New and looking for new ideas

[momaxwell]

I'm new to this website - here's my story (the short version). I lived in a very humid area for most of my life and dry eye was not recognized as everyone always assumed I had allergy eyes and would prescribe me prescription allergy drops (I do not use these anymore). 2 1/2 years ago I moved to the dry, dry mountains of Arizona, where my eyes turned blood red permanently. My eye doctor said I had dry eye, and my journey began. I take vitamins (Thera Life and Thera Tear) uses preservative free drops, use Thermoeyes at night, use lid scrub in the morning, and have plugs. I also gave up caffeine and drink 10 glasses plus of water everyday. My doctor said my dry eye had stabilized, but my eyes are still red by the middle of the day (not as bad as before, but still red). My doctor is not concerned about the redness. One month ago I moved to Portland, OR (new job) and my hope was my dry eye would improve, but this does not seem to be the case. Any suggestions? I am beginning to feel this is a hopeless battle.

[cityhunter62]

Living in a humid area

Hello Momaxwell
I know that it is probably not that easy, but can't you just return to the "very humid area" you used to live in? If you already have family, relatives and friends there - in other words, support- you should stay in this place. That will be better for your eyes I guess and for your moral if you already know lots of people there...
If my dry eye condition doesn't improve in the coming years, then I think I'll decide to move and live in another country, or at least another area, sunnier and wetter...
I think for a dry eye patient it is better to go to a place where your eyes feel good than leaving this place.
But I agree, life is not that easy and you can't always do what you want

[dryeyes2]

Restasis, other types of drops?

Hi,

Have you tried Restasis? It might be worth a try.

You could try another type of eye drop too. I use several kinds. Two that you didn't mention that help me are Refresh Endura which is the vehicle for Restasis. It has some castor oil in it. Also I use GenTeal Gel, even during the day. There is some blurring when you first use it, but it seems to last a bit longer than just drops.

I also use a humidifier while I sleep or if I am working on the computer for a long time, even in the summer.

I hope this is helpful.
Best wishes,
dryeyes2

[brd888]

Have you looked for the cause of your dry eye? Is it aqueous or lipid deficient? If you respond to humid areas well it may be aqueous. Aqueous deficiency should respond to punctual plugs. Have you considered these?

[skygoddess]

Hi,
Welcome
I like Natures Tears Eyemist. It is just water,
( tissue-culture grade , Whatever that means, but it is nice .
Seems to help with redness, without any side effects.
You can find it at Eckerds and I have seen it occasionally at K-Mart.

[momaxwell]

Thank You!

Thanks for all the ideas. I have tried Restasis, but had some weird allergic reaction to it. I have also been on steroids for one week. I am not sure the cause of my dry eyes, and since I am in a new area, I will push a new doctor for answers. I have tried almost every eye drop out there and Theratears has worked best for me, but I am willing to keep trying (just ordered Dr. Holly's). I will try Natures Tears EyeMist that was mentioned, that sounds great and I have not tried anything like it before. As for moving, no, this is not possible. I am glad to be out of dry Arizona; hopefully the air in Oregon will help.

[Rebecca Petris]

Hi there and welcome.

Don't lose hope yet, for sure! Redness is, for some people, the most stubborn symptom but there is almost always more to try. A really good diagnosis is crucial in my opinion. Bruce is right on about pinning down evaporative vs aqueous deficient dry eye... if you have meibomian gland dysfunction (warning - this frequently goes undiagnosed) then you will probably get more mileage out of methodically carefully pursuing MGD treatments.

You may want to try some kind of moisture chamber glasses - if you don't want to wear them in public at least you could wear them at home a bit - they are very helpful and protective so any time spent wearing them is a good investment in my opinion.

I move from Florida to the Seattle area last year. Florida was very hard on my eyes because of the air conditioning. Late summer and autumn in Washington were terrific for me by comparison, but the winter here was hard... heat seems to be rather worse than air conditioning. Moving from Arizona to someplace like Portland is definitely a step in the right direction though certainly not a magic bullet when the condition has progressed. I have spoken several times with a guy who moved from Salt Lake City to Eugene and was disappointed with the results. But don't give up: Once you get the right set of treatments to get the dryness under control, I think you'll see more benefit from the climate change than you've seen so far.

[GeorgeT]

Hi Momaxwell,

I am very sorry to hear your story..
I was thinking like you about a year ago about my problems. I lived 7 years in a very humid area in AL, then I moved to WA state for 6 months and I got dry eye. When I moved back to AL my problems were the same, so I gave up the idea about humidity.
For me drops were not the answer.
What is your diagnosis ?
I was diagnosed with ocular rosacea&MGD, so just using drops made me worse.
I've seen about 4 doctors in WA state and 2 in AL with no diagnosis other than dry eye.....I went to FL to see a good doctor. Dr. Latkany (New York) who answers questions on this site already knew my ocular rosacea from my questions and symptoms.
Try to find a good doctor and this website will help you.
BTW, I will be moving to Portland in August so keep in touch.
All the best !


George