Dry Eye from Accutane

[untkicker29]

I am new to this site. I took Accutane for a month and a half before getting off of it because I did not want the side effects to continue. It wasnt worth it. But even after having been off the drug for almost almost 5 months now, I still have dry eyes!! It has been so frustrating, and being only 20 years old I cannot imagine having to live with this condition forever.

I have seen several eye doctors with 3 out of 4 saying the same thing. That I am just not prodcing enough tears. The tear quality is fine, but my tear quantity is below par. I recently had a Schrimer's test done and was an 8 in my left eye, and a 5 in my right eye. I also had the test where they put dye in your eye, and the doctor told me that my cornea surface is fine, which I am very thankful of.

The last doctor told me that there is still hope to get my eyes back to normal mainly because I am a young healthy male, and I hope that this is the case. However, as time is passing by, I am beginning to wonder if I will indeed get back to normal!!

My current regiment is Restasis twice a day, systane when needed throughout the day, and therelife eye supplement. I dont know if the eye supplement is doing anything, so I am going to give flaxseed oil and fish oil a try.

Has anyone ever heard of it taking this long for dry eyes to clear from Accutane? Anyone have any luck with flaxseed or fish oil? Any advice or insight would be great.

Thanks.

[Gaye]

to untkicker29 re: fish oil/flax seed

The fish oil/flax oil supplements do help a lot. You have to make sure you have the flax, as that appears to be more important than the fish oil for dry eyes. Great for heart health, but not necessarily for dry eyes. Flax oil really helps me. GNC has some great ones that include both. I have heard many stories about Accutane - my nephew included. Basically, it dries out the oils in your skin/body, thus reducing the facial oils that produce acne. Unfortunately, it dries out everything else. But, as you are young, and it has not been that long since you discontinued it, there is a great chance that eventually, you will get back to normal. Make sure you are properly hydrated. I am constantly harping on that to everyone who will listen -my mom, my daughter, my husband, the girl at the check out , everyone on this site, etc. etc. That is so important. Water, water, water - it is amazing how much that helps.

Good luck and give it some time. At 20, you have youth on your side.

Gaye

[DrG]

Plugs

Since you are simply volume deficient, has anybody suggested punctal plugs? That would seem to be the most efficient solution.

DrG

[untkicker29]

I try and drink as much water as possible. I have even cut out drinking coffee as much because I know it dehyrates you. My derm told me that I am the first patient in his practice that this has lasted this long with. Why I am so lucky? I would be the one that gets one of the most rare side effects of Accutane!!

[Rebecca Petris]

Can you describe your symptoms? How much discomfort/pain do you have and when? Is your vision affected? What makes you most comfortable?

[Magadass]

I try and drink as much water as possible. I have even cut out drinking coffee as much because I know it dehyrates you. My derm told me that I am the first patient in his practice that this has lasted this long with. Why I am so lucky? I would be the one that gets one of the most rare side effects of Accutane!!

Actually I have these same results, I was unaware that it would cause this but it seems for me its my own fault in a way.

I had LASIK about 5 years ago (im currently 24) and had a very very light discomfort with my eyes, i didnt use eye drops at all really. However since I had very bad acne I started taking accutane, worked great no problems but acne came back 1 year later, so I did the treatment again and now I have no acne but a huge Dry Eye Problem that affects my vision to some degree, I cant see far distances because my eyes are so dry!!

I am worried about the same thing, if oil production drops 60% when you get older will my eyes dry out to the point where they shrivel up and die? I did the flax seed (Two Tablespoons) twice a day for 2 months. It worked ok but Flaxseed oil is a bit harsh on your stomach after a while when you take it in large doses...the effects are minimal also...

I just recieved my Dwelle and Dakrina after some extensive research on google, I put my first drops in tonight...Didnt expect them to burn like they did but I am going to give them a couple days to see if my Corneal layer heals which I am sure it has problems since in the morning its so dry it actually hurts a little bit....

Will update this thread with my results...

[Rebecca Petris]

I just recieved my Dwelle and Dakrina after some extensive research on google, I put my first drops in tonight...Didnt expect them to burn like they did but I am going to give them a couple days to see if my Corneal layer heals which I am sure it has problems since in the morning its so dry it actually hurts a little bit....

Sometimes when my epithelium is particularly fragile almost any heavy drop will make my eyes burn. What I do then is use saline rinses at least twice a day - seems to quieten things down a bit and helps me tolerate drops better.