Ups and down

[lui]

Is it normal to have ups and down in DES?I don't understand why one day my eyes can be ok and the next suddenly very bad without having changed anything. Does something similar happen to you too?

[Judy]

Most definitely! Sometimes when you least expect it. For instance, I can wake up and get ready to go to work, my eyes doing as good as they can, get somewhere and out of the blue, feel my eyes going very red, dry and irritated. I will look in the mirror and wow, from one extreme to the other. Also sometimes when my eyes are feeling fairly good, I will catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror and they look horrendous! You are not alone

[bernmee]

Yes, that is the killer with this thing. Everything can be perfect and for no reason what so ever, at least one that I can point to, if my body could talk though I'm sure it would tell me what is up.

I asked a holistic eye Dr this very question and he said that this is the nature of the condition, up and down and all around, for no darn reason!!

Hope you are on an "up" today,

Bernadette

[SallyP]

Yes, I had a period of about a week where my eyes were good, and I even thought the condition had gone, but like you say, without doing anything different, very depressingly, it came back. I suppose now I just get good days and bad days. Does anybody think that anything in their diet triggers it or improves it?

[SallyP]

Also wanted to say hello, as I'm also new to this site, and this condition is very underrated. I'd go as far as to say, it's ruined my life, as after 7pm in the evening, I cannot function properly, and wouldn't consider driving anywhere. Apart from special occasions, I don't where any eye make up anymore, as it seems to make it worse the day after, and also with having to use drops, I end up looking like a panda - not a good look at work! I cannot understand why I have it, and I kow there are far worse things, but it does get me down.

Sally

[Judy]

I think things will get better for all of us... In the meantime, I guess we need to REALLY appreciate the good days! I do think wine makes my eyes dry (although sometimes it is worth having a glass or so of wine). I also do think that Fish Oil does help when taken regularly over a period of time, for dry eyes as well as dry skin... Not sure about if certain foods trigger anything both good or bad for dry eyes...

[SallyP]

Hi, thank you for that. I take flaxseed oil, and have done for about 18 months now, do you think pure fish oil would be better then? Just for information, in the UK, we cannot get restasis, which is frustrating, as everything I hear is good. Well, apparently we can get it, but only from the vets, which is obviously not an option!

[Judy]

Woof woof, meow. Just kiddn! We have to laugh so we don't cry as that may dry our eyes out even more... I really don't know which is better, flaxseed oil or pure fish oil. Maybe some others will chirp in on this discussion. I do use Restasis and it has helped me greatly although there are others who cannot tolerate it. I hope the UK will soon provide access to this eyedrop so then you can at least try it.

[SallyP]

It's so nice to talk to somebody about it. I'm new to the site, and have posted threads, etc all over the place, not really knowing my way around the site, and frankly, they could be anywhere! Nobody seemed to want to talk to me. I was beginning to think I'd committed some terrible forum crime, so thank you. I think it's a very underrated condition actually, and I cannot believe with today's technology, more cannot be done. Do you wear eye make up? I don't anymore, except on special occasions (which have to be planned in order to take into account the dry eye), as it seems to make me worse the next day, and also having to use eye drops 4 times a day, I ended up looking like a panda! You are right though, you have to laugh or we'd lose what tears we already have. Incidentally on that note, I find that if I do cry, it makes me worse!?

[Judy]

You're welcome! I've been through some of that too where I posted, then never heard back from anyone. It is hard not to take it personally though! I agree that this condition is very underrated; the pain can certainly be intense and debilitating at times. I do wear eye makeup and am doing okay with these two things: NYC waterproof eyeliner crayon and Maybelline (not waterproof) Great Lashes mascara (pink/lime green). I wash off with diluted baby shampoo. In the morning I rinse my eyes in the shower with Unisol saline (unpreserved), then before applying makeup, I take a q-tip, squirt some more saline on it, then very carefully wipe the inside of my eyelids with the saline (Unisol) to get rid of any makeup residue. I don't think this routine is bothering my dry eyes, but I can't wear eyeshadow at all and hairspray in my hair (no matter that I close my eyes while spraying, then walk away from the area before opening my eyes) definitely bothers my eyes!!! Eye moisturizer is hard for me too, but I have one type I am using (quite expensive) Neova Therapy for eyes. I use lots of eye drops pretty much every day. I would say besides the Restasis twice a day, I use refresh plus at least four times. However, I used to use refresh plus and others every half hour to hour so I'm improving. Oops, I best get back to work! God Bless and hang in there, SallyP!

[SallyP]

crikey, I thought my routine was fiddly and time consuming, but it's obviously worth it. Some of the things you speak of are not available over here. It's a wonder really in the uK, that we have running water actually!! I'm going to go now, as my eyes are bad and I'm having trouble with blurred vision. Thank you again. If I wanted to contact you, without posting cottons, threads etc, is there an easy way to do it? Thanks again

[SallyP]

Sorry, forgot the time difference!

[Judy]

No problem, it is 4:17 p.m. here in Florida. You can send me a private message. If you look under Quick Links, then select Private messages, you can then select "send new message", etc. I've never sent one, but have received a few then responded. I think it is pretty user friendly though. Hmmm. Rest those eyes!

[SallyP]

and I suppose it's really hot in Florida!!! I will try posting an email as a test, but if I don't it's because it's gone where my other threads have gone!!

[lui]

Yes, I had a period of about a week where my eyes were good, and I even thought the condition had gone, but like you say, without doing anything different, very depressingly, it came back. I suppose now I just get good days and bad days. Does anybody think that anything in their diet triggers it or improves it?

Yes, and how can you plan a trip or something if you never know how are you going to feel?I hate this and it has been definetly ruining my life too I hope a cure will be find soon cause I can't cope with this, I feel more and more depressed.