So glad I can post this

[Hokucat]

Hi Wissen! Good to hear from you, and thanks for the update. Great you are able to work again with little/no issues, and found some things that help. Those are good observations about stress possibly being a factor in your case.

I can’t recall if you ever used night wear like EyeSeals 4.0 or TranquilEyes to protect your eyes while sleeping, since you said you sleep with your eyes slightly open? Some people use bubble bandages, or Saran Wrap around head and over eyes if they cannot keep the goggles on while sleeping.

https://dryeyeshop.com/collections/nights

i use Evoxac (Cevimeline), which is similar to pilocarpin. My doctor says Evoxac often works better for most people, in case you want to try this. I use it to give my eyes more moisture. especially when I’m going to use my eyes more or be out all day like driving, watching a movie, going to the theme park, or to an all day sporting event. And yes it does give the mouth more moisture and unfortunately make one sweat more, but have learned to deal with the sweating by always wearing a cool cotton shirt, and bringing a jacket or sweater if needed.

[Guest]

I want to push you into two additions to your plan based on what you said about blinking and sleeping. You need a mask at night and gel or ointment to mechanically protect the eye at night. Also, blinking exercises...google a video, do that a few times per day and it will help strengthen your lids.

our stories are similar...I'm finding that the reason my days are so bad, is because the eyes are exposed at night. Once I started addressing the lagopthalmos, my eyes got better.

If you can get autologous serum, I guarantee you'd feel much better, it's just the cost and finding someone to do it.

I think you have room to improve and get more stable, I think we all do.

PS I totally agree about stress, anxiety, depression, etc. causing dryness. When you're chronically stressed, the chemical make up of your body is very different.

[wissen1]

In fact autologous serum is still on my list to try out. A clinic near me even does these. It's just that I'm training for a 10K running race in fall this year. Such a huge blood donation messes heavily with your endurance performance, so I'll wait at least until late october.

[Guest]

In fact autologous serum is still on my list to try out. A clinic near me even does these. It's just that I'm training for a 10K running race in fall this year. Such a huge blood donation messes heavily with your endurance performance, so I'll wait at least until late october.

The amount of blood given is minimal, I give 8 vials, so it's like a blood panel. Not to mention giving blood is extremely healthy. You remove damaged blood cells and in a week your bone marrow produces new ones. I'd personally do it but only you know your body and how it reacts to stress during training...so you gotta make that call but you're good imo.

[dryeye99]

I am lucky to be able to stop worrying about red scary eyes and feeling pain daily too ! I myself have tried ao many prescrptions, diets, supplements but right now Tea Tree eyelid wash twice daily has cured my dry red painful eyes thank goodness ! Blephadex was too much so I have been successfully using Tea Tree wash from Trader joes shampoo full strength across closed eyelids in my shower letting the suds sit for a minute and rinse off in shower or over a sink. Gentle application, gently soap across lashes, gently splash water and gently pat dry. Never rubbing. I’ve done this for a year and solved my dry red scary painful eyes with a huge bottle for less than five dollars. hth I am back to living life normally but wanted to share to help others here

[wissen1]

Hello everyone,

long time no see. (don't get me wrong, gladly)
But at the moment it feels like I'm almost back to square one. It's almost unbelieveable for me to see that my worst time is almost 5 years ago now. Sadly it feels like I'm almost reliving this.
The forum has always been a source of hope for me and just reading my own thread here again makes me feel a bit better. Over the past months my eyes slowly kept getting worse and especially my left eye is giving me a hard time with a lot of burning throughout the day, starting only minutes after I wake up.
On friday I have an appointment to get a complete dry eye checkup and discuss what treatment I will get. I'm already so scared of the Schirmer's test which was very bad even years ago... I don't know why I'm so fixated on these numbers, but I've always been a numbers and statistics guy...
I wonder if anyone from the 'old' days is still around and has made major progress and is still not having any major relapse. Or any other long-term sufferers that finally found their own cure.