Dry eyes and cannabis, pot, weed in 2018

[AlexanderParrish]

As someone who has struggled with depression for a large portion of my life, I can say that cannabis has been an invaluable tool in helping me cope with my symptoms. I have found that using cannabis can help me feel more relaxed, less anxious, and more at ease with myself and the world around me. I am fortunate to have access to a number of high-quality dispensaries like Edmonton Alberta Dispensary, that offer a wide range of cannabis products. Whether I am looking for flower, edibles, or concentrates, I can always find something that meets my needs.

[gilles]

I have read some very interesting ideas in this topic. First of all, the fact that MGD is effectively treated with anti-inflammatory solutions (e.g. azithromycine and minocycline for anti-inflammation characteristics rather than only anti-bacterial), could potentially lead to the interesting path with the known anti-inflammatory qualities that CBD has to offer.

On the other hand, I had already read some things about floppy eyelid syndrome and Nocturnal lagophthalmos being a reason to result in inflammation of the eyes resulting in the inflammation of the eyelids (meibomian glands in specific). I might try the taping of the eyes at night myself as I remember my first symptoms of posterior MGD being my left eyelid hanging a bit lower (and specificly in the evenings).
I'm interested if the eye-irritation is caused by the friction with the pillow at night (as we all know a person moves a lot in his sleep), and or the bacteria of e.g. clogged hair follicles coming into contact with the meibomian glands (eye lids) and resulting in infections.

[IanWelchPl]

Well i was also suffering with dry eye problem actually this is mostly cause of the lenz that we use for the party wear or as a contact lens we used the dry eye prblem is mostly because of this reason but the cbd benefits are very good for this problem. But you guys also share good information about this major problem !!!

Cheers !!

this is so interesting because I just started seeing a new dr and he has me on steroids and taping my eyes shut too! The steroids seem to be helping a lot but I’m not noticing much of a difference with the taping. He also wants me to try restasis but I’m super hesitant cause I tried xiidra once and it seemed to make my dry eye worse. I tried the restasis last night for the first time and my eyes burned for hours. I’m hoping the steroids will continue to help. Glad you are feeling so much better tho! Just thought I would chime in cause again our stories are so similar I’m going to look into the tape Rebecca recommended cause the kind I’m using is really uncomfortable to take off. I just wish it would all go away! Just want to enjoy the wind in my face again without special glasses lol

The mepitac tape is the only tape I’ve been able to use without a reaction. Good stuff!

I was allergic to restasis...it wasn’t helping, it was hurting actually. Yeah, I’m pretty sure st this point I have sleep apnea and floppy eyelid syndrome. When I pull up on my upper lids, they stretch like a rubber band. So I sleep with my eyes open. I’ve been taping consistently for about a hair less than two weeks. My eyes are way better...not perfect, but mouth more tolerable. I’m still mentally having a hard time with the change...but I shouldn’t be upset honestly.

I hope you’re doing well and this works for you. It was important for me to make sure the tape covered from nose to past my eyes onto the temple. I have to make sure the eye is completely sealed, so I have to check after I apply the tape. Because I can still open my eye sometimes. I put gel in my eye right before I tape (oasis tears plus) then I put the tape on. Sometimes the gel spills out and loosens the tape. If your eye opens even for a little bit, you won’t get much benefit from this. At least I didn’t. So just make sure you’re sealed 100%. I also wear a sleep mask over the tape so I don’t rip it off.

Good luck and thank you for updating this thread. I think it’s important for us to share our experiences. You’re awesome, hope you get better soon!

[loveheals]

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.

this is so interesting because I just started seeing a new dr and he has me on steroids and taping my eyes shut too! The steroids seem to be helping a lot but I’m not noticing much of a difference with the taping. He also wants me to try restasis but I’m super hesitant cause I tried xiidra once and it seemed to make my dry eye worse. I tried the restasis last night for the first time and my eyes burned for hours. I’m hoping the steroids will continue to help. Glad you are feeling so much better tho! Just thought I would chime in cause again our stories are so similar I’m going to look into the tape Rebecca recommended cause the kind I’m using is really uncomfortable to take off. I just wish it would all go away! Just want to enjoy the wind in my face again without special glasses lol

This is a huge and overlooked/undertreated area of dry eye. Nocturnal lagophthalmos is extremely common but for most people I don't believe it's a serious problem. It's when we get the "cluster effect" of several different dry eye risk factors that the poor eyelid closure can turn into a huge issue. One of the reasons I have been so excited about the EyeLocc strips we have at the shop is that it makes a much easier introduction to the idea of taping lids shut than using actual tape... it's a more user friendly approach meaning people are more likely to try it and doctors are more likely to recommend it if they think patients are going to be 'compliant'. - I'm hearing from people who have chronically red eyes that are improving, or who are sleeping through the night for the first time in ages. Unfortunately for some people the adhesive is not working for their skin at all but at least it gets the idea across and then they can move on to more skin friendly tapes *if* the concept is working.

Not to distract from the main theme of this thread, just glad to see you're seeing progress by addressing the lids.

Not detracting at all, this is the purpose of the thread. When the doctor first saw my eyes after the abrasion he said to me, do you have any dystrophies in your family...because it’s in the exact same spot in both sides. That statement makes complete sense to me now. Every doctor thought it was a dystrophy, but they saw that “island” because the eye was exposed to air on both sides, same spot. This made it difficult for the epithelium to properly adhere...that’s why it never healed properly.

It took 7 doctors before someone finally said, after my third erosion, I think you’re skeeping with your eyes open and there’s a vent possibly above your head. That’s when I started with bandages and goggles, the goggles gave me a worse erosion, the bandages prevented erosions, but my cornea was still sooooo dry and painful. Once I got the eyeloccs, what you said was 100% accurate. It made me realize, this is the solution. I am allergic to the adhesive too sadly...so I’m buying different tape now to find a better solution.

Let me also add, I’m literally allergic to everything. I needed ointments, but they cause issues in and of themselves. Now that my corneas are much better, still working on the right eye, I can use gels. Which removed another irritant. This whole thing has been an exercise in fine tuning. I knew I needed eye protection...but it’s taken me 5 months to figure out the best way to keep them closed. Another reason I’m thankful I have a dr that understands dry eye and has me on compounded methylpred for 6 months...he understands, as I’ve found out, you need to use preservative free steroids somewhat liberally until the tear dysfunction has been set straight. In my case, eye closure at night. Once I can heal really well, when I come off the steroids, the hope is that the new environment won’t lend itself to tons of inflammation. I’m hoping for that at least.

I have no idea how good I can get..I’m hopijg I can get even better. Last night was the first night I found a really solid combination of what to do. Gel in my eyes, tape the eye immediately from the nose just past the lid line and then cover with sleep mask. Remove and repeat as needed. I only woke up once last night AND I got to sleep in my side. I’m hoping in a month or two, once I get a better tape, I will see more improvement. Again, I’m really going for that.

Thank you for this site and for the shop, saved me, literally.

EDIT: Forgot to mention...I also agree nocturnal lagopthalmos is probably not an issue for most people. I believe I was sleeping with my eyes open for a long time before the injury. I had dry eyes prior to the abrasion...but as you said, that incident caused my sleep issues to cause a much greater problem.

[Rebecca Petris]

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.

This is a huge and overlooked/undertreated area of dry eye. Nocturnal lagophthalmos is extremely common but for most people I don't believe it's a serious problem. It's when we get the "cluster effect" of several different dry eye risk factors that the poor eyelid closure can turn into a huge issue. One of the reasons I have been so excited about the EyeLocc strips we have at the shop is that it makes a much easier introduction to the idea of taping lids shut than using actual tape... it's a more user friendly approach meaning people are more likely to try it and doctors are more likely to recommend it if they think patients are going to be 'compliant'. - I'm hearing from people who have chronically red eyes that are improving, or who are sleeping through the night for the first time in ages. Unfortunately for some people the adhesive is not working for their skin at all but at least it gets the idea across and then they can move on to more skin friendly tapes *if* the concept is working.

Not to distract from the main theme of this thread, just glad to see you're seeing progress by addressing the lids.

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.

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.

[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!

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]

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

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]

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?

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.