Dry eyes and cannabis, pot, weed in 2018

[farmgirl]

Glad that you are feeling better Dowork. As regards smoke I found that out the hard way last summer when I was vacationing for 4 days in an area that had forest fire smoke. My eyes burned so badly that when I was forced to leave and went home to the Dr because I thought I was getting some horrible infection. It turns out it was the smoke from the forest fires. Apparently when your tear film is compromised the smoke particles stick to your eyeball and burn (think of when back to a time when you got an eye full of smoke from a campfire when your eyes were normal and it burned, except that now the burning doesn't go away)
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The moral of this story is, if you are a smoker perhaps you might consider either quitting or switching to vaping.

FYI I googled AzaSite and it says: Common AzaSite side effects may include:

• dry or itchy eyes....yikes

[Guest]

Glad that you are feeling better Dowork. As regards smoke I found that out the hard way last summer when I was vacationing for 4 days in an area that had forest fire smoke. My eyes burned so badly that when I was forced to leave and went home to the Dr because I thought I was getting some horrible infection. It turns out it was the smoke from the forest fires. Apparently when your tear film is compromised the smoke particles stick to your eyeball and burn (think of when back to a time when you got an eye full of smoke from a campfire when your eyes were normal and it burned, except that now the burning doesn't go away)
\
The moral of this story is, if you are a smoker perhaps you might consider either quitting or switching to vaping.

FYI I googled AzaSite and it says: Common AzaSite side effects may include:

• dry or itchy eyes....yikes

Well azasite definitely stung my eyes and I only used it on the margins and eyelashes, applied it with my finger didn't instill directly into the eye. I couldn't imagine putting that in my eye. However, I wanted to possibly give it another shot before the doxy because at the time I took the azasite, I was at the worst as far as ocular inflammation. So that may have played a role in making it worse. I chose to just take the doxy because everyone suggested it would help balance the PH of my meibum and get me in a better place with my eyes. If for some reason it doesn't work out, I have at least 2 more antibiotic options on the table but I seem to handle doxy well. Let me also add, almost everything I take for my eyes causes a burning, stinging feeling at least for a bit. The steroids burn for 15 mins or so after installation, the restasis burns worse than the steroids and for longer maybe a half hour....but its a different kind of burn than the inflamed dry eye burn. So I have no problems with them since I'm feeling so much better now. I can't wait to get my alrex compounded preservative free and my serum tears. I have already had a few days where I didn't need drops except upon waking. Matter of fact, I had my biggest victory yesterday with my eyes....I vaped some hash and didn't need a single eye drop afterward. yesterday was my first "normal" day since my eyes got dry. Really made me feel good and hopeful.

As far as smoke, again, I'm a weird case. Smoke doesn't really bother my eyes that bad, its not good by any means, lol.....but it doesn't kill me. Neither does cold winter air, I actually like the cold air hitting my eyes, almost offers a bit of relief. My issue with smoking, I believe, comes from the actual byproducts of the smoke being directly consumed. I have no idea the amount of chemicals in "smoke" or the types of chemicals produced by combustion. All I know is that if I inhale smoke, my body gets inflamed, dry and irritated. Not just my eyes, my lungs, my gut, everything it seems is effected by smoking. Then the actual smoke itself as you said, is no good to the ocular surface regardless of how your eyes feel. So its just been a better overall situation for me to vape.

Hope you're doing well!

[farmgirl]

With summer coming up and of course more forest fires we all need to be aware of this:

Massive plumes of smoke created by wildfire can damage your lungs, but were you aware that the smoke can cause damage to your eyes as well?Exposure to smoke on any level can cause irritation to your eyes—symptoms such as burning sensations, redness, and tearing up are commonplace with exposure to smoke. Robert N. Weinreb MD, a distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California San Diego, claims that “even a healthy person’s eyes can be bothered” when it comes to smoke exposure and, particularly in the case of those with dry eye syndrome, “exacerbate symptoms.”

What causes this irritation is the existence of small particles, which are two and one half microns or less in size (for reference: 25,400 microns = 1 inch), within the smoke that get stuck in your eyes. These particles are too small to be seen with the naked eye. These particles can remain floating in the air long after the smoke has cleared, so if you are around fire or a place where large amounts of fire have been recently, many firefighters recommend the use of protective eyewear.

And of course at the time I was suffering last year I did have my goggles on but it was not enough.

[Crazyfreeflyer]

Hi, Pretty interesting subject
I had 1 lasik 2 prk , because the first lassie gave me aberration , dry eye and erosion . I use to smoke a lot and love it. And now if i smoke I have bad vision for months. Dowork123 So you say that Vaping allow you to have less dryness and you can still use THC??? ( that my main question)
Have you tried edible as oil ?
I am really looking for a solution to be able to relaxe with THC without damaging my eye. I didn't really try vaping.
smoking and vaporising didn't seem to work and made my eyes bad
Edible i tried once and didn't seems to damage too much but i dont have access to this . It s friend who gave me some dropes

[Guest]

Hi, Pretty interesting subject
I had 1 lasik 2 prk , because the first lassie gave me aberration , dry eye and erosion . I use to smoke a lot and love it. And now if i smoke I have bad vision for months. Dowork123 So you say that Vaping allow you to have less dryness and you can still use THC??? ( that my main question)
Have you tried edible as oil ?
I am really looking for a solution to be able to relaxe with THC without damaging my eye. I didn't really try vaping.
smoking and vaporising didn't seem to work and made my eyes bad
Edible i tried once and didn't seems to damage too much but i dont have access to this . It s friend who gave me some dropes

Hey, I'm sorry you can't enjoy cannabis like before...it's still a bit of a struggle for me too but I can't live without pot, dry eyes or not. So that being said...

ive noticed everyone is different. I'll share my issues. Smoking pot was a no no...takingba dab off a quartz nail, that was a no no. However, I had a volcano...and I had the assumption that the smoking in and of itself was causing inflammation. So I busted out the volcano and started vaping all my weed...eyes still got dry but 70% less. Normally I hate vaping to be honest, I don't find it strong enough because I smoke a lot of hash. So then I decided to buy a vaporizer for hash, that was huge also because again, I could consume hash and at the exact temperature necessary no guessing with a torch and a nail.

now about edibles/tinctures...I don't like them anymore and I loved edibles in the past. Now however, they're so strong and last so long, that the dryness is very strong and lasts very long. So it's worse for me. My dry eye gets worse when I'm high, but afterward, I feel back to baseline with my eyes...so it's transient. My doctor that makes my serum tears suggested I keep using cannabis. I was shocked actually. But my corneas look really healthy, I have MGD and EBMD and I think some of my issues are sensory related..nerve related.

[Crazyfreeflyer]

When you Say vaping , you mean vaporising?
But Have you tried vaping , like HTC juice , like in an electronic cigaret?

[Crazyfreeflyer]

Hey, I'm sorry you can't enjoy cannabis like before...it's still a bit of a struggle for me too but I can't live without pot, dry eyes or not. So that being said...

ive noticed everyone is different. I'll share my issues. Smoking pot was a no no...takingba dab off a quartz nail, that was a no no. However, I had a volcano...and I had the assumption that the smoking in and of itself was causing inflammation. So I busted out the volcano and started vaping all my weed...eyes still got dry but 70% less. Normally I hate vaping to be honest, I don't find it strong enough because I smoke a lot of hash. So then I decided to buy a vaporizer for hash, that was huge also because again, I could consume hash and at the exact temperature necessary no guessing with a torch and a nail.

now about edibles/tinctures...I don't like them anymore and I loved edibles in the past. Now however, they're so strong and last so long, that the dryness is very strong and lasts very long. So it's worse for me. My dry eye gets worse when I'm high, but afterward, I feel back to baseline with my eyes...so it's transient. My doctor that makes my serum tears suggested I keep using cannabis. I was shocked actually. But my corneas look really healthy, I have MGD and EBMD and I think some of my issues are sensory related..nerve related.

insteresting article here: https://www.zamnesia.com/blog-red-ey...-about-it-n432
blood pressure could be an idea. if we found something making the blood pressure a bit higher while smoking maybe it would help . ( just trying to find a safe way to smoke)

also i was wondering , if there was anything else in this world which could replace canabis , maybe mushroom or else to relax and get high . I dont find any good idea to relax at least during the week end

[Guest]

When you Say vaping , you mean vaporising?
But Have you tried vaping , like HTC juice , like in an electronic cigaret?

Yeah, did you read my response? I absolutely vape hash oil out of a puffco peak. I don't use cartridges, but cartridges are weaker due to the addition of VG or PEG.

[loveheals]

Hey Dowork, saw your post when I was googling thc and dry eye and had to respond. I also got bad dry eye after getting dust/debris in my eyes. First mowing the lawn and then off roading. I was a regular cannabis smoker up til that point. No doctor I went to could figure out how to help me until just recently I found a holistic dr who said mine is mainly from blepharitis and gave me a protocol to do that seems to be helping (it’s only been a couple weeks). I’ve been on serum tears which helped a little and have plugs. I didn’t use cannabis for a year cause I was scared it would make my dry eye worse since it def did when it first started. But now things have improved and recently started vaping again and it just dries my eyes out a little temporarily then back to baseline like you said. Anyway just had to reply cause it’s weird it happened in a similar fashion for both of us. Every Dr I’ve seen has basically shrugged their shoulders at me and told me they don’t know how to help me. I’ve been on anxiety meds the last year cause the dry eye has been so bad and basically ruining my life. Now that I’m vaping again my anxiety is so much better and I think I can get off some meds. Did the drs you saw ever give you an explanation as to why the dust gave you dry eye?

[Guest]

Hey Dowork, saw your post when I was googling thc and dry eye and had to respond. I also got bad dry eye after getting dust/debris in my eyes. First mowing the lawn and then off roading. I was a regular cannabis smoker up til that point. No doctor I went to could figure out how to help me until just recently I found a holistic dr who said mine is mainly from blepharitis and gave me a protocol to do that seems to be helping (it’s only been a couple weeks). I’ve been on serum tears which helped a little and have plugs. I didn’t use cannabis for a year cause I was scared it would make my dry eye worse since it def did when it first started. But now things have improved and recently started vaping again and it just dries my eyes out a little temporarily then back to baseline like you said. Anyway just had to reply cause it’s weird it happened in a similar fashion for both of us. Every Dr I’ve seen has basically shrugged their shoulders at me and told me they don’t know how to help me. I’ve been on anxiety meds the last year cause the dry eye has been so bad and basically ruining my life. Now that I’m vaping again my anxiety is so much better and I think I can get off some meds. Did the drs you saw ever give you an explanation as to why the dust gave you dry eye?

Im glad you found my post, I wrote this for you actually. I was searching so much and couldn't find anything about weed and dry eyes. So I figured I'd write something. I had the same problem...no one knew what to do with me for months. That's another reason this got so out of control imho. I believe the pot didn't help initially, it made things worse. And like you, I ended up on xanax because I couldn't mentally handle what was happening to me...I couldn't smoke pot and that's how I regulate my mood. So now I'm sitting here withdrawaing and tapering from xanax very slowly. Not a situation I wanted to be in. Our stories are very much alike, crazy.

Ok, here's what I've gathered based on everything that's happened. The dust/dirt shouldn't have caused my abrasions, but it did. The first dr to diagnose me with dry eye said to me, you had to have been having problems before this. I snapped back instantly and said no, but when I thought about it, he was right. So the dust didn't cause my dry eye, I already had dry eye, it wasn't bad, I didn't really have symptoms, but it was there. Then once the dust got in...there were no tears to clear it out. So the dust sat on my eyelid and just scratched my corneas over and over again. It took almost a week from getting the dust in the eye for my vision to change and pain to set in. I didn't even realize what was happening, I forgot about the incident that caused it. I've had that happen so many times in my life I thought nothing of it.

so that's my story...I had dry eyes, I just didn't realize it. But looking back, now I can see it. My eyes would burn a little if I read on my phone too long, my vision got worse as the day progressed, I had some slight photophobia. But this stuff happened so gradually, and it didn't impact my life at all, I had no clue I had dry eye.

Im sorry you're dealing with this also. I'm on serum tears also, I sleep with my eyes open, so I have to wear shields at night, it's been a constant issue since it happened. I'm glad you can smoke again and feel somewhat decent.

[loveheals]

Im glad you found my post, I wrote this for you actually. I was searching so much and couldn't find anything about weed and dry eyes. So I figured I'd write something. I had the same problem...no one knew what to do with me for months. That's another reason this got so out of control imho. I believe the pot didn't help initially, it made things worse. And like you, I ended up on xanax because I couldn't mentally handle what was happening to me...I couldn't smoke pot and that's how I regulate my mood. So now I'm sitting here withdrawaing and tapering from xanax very slowly. Not a situation I wanted to be in. Our stories are very much alike, crazy.

Ok, here's what I've gathered based on everything that's happened. The dust/dirt shouldn't have caused my abrasions, but it did. The first dr to diagnose me with dry eye said to me, you had to have been having problems before this. I snapped back instantly and said no, but when I thought about it, he was right. So the dust didn't cause my dry eye, I already had dry eye, it wasn't bad, I didn't really have symptoms, but it was there. Then once the dust got in...there were no tears to clear it out. So the dust sat on my eyelid and just scratched my corneas over and over again. It took almost a week from getting the dust in the eye for my vision to change and pain to set in. I didn't even realize what was happening, I forgot about the incident that caused it. I've had that happen so many times in my life I thought nothing of it.

so that's my story...I had dry eyes, I just didn't realize it. But looking back, now I can see it. My eyes would burn a little if I read on my phone too long, my vision got worse as the day progressed, I had some slight photophobia. But this stuff happened so gradually, and it didn't impact my life at all, I had no clue I had dry eye.

Im sorry you're dealing with this also. I'm on serum tears also, I sleep with my eyes open, so I have to wear shields at night, it's been a constant issue since it happened. I'm glad you can smoke again and feel somewhat decent.

yeah I totally feel you, I sleep with my eyes open too but I use ointment or castor oil and that seems to work fine. Dry eye is such a nightmare and people just don’t really get it. I don’t think I had eye abrasions like you, at least the drs never said they saw any. It’s very possible I had drier eyes before all this happened just from smoking almost every day for over 15 years lol. But I never had any eye problems before that. That dr I just saw thinks I got bacteria in my eyes and that blepharitis is the main problem so hopefully I can get it worked out eventually. I feel for you on getting off Xanax, not easy. I was on it for a while but it started making my anxiety worse cause I had to take it so often. Now I’m on klonopin which is much mellower and easier to get off of, for me at least.
I’ve been having crazy vision problems off and on since this all happened too, like debilitating, but that’s been getting better over the past few months so hopefully I’m on the mend. I have hope that I can figure this thing out and resume a normal life and not just have to accept that I’m going to have it the rest of my life like most drs I’ve seen have told me. Thanks for writing this post! It definitely has helped me feel a little less alone in my struggle

[Guest]

yeah I totally feel you, I sleep with my eyes open too but I use ointment or castor oil and that seems to work fine. Dry eye is such a nightmare and people just don’t really get it. I don’t think I had eye abrasions like you, at least the drs never said they saw any. It’s very possible I had drier eyes before all this happened just from smoking almost every day for over 15 years lol. But I never had any eye problems before that. That dr I just saw thinks I got bacteria in my eyes and that blepharitis is the main problem so hopefully I can get it worked out eventually. I feel for you on getting off Xanax, not easy. I was on it for a while but it started making my anxiety worse cause I had to take it so often. Now I’m on klonopin which is much mellower and easier to get off of, for me at least.
I’ve been having crazy vision problems off and on since this all happened too, like debilitating, but that’s been getting better over the past few months so hopefully I’m on the mend. I have hope that I can figure this thing out and resume a normal life and not just have to accept that I’m going to have it the rest of my life like most drs I’ve seen have told me. Thanks for writing this post! It definitely has helped me feel a little less alone in my struggle

Yeah, I appreciate you responding because it makes me feel a little better too, knowing I'm not alone.

so my abrasions were almost subclinical, almost impossible to see with staining. You may have had a similar situation. Or maybe you didn't have an abrasion, but the garbage that went in your eye made your MGD worse....as your dr kind of suggested. That's what I believe happened to me.

I dont want to be a downer, I genuinely hope you get this resolved, but it seems like a forever thing, at least for me.

I want to say this too....I genuinely believe smoking pot all day long for years can lead to MGD. Why? Because when your tear production is reduced, you can't wash away the normal bacteria on your eye and it overpopulates...then it infests the glands. Every doctor told me no way pot did this, but I believe it contributed to it for sure. You just can't take a drug, weather you think it's safe or not, because there will be consequences. I never throttled my use. I'm bipolar so it was the way I managed my mood and it worked fantastically. However, looking back, I wish I would have moderated my use. Stayed with flower, not smoke so much hash, not smoke so much period.

if you think about it, check in with me on here every once in a while and keep me updated. I hope you feel better!

[loveheals]

Yeah, I appreciate you responding because it makes me feel a little better too, knowing I'm not alone.

so my abrasions were almost subclinical, almost impossible to see with staining. You may have had a similar situation. Or maybe you didn't have an abrasion, but the garbage that went in your eye made your MGD worse....as your dr kind of suggested. That's what I believe happened to me.

I dont want to be a downer, I genuinely hope you get this resolved, but it seems like a forever thing, at least for me.

I want to say this too....I genuinely believe smoking pot all day long for years can lead to MGD. Why? Because when your tear production is reduced, you can't wash away the normal bacteria on your eye and it overpopulates...then it infests the glands. Every doctor told me no way pot did this, but I believe it contributed to it for sure. You just can't take a drug, weather you think it's safe or not, because there will be consequences. I never throttled my use. I'm bipolar so it was the way I managed my mood and it worked fantastically. However, looking back, I wish I would have moderated my use. Stayed with flower, not smoke so much hash, not smoke so much period.

if you think about it, check in with me on here every once in a while and keep me updated. I hope you feel better!

thank you! I definitely will. Thanks for all the info and I definitely believe pot use can do it although I know lots of people who smoke way more than I ever did and have no issues like that so I don’t know. But it’s no coincidence. I like to think our bodies are capable of healing any condition given the right circumstances so I’m trying pretty much any and everything. My intention is to be one of the success stories! Don’t give up hope!

[Guest]

thank you! I definitely will. Thanks for all the info and I definitely believe pot use can do it although I know lots of people who smoke way more than I ever did and have no issues like that so I don’t know. But it’s no coincidence. I like to think our bodies are capable of healing any condition given the right circumstances so I’m trying pretty much any and everything. My intention is to be one of the success stories! Don’t give up hope!

I'll say this, I don't think pot caused this...but I don't think it helped either. I think I'm finally narrowing it down. A doctor at UIC thinks it's my thyroid and looking at my past bloodwork, I think that's correct. My thyroid hormones are all super low, like just a notch above acceptable. I'm bound to find an answer soon I hope. Good luck to you as well, keep fighting, look at your hormones, keep pressing doctors for answers.

[Guest]

Just wanted to update this thread. I have found out what’s going on, it’s most completely related to not closing my eyes when I sleep. So I’ve been taping them shut at night and that’s finally got things turning around.

As for the pot, I’m finally able to actually enjoy it again. I know a lot of people use cannabis for inflammation, however, my situation was so bad, the pot just made it worse. In the sense that, I just felt the inflammation more than had I not used the drug. Now that I’m on steroids and I’m taping my eyes shut, smoking pot is actually very soothing to my eyes. They’re still dry, but what was being amplified was pain from my dried out cornea. Even my lids are doing better because they’re sealed at night. I’m finally producing clear oil from my glands. I can blink with almost no discomfort...but I still get sticky eyelids, my caruncle burns a bit sometimes and I still have a regimen to follow. I’m just glad that regimen is finally offering relief.

I genuinely believe marijuana could help some dry eye sufferers. I never thought I’d get to this point. To be honest, just like the person above, I thought smoking weed caused this. I’m almost certain now that it didn’t. When I consume weed now, it actually makes my eyes feel more supple, just overall more comfortable. I’m very happy about that. I’m finally turning things around and I can get my life back. I have a few other things to tackle, I have to finish coming off xanax (currently under .5mg) and I just started tapering my opiate use (I cut my dose by 10% yesterday, felt terrible, feeling good today though). My goal is to be clean by April 2019. Had I been able to keep using pot, I never would have taken these drugs. But that’s in the past, time to tackle this thing with a nice slow taper.