Newcomer

[Sooz]

I am so happy to find this website. I have suffered with dry eyes since 1988 when, as the result of stress, I became very ill with what doctors thought was an autoimmune disorder. They finally said it was probably Sjogren's and sent me home with eye drops. I have been tested for Hashimoto's several times and always come up negative, although my thyroid numbers have been quite unstable over the last couple of years. At some point, probably in the 90's, Accutane was prescribed for adult acne. What a miserable experience that was. The resulting drier eye gradually improved to a more tolerable level but still uncomfortable. Once the adult acne was treated for rosacea with doxycycline the acne went away and the dry eyes improved some. For not apparent reason in the last few months it has gotten worse. I wake up feeling like the sandman put pea gravel in my eyes. The dermatologist who prescribed doxy also gave me a steroid cream for blepharitis. I'm noticing more evidence of sebhorreic My doctor says three of my medications could be contributing to dry eyes and dry mouth, but none of them are new in the last 4 years. So why now? I have noticed a mild crustiness in the mornings, and underneath my left eye (the lashes of which are sparser than the right), just beneath the lash line two white, raised dots have appeared. They look almost like white heads but seem to be much tougher and longer lasting. I have had sebhorreic dermatitis of the scalp and ears since teenage years. Now it is appearing on my forehead.
Thanks to this site I will be going to my ophthamologist on Thursday armed with a lot of questions. In the past he has told me that no one knows what causes dry eyes in someone like me. If anyone has ideas for the approach to take I would appreciate suggestions.