Basement Membrane Dystrophy

[shrinkdocdeb]

After several years of thinking I had bad allergies I was diagnosed with anterior basement membrane dystrophy syndrome last May. Initially restasis towce a day was very helpful, along with flax seed oil supplements, fish oil supplements, humidifier, and warm compresses twice a day. After about 5-6 months my eyes started to feel gritty and more dry all the time, to the point that all I can think about it how lousy my eyes feel. I went back to my doctor who recommended trying restasis 4 x/day (previously I was using it twice a day). I rarely manage to use it more than 3x/day, but it really hasn't helped. This actually feel different than the original dry eye problem. I have tried soothe XP and systane balance but they are providing no relief. Do people ever develop problems due to the restasis itself? Could I have developed a sensitivity to that? My doctor initially thought the worsening might have been from the dryer air inside in the winter, but we installed a furnace humidifier and I use a vaporizer with no improvement. I also take buproprion IR and am wondering if that could be contributing to the worsening of the symptoms. My doctor only suggested plugs as a next step but at the last visit he said my dryness didn't look worse even though it feels worse. That's why I'm wondering if the problem might not be only from the basement membrane dystrophy. Any thoughts you have would be appreciated.