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Hi! I want to express how much I appreciate Rebecca setting up this forum, and all the people who have supported and shared with each other. Until now, I could not participate due to the severity of my dry eyes these last several years. I was literally homebound for at least three years because I was in so much pain. Amazingly, I am much better now because of something as simple as fresh lemon juice with green tea. Wanted to share my story and how this ultimately helped me, in hopes it may help others whose condition stems from similar circumstances. There are many reasons people have dry eyes, so even if it is not the solution for everyone, if it gives some hope or helps just one person, it is totally worth sharing.
From 2010-2015 my dry eyes became progressively worse, I had to stop working. The only way I could avoid constant pain was to sit at home with my eyes closed or sleep. I had zero tear film. I couldn’t read, watch TV, drive, do e-mails or the computer, text, or look up or across at anyone or anything because of the pain. It was very depressing. I tried everything...every OTC eye drop, Restasis and other prescription eye drops, autologous serum eye drops. warm compresses, moisture goggles, punctual plugs, supplements, hormone therapy, Lipiflow, PROSE lenses (it was painful to wear them), meibomian gland probing/expressing, testosterone cream, Evoxac (medicine that gives moisture to mouth and eyes), vegetarian and glucose-free diet, amino acid shots, blinking exercises, as well as seeing a ton of different specialists. Was told I had one of the worst cases of dry eyes by some of my doctors. I spent thousands of dollars on treatments and specialists, but nothing helped much, and it kept getting worse. My doctors believe I have Sjogren’s Syndrome, but all tests for any autoimmune disease have been negative.
Trying all the different treatments was not a total waste. It helped me later narrow down the cause of my dry eyes. It appears my “meibum”, the oily substance in the meibomian glands that prevents evaporation of the tear film, was the problem. I first suspected this when I took the monthly amino acid shots. Initially the shots gave me some relief from the dryness, but it only lasted a few days after each shot. Looking back, it was likely because the amino acids were only temporarily giving my system what it needed for my meibum to flow. Then when I turned to meibomian gland probing/expressing, the doctors confirmed my meibum was very thick, like Crisco oil. After this procedure, the dryness in my eyes would be a little better, but the effects would last less than a week. Again looking back, it was likely the thick meibum was clogging up my glands again a few days after being probed/expressed. So given the relief from these two procedures was short-lived, I could only take them periodically, and they were each very expensive, I knew these were not long term solutions.
However, it made me think I should experiment with further modifications to my diet, to try to change the consistency of my meibum. I decided to add fresh squeezed lemon to my twice daily concoction of green tea, goji berries, and crushed ginger. No one told me to do this, but at the time, my reasoning was lemon is known to cut grease, and it’s an antioxidant and I supposedly have an autoimmune disease, so why not? Besides, I was desperate! So I started adding a 1/6 slice of a medium lemon twice daily, and after several days, I noticed my eyes were not as unbearably dry! I did this every day for a month, and every single day my eyes felt better. I couldn’t believe it, especially since I had not had even a handful of days where my eyes felt like this during the last several years. As a test, I stopped the lemon for a week, and my eyes started getting dry again. So I’ve been adding lemon for the past year, and my eyes have continued to get better. In the meantime, I’ve read recent research studies that found adding lemon to green tea increases the antioxidants one maintains from green tea from 20% to 80%, so that’s why I think it’s the combination of the lemon with the green tea.
I still have other serious eye issues, and my dry eye problem is not totally gone, but I can manage it and have a lot less discomfort. I can wear my PROSE lenses 12 hours a day now, take Evoxac when needed, do lid scrubs morning and night, and use moisture goggles while sleeping. I don’t need to use eye drops anymore. I continue to eat a healthy diet that includes protein, and exercise daily. My overall health markers (cholesterol, blood pressure, PH, etc.) has also improved. I truly hope reading my journey inspires you to have faith you will find what your body needs to help your dry eyes, or any other condition you may have.
From 2010-2015 my dry eyes became progressively worse, I had to stop working. The only way I could avoid constant pain was to sit at home with my eyes closed or sleep. I had zero tear film. I couldn’t read, watch TV, drive, do e-mails or the computer, text, or look up or across at anyone or anything because of the pain. It was very depressing. I tried everything...every OTC eye drop, Restasis and other prescription eye drops, autologous serum eye drops. warm compresses, moisture goggles, punctual plugs, supplements, hormone therapy, Lipiflow, PROSE lenses (it was painful to wear them), meibomian gland probing/expressing, testosterone cream, Evoxac (medicine that gives moisture to mouth and eyes), vegetarian and glucose-free diet, amino acid shots, blinking exercises, as well as seeing a ton of different specialists. Was told I had one of the worst cases of dry eyes by some of my doctors. I spent thousands of dollars on treatments and specialists, but nothing helped much, and it kept getting worse. My doctors believe I have Sjogren’s Syndrome, but all tests for any autoimmune disease have been negative.
Trying all the different treatments was not a total waste. It helped me later narrow down the cause of my dry eyes. It appears my “meibum”, the oily substance in the meibomian glands that prevents evaporation of the tear film, was the problem. I first suspected this when I took the monthly amino acid shots. Initially the shots gave me some relief from the dryness, but it only lasted a few days after each shot. Looking back, it was likely because the amino acids were only temporarily giving my system what it needed for my meibum to flow. Then when I turned to meibomian gland probing/expressing, the doctors confirmed my meibum was very thick, like Crisco oil. After this procedure, the dryness in my eyes would be a little better, but the effects would last less than a week. Again looking back, it was likely the thick meibum was clogging up my glands again a few days after being probed/expressed. So given the relief from these two procedures was short-lived, I could only take them periodically, and they were each very expensive, I knew these were not long term solutions.
However, it made me think I should experiment with further modifications to my diet, to try to change the consistency of my meibum. I decided to add fresh squeezed lemon to my twice daily concoction of green tea, goji berries, and crushed ginger. No one told me to do this, but at the time, my reasoning was lemon is known to cut grease, and it’s an antioxidant and I supposedly have an autoimmune disease, so why not? Besides, I was desperate! So I started adding a 1/6 slice of a medium lemon twice daily, and after several days, I noticed my eyes were not as unbearably dry! I did this every day for a month, and every single day my eyes felt better. I couldn’t believe it, especially since I had not had even a handful of days where my eyes felt like this during the last several years. As a test, I stopped the lemon for a week, and my eyes started getting dry again. So I’ve been adding lemon for the past year, and my eyes have continued to get better. In the meantime, I’ve read recent research studies that found adding lemon to green tea increases the antioxidants one maintains from green tea from 20% to 80%, so that’s why I think it’s the combination of the lemon with the green tea.
I still have other serious eye issues, and my dry eye problem is not totally gone, but I can manage it and have a lot less discomfort. I can wear my PROSE lenses 12 hours a day now, take Evoxac when needed, do lid scrubs morning and night, and use moisture goggles while sleeping. I don’t need to use eye drops anymore. I continue to eat a healthy diet that includes protein, and exercise daily. My overall health markers (cholesterol, blood pressure, PH, etc.) has also improved. I truly hope reading my journey inspires you to have faith you will find what your body needs to help your dry eyes, or any other condition you may have.
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