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Hi everyone! I'm a long-time lurker (10+ years) and I NEVER in a million years thought I'd be posting how I healed my case of dry eye. I thought I would suffer for the rest of my life. If I could help even *one* person heal their eyes, that would be so worth it to me. That's why I'm here.
Backstory: I was first diagnosed almost 10 years ago, at age 21, with severe dry eye and MGD. I tried it all: Restasis (for a couple of years), every over-the-counter drop ever made, omega 3, flaxseed, warm compress, lid scrubs, Lotemax, long-term doxycycline, Lacrisert, punctal plugs, and Tobradex.
My eyes were really bad for about 1 year when I was first diagnosed. Then they sort of plateaued and were *tolerable* but still dry (with daily lid scrubs, warm compress, fish oil, drops, the whole nine yards) for 7-8 years. Then, about 1.5 years ago, things suddenly got MUCH WORSE. My left eye became extremely irritated, blood-red, I could barely keep it open. At that point I was using steroid drops regularly, and that was the only thing that worked. I knew there had to be another solution.
So I started looking for solutions to autoimmune disorders. (I'm convinced I used to have some form of autoimmune disorder, not necessarily Sjogren's but *something.* My last test came back with some elevated autoantibodies, confirming my theory.) This is when I found the AUTOIMMUNE PROTOCOL, which I'm sure many of you have heard of. It's a healing diet with a lot of restrictions but also a lot of room to experiment with food and return to a more natural way of eating.
It was very hard for me to eat this way because I was seriously addicted to carbs & sugar for many years. I now know that these addictions contributed and probably jump-started my eye problems. So it took me over a year to REALLY get the diet and be able to do it consistently. Once I stayed on this diet for 60 straight days -- without cheating -- I noticed that my oil glands (lower & upper lids) looked healthy, pink (not BLOOD RED), and there was absolutely clear, beautiful oil coming out!! Before this, I always had severely clogged oil glands. My eyes became bright again -- the irritation & redness is gone.
I have replicated these results 3-4 times by reintroducing what I used to eat before (especially sugar, gluten, rice, any other grains, chocolate, processed food) and my eyes get worse in 2-3 days. Then, I go back on the AIP and they get better and better again.
The main caveat here is that, if you're going to try this way of eating, you MUST do it for 60-90 straight days without cheating (or cheating only minimally) to really evaluate if it will work for you. You have to give your body the time to learn a new way of eating and start shutting off the inflammatory response in your eyes. This takes a while. BUT IT'S WORTH IT.
Now, my eyes are almost completely back to normal, which is truly like some sort of miracle. In the past, I even had to quit 2 part-time jobs because I couldn't use the computer for over an hour per day. Some days I had to close my eyes before shutting a door because the wind from that was too painful. Crazy! I'm sure many of you can relate. So my case was not mild or moderate, by any means. And the AIP is completely reversing my symptoms -- even though every single eye doctor I've ever had (about 7-8) always made me feel silly for asking whether food or diet could have anything to do with the eyes. Now, I can use the computer as much as I want and play tennis in windy conditions! I never thought I'd be doing that again, ever.
If you don't know anything about AIP, here's a good intro: https://www.thepaleomom.com/start-he...mune-protocol/
A good way to evaluate whether this diet will work is also to ask yourself, what have I been eating for the last few years? (Or when my eyes were at their worst?) If you are in any way addicted to sugar, wheat, gluten, carbs, etc then it's a good chance your gut is compromised and this kind of healing diet can REALLY help. Please try it! And do not give up, because dry eyes don't just happen out of nowhere. There IS a solution -- you just have to be a detective and keep digging! You can do it!
Backstory: I was first diagnosed almost 10 years ago, at age 21, with severe dry eye and MGD. I tried it all: Restasis (for a couple of years), every over-the-counter drop ever made, omega 3, flaxseed, warm compress, lid scrubs, Lotemax, long-term doxycycline, Lacrisert, punctal plugs, and Tobradex.
My eyes were really bad for about 1 year when I was first diagnosed. Then they sort of plateaued and were *tolerable* but still dry (with daily lid scrubs, warm compress, fish oil, drops, the whole nine yards) for 7-8 years. Then, about 1.5 years ago, things suddenly got MUCH WORSE. My left eye became extremely irritated, blood-red, I could barely keep it open. At that point I was using steroid drops regularly, and that was the only thing that worked. I knew there had to be another solution.
So I started looking for solutions to autoimmune disorders. (I'm convinced I used to have some form of autoimmune disorder, not necessarily Sjogren's but *something.* My last test came back with some elevated autoantibodies, confirming my theory.) This is when I found the AUTOIMMUNE PROTOCOL, which I'm sure many of you have heard of. It's a healing diet with a lot of restrictions but also a lot of room to experiment with food and return to a more natural way of eating.
It was very hard for me to eat this way because I was seriously addicted to carbs & sugar for many years. I now know that these addictions contributed and probably jump-started my eye problems. So it took me over a year to REALLY get the diet and be able to do it consistently. Once I stayed on this diet for 60 straight days -- without cheating -- I noticed that my oil glands (lower & upper lids) looked healthy, pink (not BLOOD RED), and there was absolutely clear, beautiful oil coming out!! Before this, I always had severely clogged oil glands. My eyes became bright again -- the irritation & redness is gone.
I have replicated these results 3-4 times by reintroducing what I used to eat before (especially sugar, gluten, rice, any other grains, chocolate, processed food) and my eyes get worse in 2-3 days. Then, I go back on the AIP and they get better and better again.
The main caveat here is that, if you're going to try this way of eating, you MUST do it for 60-90 straight days without cheating (or cheating only minimally) to really evaluate if it will work for you. You have to give your body the time to learn a new way of eating and start shutting off the inflammatory response in your eyes. This takes a while. BUT IT'S WORTH IT.
Now, my eyes are almost completely back to normal, which is truly like some sort of miracle. In the past, I even had to quit 2 part-time jobs because I couldn't use the computer for over an hour per day. Some days I had to close my eyes before shutting a door because the wind from that was too painful. Crazy! I'm sure many of you can relate. So my case was not mild or moderate, by any means. And the AIP is completely reversing my symptoms -- even though every single eye doctor I've ever had (about 7-8) always made me feel silly for asking whether food or diet could have anything to do with the eyes. Now, I can use the computer as much as I want and play tennis in windy conditions! I never thought I'd be doing that again, ever.
If you don't know anything about AIP, here's a good intro: https://www.thepaleomom.com/start-he...mune-protocol/
A good way to evaluate whether this diet will work is also to ask yourself, what have I been eating for the last few years? (Or when my eyes were at their worst?) If you are in any way addicted to sugar, wheat, gluten, carbs, etc then it's a good chance your gut is compromised and this kind of healing diet can REALLY help. Please try it! And do not give up, because dry eyes don't just happen out of nowhere. There IS a solution -- you just have to be a detective and keep digging! You can do it!
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