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Dry eye sufferer for 10+ years. Really bad for the last several months. Wake up and my eyes are in pain daily. Bad enough where I had to take some time off of work. Prayed to God to give me some reprieve. Doc gave me Lotemax, temporary plugs, and restasis. Was still bad. 1 Doc said no mebomian gland dysfunction, prob aqueous the other said aqueous and mebomian. don't think I ever got a straight answer.
But for the last week I feel like I've been getting somewhat better. Still not out of the woods, but pain has decreased substantially and eyes are a little less red. So for the past 6-7 weeks, here's what i've been doing:
1. Cleaning up the diet (Let food be thy medicine):
- Try to avoid anything refined and eat only whole natural foods. Been eating a lot of fish as well.
- Blending fruits and berries for meals. Into these smoothies, I added A LOT of flax seeds. almost a quarter cup. I also added 2 tablespoons of flax oil. I also added flax milk in to the shake. not sure how many mgs of omega oils that is, but it's a lot. Dr. Weil says too many omega 3's aren't dangerous for you (unless you're using anti coagulant for blood or have blood coagulation problems) but please be careful.
- Juicing kale, collard greens, spinach. All these veggies are high in lutein and zeaxanthin which are touted for eye health. I juice almost daily. I add a little fruit or carrots to sweeten the drink so it's a little more palatable but i just chug it down mostly cause it's VERY bitter and strong, but it also makes me feel like I'm taking medicine and doing my body right.
- Green Tea - 6 cups a day
- Cutting out all alcohol.
2. Supplements:
- Thera tears pills - 3 / day
- Fish oil pills (900 mgs of omega/ pill) - 3 / day
- lutein and zeaxanthin pull - 1 / day
- Centrum vitamin - 1 / day
- Borage oil - 1 / day
3. Compress and cleaning
- Cold compress. I keep 2 cans of soda in the fridge...and when i get home i lie on the couch with the ends of the cans over my eyes. I look ridiculous but man is it a great feeling after work. I do the cold compress 2-3 times a day
- Lid cleaning in the shower...hot water. very diluted baby shampoo. Wash lids...and massage lids...all in shower.
4. Drugs and drops
- Restasis 3X daily.
- Thera tears (un-preserved)...as needed. I freeze them. The cold drops are awesome.
- Unisol - Refrigerated...for a good flushing when i feel really yucky.
- (I'm off Lotemax)
5. Exercise and others
- I added exercise 4x a week to my routine. Even though the gym makes my eyes worse cause all of the vented air, I lift weights to keep my blood moving.
- Taping eyes shut at night.
- Goggles at work to minimize air flow around eyes
- F.lux on computer to minimize eye strain.
- Gunnar glasses at home when i use computer.
so that's my list. I'm very regimented. Not sure what out of all of what I'm doing is helping the most, but I'm sure everything is helping in a tiny way in unison. I'm still not out of the woods by any means....but I feel like I've run into a stream in the path for a decent rest. I'll continue to update as time goes by and progress. I know how cruddy this condition is and I wish you all the best in your road to healing.
But for the last week I feel like I've been getting somewhat better. Still not out of the woods, but pain has decreased substantially and eyes are a little less red. So for the past 6-7 weeks, here's what i've been doing:
1. Cleaning up the diet (Let food be thy medicine):
- Try to avoid anything refined and eat only whole natural foods. Been eating a lot of fish as well.
- Blending fruits and berries for meals. Into these smoothies, I added A LOT of flax seeds. almost a quarter cup. I also added 2 tablespoons of flax oil. I also added flax milk in to the shake. not sure how many mgs of omega oils that is, but it's a lot. Dr. Weil says too many omega 3's aren't dangerous for you (unless you're using anti coagulant for blood or have blood coagulation problems) but please be careful.
- Juicing kale, collard greens, spinach. All these veggies are high in lutein and zeaxanthin which are touted for eye health. I juice almost daily. I add a little fruit or carrots to sweeten the drink so it's a little more palatable but i just chug it down mostly cause it's VERY bitter and strong, but it also makes me feel like I'm taking medicine and doing my body right.
- Green Tea - 6 cups a day
- Cutting out all alcohol.
2. Supplements:
- Thera tears pills - 3 / day
- Fish oil pills (900 mgs of omega/ pill) - 3 / day
- lutein and zeaxanthin pull - 1 / day
- Centrum vitamin - 1 / day
- Borage oil - 1 / day
3. Compress and cleaning
- Cold compress. I keep 2 cans of soda in the fridge...and when i get home i lie on the couch with the ends of the cans over my eyes. I look ridiculous but man is it a great feeling after work. I do the cold compress 2-3 times a day
- Lid cleaning in the shower...hot water. very diluted baby shampoo. Wash lids...and massage lids...all in shower.
4. Drugs and drops
- Restasis 3X daily.
- Thera tears (un-preserved)...as needed. I freeze them. The cold drops are awesome.
- Unisol - Refrigerated...for a good flushing when i feel really yucky.
- (I'm off Lotemax)
5. Exercise and others
- I added exercise 4x a week to my routine. Even though the gym makes my eyes worse cause all of the vented air, I lift weights to keep my blood moving.
- Taping eyes shut at night.
- Goggles at work to minimize air flow around eyes
- F.lux on computer to minimize eye strain.
- Gunnar glasses at home when i use computer.
so that's my list. I'm very regimented. Not sure what out of all of what I'm doing is helping the most, but I'm sure everything is helping in a tiny way in unison. I'm still not out of the woods by any means....but I feel like I've run into a stream in the path for a decent rest. I'll continue to update as time goes by and progress. I know how cruddy this condition is and I wish you all the best in your road to healing.
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