introducing myself

[ghart]

Hi, I have had severe dry eye for 4 years, and am tired of looking on line for relief, as I have tried everything out there that is possible and I am only getting worse. I now feel the need to talk to other dry eye suffers to see if they have any advice. I am pretty desperate about now, never pain free and worsening of vision. Hope to talk to someone. Georgia

[Guest]

It's getting late here, so I'm going to rush through this... hope you don't mind!!!

My eyes were pure hell in 2009, and over the last few years, they've improved enormously - so in my mind, for most people, there is every reason to expect that things will get better in time - sometimes it takes a long time, but that's better than nothing if you ask me.

It could be that you just haven't tried the right things at the right time (ex. maybe your eyes were so irritated that nothing seemed to help... things could be different now, you never know!), or maybe there are still a few possibilities that you haven't considered - sometimes relief comes from the the things you don't think of at the beginning.

My go-to resources for mainstream stuff: "DEWS report" (google it and it will be the first listing)

If all of the DEWS report stuff doesn't get you where you want to be, then I'd consider the less likely possibilities:

ex. food allergies (in my case, I discovered by accident that I am allergic to wheat - when I don't eat it, my eyes are much improved.. obviously this won't be the case for everyone, but worth experimenting with all the same)

ex. neuropathic pain as a source of ocular discomfort (might get relief from neuropathic pain meds... are lots out there, so if one isn't tolerated/doesn't work, worth trying a different one... you never know what may help until you try it)

Also, in my personal case, even if a treatment only helped a tiny bit, it was worth keeping on with it - a bunch of tiny improvements from several treatments can add up to a LOT of improvement over time.

My current experimental treatment is acupuncture - have had 2 treatments and plan on sticking with it for 3 months (I'd try it longer if it helps, but we're leaving to travel, so can't... so 3 months will have to do) I've tried all the mainstream stuff, so figure I might as well try this - am going to a naturopathic doctor for this. In my case, my dry eyes are caused by LASIK - I know the nerves regrew properly (confocal microscopy confirmed), so I'm thinking maybe acupuncture can "reboot" them and get them to freaking work... we'll see!

Anyhow, hang in there - and this forum is great - lots of people here who know exactly how you feel - it's a good place hang out if you need to "talk"

[EC1984]

Hi Georgia. I've had dry eye for 7 months, and it's been hell. Started off with mild dry eye (just one eye) not knowing it, got an ulcer, then after taking antibiotic drops, I immediately developed severe dry eye (needed 12 drops daily, had frequent inflammation). But, the past couple months it reduced to moderate dry eye (i only need 2-3 drops daily now and dont have pain too often). I think what helped it a little was stopping the preservative drops, getting my tear duct plugged, and taking omega 3's. I hate the stiff feeling of my eye lids/lash line and having to spend money on drops and eye-lid cleanser pads. Also I hate wearing my glasses. I miss contact lenses and mascara. Lucky for me I get 9 hours of sleep every day, which my eyes really need to rest. Elana

[ngaoro]

Hello I'm a 45 year old male who thought I had something in my eyes went to a gp miss diagnosed with eye infection finally went to eye specialist diagnosed with dry eye syndrome.
Used Systane ultra and the balance eyes came good ie v mild dry eye
Now very bad to point it is affecting my ability to work use ointment at nite drops continuously my question is
A) do supplements help I'm big into fitness so already take fish oil but how much for dry eye?
B) Do certain foods help or hinder
C) had permanent plugs inserted 8 days ago
ago but no relief