Dry Eyes and Lyme Disease

[LNgraphics]

My dry eye came on suddenly, 1-1/2 years ago at the age of 44. I never had a problem with dry eyes and then one night I awakened with my eyes so severely dry that my lids were stuck to my eyeballs. I have endured the same excruciating dryness every night since. I have been on a mission trying to find some relief and trying and figure out what has caused this.

Exactly 8 months before my eyes turned dry I went to the doctor because I had huge, swollen lymph nodes on the back of neck, as well as a headache and light sensitivity. The doctor treated me for a sinus infection, although my sinuses weren’t bothering me at all. Right around that same time I had major hair loss, pleurisy, and vertigo. For months, I would awaken every morning with a stiff, crackly neck and severely dry eyes. I have been to several eye doctors and have been given several diagnosis: ocular rosacea, lagophthalmos, early tear evaporation, meibomian gland dysfunction, blepharitis, computer usage, hormones, and allergies (I am allergic to mold).

I have tried numerous therapies...

Tobradex eye drops
Zylet
Bacitracin Ophthalmic Ointment
Restasis
Alrex
Alasite
Prednisone
FreshKote
Flax Seed Oil
Fish Oil
Tranquileyes
Humidifier
Warm Compresses

Finally, last March, my eye doctor put me on Doxycycline. The Doxy didn’t give me any relief with my eyes but it did clear up my stiff neck! I truly think I had/have Lyme Disease. I had expressed my suspicions about lyme to my doctors but was always told that I didn’t have the lyme bulls eye rash so that’s not what it was. I did have a thyroid test which came back normal. I did finally ask for a Lyme test after my course of Doxy and was told it was normal.

I just started taking TheraTears Nutrition. 3 pills every morning, and TheraTears preservative-free drops 3 or 4 times a day. But I am doubtful that this will work because I’ve tried taking fish oil and flax seed oil for many months with no relief. Has anyone been successful with the TheraTears? Does anyone know of something else I can try? Nothing I do seems to help.

[odydnas]

Hi LNGraphics,

Welcome to DEZ. I hope this website can be helpful for you. While I do not have any tips about dry eyes for you, I do have some tips about Lyme disease...since I remember reading an article about Lyme disease in a woman's magazine.

If you are truly convinced that you may have Lyme disease and want to get it checked out, it is imperative that you find a Lyme disease competent doc. You can find one on TurnTheCorner.org. Also, it is not uncommon for false negatives to come up on a Lyme disease test, since these tests are not foolproof. Only 50-70% of people with Lyme have a postive test. Many docs use the ELISA test which isn't as accurate as the full spectrum Western blot. Do you know which test you got? Since these tests aren't foolproof, it is very important to find a good Lyme disease doc if you think you have Lyme disease.

Speaking of foolproof tests and good docs, I suggest you go to a doc on our Plug a Doc section to get an accurate diagnosis on your eye symptoms. One of the most frustrating day about DE is that we hear different things from different doctors....who aren't particularly good at diagnosing types of DE, nor do they have an interest in DE. I think that Dr. Latkany may be good at putting togheter the pieces for you, if you are able to see him.

Good luck!

[Lucy]

LN, you might want to keep Sjogrens Syndrome in mind if you keep having problems or if they get worse. Sjogrens often mimicks Lyme Disease and vice versa. I am not trying to scare you, but I had this for years and not one ophth thought to mention the possibility to me. Lucy

[LNgraphics]

Odydnas,

Thank you for your suggestions. I actually looked into a lyme specialist today. I'm not sure what kind of lyme test I was given... I'll have to investigate. I have heard that false negatives are common.

I would love a consult with Dr. Latkany but I'm in Baltimore so it wouldn't be easy.

Thanks again!

[izzy3usa2002]

ice & genteal gel help

so sorry to hear you are having so much trouble. i hope you find out what is causing the dry eye. you asked if anyone knew of anything else that may help your eyes. i noticed you didn't have the genteal preservative free gel listed? you might want to give that a try. I have graves and produce no tears at all when i get the bad pain i use the gel. look at your eyes ina lit mirror and see if you have any little scraches. when my eyes get real bad it looks like little scratches on my eyeball but actually all the layers of tear wore away then i apply the genteal gel directly on it and close my eye a few minutes then the pain isnt as bad or is gone. also, ice is wonderful! in times of real servere eye pain i get out the ice in my cold wet cloth. i also have an eye ice pack i just lay down and wear sometimes. i keep a cold wet rag in my lunch bucket for work and that helps lots too. i i get real bad i use my lunchbox ice pack and put it right on my eyes. whatever works! also, I use the gel every night. that way my eyes don't dry out. cold works better for me than hot. hope this helps if not keep trying till you find something that does. good luck!

[nycdryeyegirl]

Hi,

Have you tried the cornea eye specialists at Johns Hopkins Hospital? They seem to have an incredible array of doctors in all specialties and it might be worth a shot contacting the hospital. I hope this advice can be of use to you in your situation.

[LNgraphics]

Thank you!

Thanks to all who have given suggestions! I have tried Genteal Gel but have not tried an ice pack. I'll have to give that a try. I did see a doctor at Hopkins a year ago but was disappointed in her typical treatment which included Restasis. I recently learned that Hopkins has a dry eye center, which I might check out.

Thank you Odydnas for your referral to TurnTheCorner.org. I checked out the website and found a lot of valuable information about Lyme Disease. I am eager to meet with a Lyme specialist and get a diagnosis.

Regarding Sjogrens, I have considered the possibility but have been told by doctors that since I don't have dry mouth, and since the blood work came back negative, I probably don't have Sjogrens.

I'll have to get motivated again to get some help for my dry eyes. Lately I think I've just thrown in the towel and have learned to live with it. Good luck to all of you dry eye sufferers and thanks again for your advice!