Scared and very depressed

[Faith1989]

Today I am pretty upset. I actually thought my eyes were getting better as I was trying Restasis out a third time, and thought it was working. Then this week, my eyes have flared up three times pretty badly. Restasis makes the inflammation go down a little, but I am still in pain today. I think I have tried everything and the only thing that worked for me is steriods/compresses which I cant use forever. Right now I am on doxy and restasis ( which I am considering quitting) I dont know what to do anymore, everytime I get the inflammation down, it just keeps coming back.

[littlemermaid]

Hi Faith, Has the ophth tried a short course of a topical antibacterial? We tried azithromycin for 5 days and it cleared the glands, so we were able to maintain on a very low dose of anti-inflammatories, only 2 drops/week, keeping up with warm compresses and frequent tear substitute drops. Oral antibiotics didn't work for us either. I'm just noticing that the doc's tried antihistamines and anti-inflammatories and oral antibiotics, but not a topical antibacterial.

Are there tear substitute drops that would suit your eyes better? I'm just wondering which ones you've tried.

Also, are you taking the fish/flax oils? These seem to help us keep the meibom good + eating more veg, fruit, salad oils, fish etc.

When we realised that tear film was deficient chronically after trying the usual treatments, we got lower punctal plugs and they've been a big help.

Important to ask the ophthalmologist exactly what they think the problem is? Sometimes I read this again, see if I've missed something http://www.dryeyezone.com/encyclopedia/diagnosis.html

Patrick and Kevino, I'm thinking James Herriot drove an Austin 7?

Cali, If you're still reading the thread, I agree it's best to just walk into a doctor's office for help when it's like this, best you can find, to give good things a chance to happen.