New to the forum, not new to eye problems, need suggestions

[DH1999]

Hi, I was diagnosed with (many) inhalant allergies approx 15 years ago, rosacea about 10 years ago, and dry eye about 7 years ago. I receive allergy shots in both arms every 2 weeks. My regimen for rosacea is 40 mg doxycycline (once/day, taken 2 hours before breakfast), and I apply Finacea Gel 2X/day. My opthalmologist is one that doesn't seem to recognize ocular rosacea - he has diagnosed me simply with dry eye. For my "dry eye", my regimen includes hot compresses, eyelid scrub (when I remember), cyclosporine 0.05% eye drops 2X/day, Genteal Gel 1-2X/day, and Refresh Plus drops as needed. Of course, the doxycycline also helps with the dry eye.
For the past few weeks, I have been going through a "flare" of both my skin and eyes...and my eyes are reverting to the horrible red appearance, gritty and starting to burn again somewhat like the way they looked and felt when I was first diagnosed.
I am under a lot of stress, however, this is not the first time I have experienced stresses in life, and I did not have such a flare in the past. To add insult to injury, I have been experiencing increasing arthritic symptoms in several joints in the past 8-10 months for which I take Celebrex (note: I have taken Celebrex for longer periods in the past with no problem).
Other than brief "mini-flares", I have not had any serious problems in a number of years. Can others (including physicians) please comment with any suggestions on new therapies or adjustments I could make to my therapies? All of this is really becoming rather complex and overwhelming to deal with. Thanks very much for any help.

[PotatoCakes]

I can't say whether it helps specifically with dry eye, but I have found that acupuncture has been amazing in helping me deal with stress, which IMO does affect my eyes, or at least other areas of health for me. I didn't find the herbs to do much at all but the acupuncture itself made a dramatic impact on my life. I stopped going due to vacation and scheduling issues but I want to go back in soon because it really did help me manage my stress levels, not just during the appointment but afterwards, as it helped me learn some calming techniques.

- Question, do you also experience dry mouth? If so, perhaps you should be tested for Sjogren's.

- I'm sure you know this already re: rosacea but limiting sugar, caffeine, salt & alcohol can make a big difference.

- Make sure your hot compresses are WARM, not hot. Great article here: http://dryeyezone.com/encyclopedia/mgcare.html about eye care. I know I'm guilty of being a little (a lot) overzealous about eye care and every once in a while need a reminder that too much "care" can create more problems, particularly when you're talking about heat and rosacea.

- You might try a new brand of preservative-free eye drop to see if that might help. Different drops appeal to different people. I use different drops depending on the time of year, for bedtime, etc, in addition to my serum drops. You might also ask your doctor about serum drops (if you type in "serum drops" without the quotes into the search engine near the top of the page, you'll find a bunch of info on them).

- It may also be time to consider a new doctor. You'll need to weigh that option based on how you feel about your doctor, how much he/she is open to learning new things, etc but even some good doctors don't have the capacity to really understand, or be willing to learn, about dry eye. I recently switched my doctor due to personality issues and because his arrogance was preventing him from providing optimum care, IMO. Best decision I ever made, despite the fact that my former doctor is considered an expert in his field.

[DH1999]

Thanks for suggestions

"Potatocakes": Thanks very much for the ideas. I do not have dry mouth, but I know that may not necessarily be a symptom for Sjogren's to be the cause of problems. I do tend to overindulge in sweets (which I need to get a handle on), and actually, I have already been researching accupuncture. I will definitely take a look at the link you provided. Again, thanks much!