I'm so miserable.

[tess77]

I´m also very miserable and on the edge of giving up here so thought I would try and ask you all for some advice. I have ocular rosacea, MGD and partial gland dropout after a course of Accutane for my rosacea. Now since I had plugged put in my tear production has sunk from 25 to 5 in only a couple of months and I do not know what to do anymore... I have been to Torreoyneklinikken in Oslo and am right now having IPL done at Dry eye centre in London (living in Sweden). My eyes only seem to get worse whatever I´m trying and I am SO confused what to do... Heat or cold? Cold helps, heat worsen my rosacea inflammation and get my eyelids really red and swollen. Plugs or no plugs? Is the inflammation trapped or not? I sure need the moisture from artificial drops to stay so it´s hard to know and decide... Steroids or not? I got dexamethason(?) from an eye doc here in Stockholm recently and from London I got prednisolone and Ikervis to use together but my eyes are SO sensitive and I worry to get side effects or a rebound effect from them... I can´t tolerate perservatives so can only use the preservative free drops. I´ve been on Doxy since September but it seems to have little or no effect, first regular Doxy 100mg twice a day, since January Oracea 40 mg a day. Unfortuanately I do not tolerate Azazite. Have you others out there tried anything else that has given you relief or can you help in any way? I would be SO grateful! Therese

[LaDiva]

If you have Rosacea, try modifying your diet. It is a major key to keeping my eyes reasonably comfortable.

Rosacea food list: http://www.rosacea.org/patients/materials/triggers.php
Histamine food list: http://www.michiganallergy.com/food_and_histamine.shtml

Quite frankly, I think that histamine is a huge problem. We are all so different, but I think my eye problem is a by-product of something else going on internally. I have hives and a number of other histamine related issues and was surprised to find out there are many, many of us with similar problems. We aren't allergic to anything, but cannot tolerate histamine laced foods, and that includes food on the rosacea lists. Best of luck to you. I know how you feel. You need to calm your Rosacea, and I believe that food choices will be key. Everyone is different though.

[craig9563]

I have MGD, Ocular Rosacea and tear deficiency. I feel your pain jahcpa. If you are not already experimenting with diet, you might want to give it a go:

Rosacea food list: http://www.rosacea.org/patients/materials/triggers.php
Histamine food list: http://www.michiganallergy.com/food_and_histamine.shtml

You might start feeling better as your eye surface heals. If it was compromised and your eye doctor sees improvement to the lipid layer, it is possible it might take awhile before you notice a difference. You will feel better but it might take more experimenting. Food is a huge factor for me. Sending good wishes.

Those lists basically rule out eating everything but, say, bread and jam. !

[LaDiva]

You are right Craig. Actually, for me, bread and jam are not OK either. Those food lists are very limiting, but not everyone needs to avoid all of those foods. Everyone is different, so hopefully most people will be able to eat a greater variety of food and won't need to avoid everything on those lists. I cannot eat much of anything, but there are enough healthy choices that I am not hungry nor deprived of nutritional food. It isn't fun, but it is key in keeping my oil glands from being a mess. The links are meant as a place to start in eliminating food triggers. If you don't have ocular Rosacea or histamine problems or allergies, I wouldn't worry about it. I've had this for six years, and food is a large part of managing my eye problems. The Rosacea on my face doesn't care what I eat or drink. The Rosacea in my eyes does. A careful diet helps me keep inflammation levels manageable and without it my oil glands become completely blocked. There are so many different causes of dry eye and a gazillion ways to manage the problem. My links were shared as something that has worked for me, which does not necessarily mean that they will work for everyone. I truly hope they will help someone. It is interesting to note that there are several FB pages for people with histamine issues. There are literally thousands of us. Why?

It is also very helpful to keep a food log when trying to figure out which foods are triggers.