dry eye newbie

[griffonsong]

What a blessing to have found you! My dry eyes started suddenly after I came home 6 months ago after a month in hospital following surgery for a brain abscess in my occipital lobe.

Both the neurosurgeon and infection control specialist told me none of theor treatment woudl cause dry eye. The opthalmologist says my cornea and macula are in good shape and I perhaps have ocular rosacea.

It seems too coincidental that my dry eye happened just after surgery on the part of the brain that controls vision. I lost my left vision almost entirely but it has returned, and I'm just left with very dry eyes. I'm typing with my eyes closed at the moment.

I am taking a drug with the side effect of dry eyes, so I'm gradually reducing it to see what will happen. My GP will send me to another opthalmologist if this doesn't work, and she is suggesting plugs in my tear ducts, which sounds truly gross!

I'm trying to figure out if I can take fish oil again. Since I am now taking coumadin because I had deep vein thrombosis after the surgery, and fish oil can be contraindicated when taking coumadin.

Thanks for being there.
Aleksa

[msienkiewicz]

Aleksa,

Welcome. I too am a newbie, but you have indeed found the right spot for encouragement and support. You have been through so much already. Keep exploring options. I just started lacriserts, and they really are helping me.

Keep searching the posts for valuable tips and information concerning the particulars of your dry eye.

Rest assured, there is always a listening ear here...
even though we're typing with our eyes closed.

Blessings,
Melissa

[bernmee]

Hi,

i am sorry to hear you have been through so much, and welcome to the site.

I think you need to be told what is causing your dry eye. Its not enough to be told you "might" have ocular rosacea. If you do have ocular rosacea you "might" also have MGD, but a good Dry Eye Dr. should be able to tell. They can also perform some very simple tests to work out if you have eyes that don'f produce enough tears or if you have tears that evaporate too quickly. If you can find out what your problem is then you will be able to do mre specific searches. Many people find it a challange to find a good dry eye Dr, so you may have to lok around.

Having said that though I don't know anything about the connection between the brain and the eyes, but I have read posts of people developing DE as a result of surgery or medications, so I guess that could also be a cause of your DE.

Once again welcome to the site,

Bernadette