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Hi, I'm new to the forum and have been reading for a few weeks. I want to thank everybody for the excellent suggestions, and thank Rebecca for all her her work.
I've been struggling with dry eyes for about 6 months, with the changes in lifestyle it has caused, and the ups and downs of trying something new with great hopes that it will help, and then the disappointment when it doesn't help. I'm 62, and have been feeling old and incapacitated because of the dry eyes.
It limits me in how much I can drive, read and look at the computer screen- the three major activities in my life. Wrap-around sunglasses help somewhat for driving, but after ten minutes in the car, my eyes feel like someone threw sand in them. Thanks to the suggestions to look for moisture-chamber glasses in motorcycle stores, I got a pair of inexpensive sunglasses with foam. At first they are comfortable, but after a few minutes, I have an overpowering urge to close my eyes (which doesn't happen with plain wraparound sunglasses). I don't know if it is because of the pressure from the foam, something in the foam that I may be allergic to, or something else. Has anyone every had this problem? I ordered a pair of Dustbusters from the dry eye zone store but they haven't arrived yet. I am hoping they will be better. If I were sure that the more expensive moisture-chamber glasses would be better, I'd invest in a pair, but I don't want to spend the money and then find that they are no better than the biker glasses.
I have a regular ophthalmologist whom I have been going to for the last five years and with whom I have a good working relationship; he has treated my glaucoma with laser surgery, he removed my cataracts and did laser surgery for the clouded lens capsule; he also did laser surgery to fix a small hole in the retina. Fortunately he is taking my dry eyes seriously. He advised me to use Optive drops during the day and Muro at night. The Muro is working better than Genteal ointment, which was his first recommendation. During the day, though, I get the feeling that the Optive may be irritating my eyes more than helping. The ophthalmologist inserted temporary punctal plugs; they seemed to help a little for a few days (wishful thinking?), so he did laser surgery to close the tear ducts on my bottom lids. It didn't help at all. I read about Hylo-Comod in the dry eye zone research section, but it seems that you can get it in Germany, England and Israel but not in the US. The German study showed that Hylo-Comod was less abrasive to the cornea than Optive (considered to be the least abrasive because of Purite?), but Allergan did a study that showed that Optive works better than Hylo-Comod. But how do we know that the study was unbiased if it was conducted by the company that makes the product??? Has anyone tried Hylo-Comod, and is it worth finding someone in a country where it is sold to get it for me?
Because I've been fatigued for the past year (before my eyes started feeling dry) and live in a high prevalence Lyme area and walk in the woods often, I was tested for Lyme disease. The ELISA came out positive twice, but the confirming Western Blot was negative. I went to a rheumatologist to see if I might have Sjogrens Syndrome, but the autoimmune tests for Sjogrens came out negative. So it appears that I don't have Lyme or Sjogrens. The rheumatologist said that 10% of the time, people with Sjogrens test negative, and since I am suffering with dry eyes, she gave me a prescription for Evoxac. She said it is mostly to make more saliva (which I don't have a problem with), and it would make me sweat more, but it might make more tears too; she said I should ask my ophthalmologist about it before taking it. I asked the ophthalmologist and he said he said he has no experience with it and does not recommend that I take it. Has anyone here tried Evoxac for dry eyes?
So I am sort of at a loss for what to do next. I have a follow up appt with the ophthalmologist next week. Oh, and I'm eating a lot more sardines and tuna for the omega-3 fatty acids. Sorry this post is so long. I'm open to suggestions-
Judy
I've been struggling with dry eyes for about 6 months, with the changes in lifestyle it has caused, and the ups and downs of trying something new with great hopes that it will help, and then the disappointment when it doesn't help. I'm 62, and have been feeling old and incapacitated because of the dry eyes.
It limits me in how much I can drive, read and look at the computer screen- the three major activities in my life. Wrap-around sunglasses help somewhat for driving, but after ten minutes in the car, my eyes feel like someone threw sand in them. Thanks to the suggestions to look for moisture-chamber glasses in motorcycle stores, I got a pair of inexpensive sunglasses with foam. At first they are comfortable, but after a few minutes, I have an overpowering urge to close my eyes (which doesn't happen with plain wraparound sunglasses). I don't know if it is because of the pressure from the foam, something in the foam that I may be allergic to, or something else. Has anyone every had this problem? I ordered a pair of Dustbusters from the dry eye zone store but they haven't arrived yet. I am hoping they will be better. If I were sure that the more expensive moisture-chamber glasses would be better, I'd invest in a pair, but I don't want to spend the money and then find that they are no better than the biker glasses.
I have a regular ophthalmologist whom I have been going to for the last five years and with whom I have a good working relationship; he has treated my glaucoma with laser surgery, he removed my cataracts and did laser surgery for the clouded lens capsule; he also did laser surgery to fix a small hole in the retina. Fortunately he is taking my dry eyes seriously. He advised me to use Optive drops during the day and Muro at night. The Muro is working better than Genteal ointment, which was his first recommendation. During the day, though, I get the feeling that the Optive may be irritating my eyes more than helping. The ophthalmologist inserted temporary punctal plugs; they seemed to help a little for a few days (wishful thinking?), so he did laser surgery to close the tear ducts on my bottom lids. It didn't help at all. I read about Hylo-Comod in the dry eye zone research section, but it seems that you can get it in Germany, England and Israel but not in the US. The German study showed that Hylo-Comod was less abrasive to the cornea than Optive (considered to be the least abrasive because of Purite?), but Allergan did a study that showed that Optive works better than Hylo-Comod. But how do we know that the study was unbiased if it was conducted by the company that makes the product??? Has anyone tried Hylo-Comod, and is it worth finding someone in a country where it is sold to get it for me?
Because I've been fatigued for the past year (before my eyes started feeling dry) and live in a high prevalence Lyme area and walk in the woods often, I was tested for Lyme disease. The ELISA came out positive twice, but the confirming Western Blot was negative. I went to a rheumatologist to see if I might have Sjogrens Syndrome, but the autoimmune tests for Sjogrens came out negative. So it appears that I don't have Lyme or Sjogrens. The rheumatologist said that 10% of the time, people with Sjogrens test negative, and since I am suffering with dry eyes, she gave me a prescription for Evoxac. She said it is mostly to make more saliva (which I don't have a problem with), and it would make me sweat more, but it might make more tears too; she said I should ask my ophthalmologist about it before taking it. I asked the ophthalmologist and he said he said he has no experience with it and does not recommend that I take it. Has anyone here tried Evoxac for dry eyes?
So I am sort of at a loss for what to do next. I have a follow up appt with the ophthalmologist next week. Oh, and I'm eating a lot more sardines and tuna for the omega-3 fatty acids. Sorry this post is so long. I'm open to suggestions-
Judy
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