Late 20's F, just diagnosed with severe dry eye. Scored 2mm on Schirmer test

[alia]

Today I woke up with my right eye (usually my clearest eye) inflamed. The lower eyelid hurt to the touch, and the sclera is red and super veiny. It hurts a lot. I see my eye doctor this Friday. I am starting to suspect there is a bacterial or viral infection that keeps happening over and over. Additionally, I have severe inflammation in my digestive system and I need to see a gastroenterologist very soon. I'm starting to worry a lot about my health...

[alia]

I was prescribed Restasis but am unsure about it given some reviews online. My eyes continue to deteriorate. My whitest eye is now competing against the other one for redness, no more swollen eyelid flare ups though. It's disheartening that my best eye is now getting worse, the other one is still extremely bad and it looks like pings are developing.
My eyes feel tired and heavy all the time.

I bought fake glasses to wear to try to hide their appearance.

[alia]

I just read another thread about cold compresses. I had a cucumber in my fridge so I dipped a slice of it in ice water and let it rest on one of my eyes for 5 minutes.

My eye was noticeably clearer! The veins are still there (as opposed to a pearly smooth sclera that I used to have) but they are not as red.

I know it treats the symptoms and not the problem but it clearly reduces inflammation, this is a really good discovery for me.

[alia]

I am so depressed. My eyes look worse than ever. Horrible, textured red veins everywhere. I look like a monster.

I am devastated. I have no money left to see any more doctors. I feel hopeless and think about taking my life over this because I constantly hide from people and feel like there's no point if I can't even show my face. I can't handle this anymore. I can't believe this happened to me. There is something seriously wrong and I am extremely frustrated that there are no answers as to why my eyes look so terrible, my eye health is in serious disarray.

I want clear, white, beautiful eyes like the people I see around me.

[Faith1989]

Alia,

I do know how you feel.. I am also constantly comparing myself to others, looking at their eyes. I don't remember what it's like to have bright eyes. I am only 24. My skin is clear, no redness or signs of Rosacea. I used to have ance though, but mild. then my eyes look abnormal compared to my skin.. I have spent thousands of dollars on treatments and medications. I am now changing my diet to see if this helps. What did your doctors say was wrong? what is your diagnoses?

[alia]

Alia,

I do know how you feel.. I am also constantly comparing myself to others, looking at their eyes. I don't remember what it's like to have bright eyes. I am only 24. My skin is clear, no redness or signs of Rosacea. I used to have ance though, but mild. then my eyes look abnormal compared to my skin.. I have spent thousands of dollars on treatments and medications. I am now changing my diet to see if this helps. What did your doctors say was wrong? what is your diagnoses?

Are you trying an anti-inflammatory diet? I think I may need to go that route. I know coffee is a trigger and I am going to have to investigate how to cut down on my coffee/caffeine intake.

My eye doc has only done one test on me, which was rated at 2mm/severe on Shirmer's test, the other doc tested me for Thyroid disease and I tested within the normal range. Only gotten a prescription for Restasis and I don't want to take it after reading how low positive outcomes are. I really want further tests done because all I was told was that I was either not producing enough tears, or not keeping the tears I have. I have a feeling it's the former because my eyes pretty much always feel dry and don't produce excess tears or anything like some people with DES. It's possible that my glands have malfunctioned. I worry it's due to a lifetime of makeup + computer use, or something else (autoimmune?). It's just so bizarre.

[gormz]

Im 25 and actually had a 0 in both eyes on my schirmers. Ive also had some growth of red veins on my sclera. Ive pretty much been tested for every possible systemic disease which have all come back negative but i still think theres some autoimmune component involved. If i were you i wouldnt necessarily spend all your time focusing on figuring out exactly what caused it because you may never know.

My eyes have gotten soo much better though compared to what they used to be. Don't give up on it. The thing that helped me the most was focusing on my diet and omega 3s. Ive been doing the GAPS diet and that seems to be helping slowly but surely. Another thing you can look into is getting punctal plugs if you havent already.

Id recommend just cutting out gluten and dairy first to see if that helps at all. Also start keeping a food diary/diary just to see what foods, activities, random stuff, etc make your eyes better or worse.

[Chita]

I'm in the same boat Alla. I have had numerous issues with my eyes - could never wear contacts, and 3-4 times had blood vessel ruptures. But lately I've been battling how bloodshot they are. I have seen a couple opthalmologists, and they say I have a combination of allergies and dry eye. I take restasis (it's been 5 months now) and I was prescribed a couple of steroid drops. The stronger one got rid of the redness but 2-3 weeks later the redness returned. I cannot keep using the steroid drop, it is unsafe to use it long term. So she gave me bromfenac which is safer to use. I think that is an anti-inflammatory drop. I think this helps a little. I have been trying to drink lots of water and get rest. And eat more whole foods and take vitamins. But those things will take awhile to take effect, if they help at all. I am also keeping a log so I can track what works and doesn't work.

My eyes also used to be one of my best features. So much for that. Now people ask me questions about my eyes, ask me if I ever sleep, or look at me funny. Even people who are generally good at hiding their reactions have done a double take when they see my eyes. I have been thinking about how I can change my job because I just want to hide my face.

But I am trying to be patient and at the same time accept my condition. At least I can still see, right?

Please let me know if you discover anything useful. I will do the same. If anybody has any success stories. please post to encourage us!

[alia]

So I just went to another doctor (on loan money..) who specifically deals with woman's problems, as I suspect there could be a hormonal component to this as well. She recommended Evening Primrose Oil. I also am determined to cut out wheat from my diet and derive my carb sources from rice, so basically switching over to a Japanese-type diet (lots of fish, seaweed, etc) with Mediterranean influence (olive oil, nuts). So I will be taking 1300 mg of EPO a day, maybe increase it to 2600 mg if I see no resolution in my symptoms.

gormz - you're right, I just may never know. My new doctor advised me to not test myself unless I have insurance, because she said I could waste 1000s and still know nothing... She told me it's better to treat myself holistically for now using supplements, and trying yoga for de-stress. (I am a very high stress/high anxiety person, runs in the family.)

Also I agree completely about diet and diet logs, I have long suspected that I have some food allergies. I seem to tolerate some foods better than others. Thanks so much for your feedback!

Chita - I will look into bromfenac. With your eye drops, do they reduce redness/soreness, and increase tear film? Or is it a choice between one or the other? I have been using Systane High Performance drops, no reduction in redness, but they do help with the moisture barrier. I have to constantly re-apply though.

I have the same thing with my eyes - used to be one of my best features. They are quite large, but now I wish they were smaller. The veins are just so prominent.