eye procedures I've had, and Kenalog eye injection not draining out well. Too late, I read that it's not really licensed for eyes, can cause blindness, but opthalmologists have been using for 30 yrs anyway, often getting some wonderful results. We need to remember to always remind them of our low th yroid or whatever, I've learned, as the y may not have read our history carefully enough. My Question, has anyone ever heard of an y way to remove Kenalog leftovers that may have lingered for years, without vitrectomy? I can't seem to find that by my searches. Are too many repeated dilations harmful? I've lost a lot of vision, may not pass next driving exam. Thanks.

[doc k]

Hi, I'm an optometrist that is reasonably well-versed in dry eye, and very well-versed in contact lenses.

First of all, your contact lens brand is neanderthal. Ask your OD to upgrade to Ciba Air Optix Aqua for Astigmatism. As was astutely mentioned, use H2O2, namely Ciba's Clear Care. Limit your wear time to the most important activities.

Now, I don't think we know "everything" about dry eyes, and we as doctors try to generalize and oversimplify the information that is out there so we can apply it. Having admitted that, the general diagnostic thought process involves breaking down your dry eye into components.

In your case, there may be a nocturnal lagophthalmos issue because you're worse in the morning. That needs investigated. Also, you have an allergic component that is very strong. Anti-allergy therapy seems quite logical.

[doc k]

allergy medications can cause Dry Eye. So I've stopped mine, which never helped much anyway.

Some have drying effects, but aren't thought to cause dry eye, per se.

My severe low thyroid, although I take medication, is probably causing my Dry Eye

,

That's not traditional medical thinking.

My Question, has anyone ever heard of an y way to remove Kenalog leftovers that may have lingered for years, without vitrectomy? I can't seem to find that by my searches.

Why do you think this is necessary?

Are too many repeated dilations harmful? I've lost a lot of vision, may not pass next driving exam. Thanks

I don't think repeated dilations are harmful, within reason, like monthly. I hope your vision improves.

[Trac]

I find that putting ointment in my eyes at night helps keep the eyeball from sticking to the eyelid when I wake up in the morning. I use FML and muro