Luck with PRN fish oil?

[CJ L.]

Hi all, I've been using PRN fish oil supplement for the last six weeks for my moderate/severe MGD. I honestly can't say it's working. Does anyone have any input from their experience? The reason I ask is it's $100 US for a bottle that lasts about two months. $600/yr is a good chunk of change. Just wondering if people have seen positive results over a course of time? Thanks!

[Hokucat]

I’ve tried many different fish oils and salmon oils over the years, and frankly I don’t think it’s made much difference for me. However when I eat a very juicy/oily decent portion of salmon, my eyes always feel more moist. In fact, on the days when I eat the salmon (usually for breakfast or lunch), in the evening when I remove my scleral lenses they come off very easily. A few weeks ago three days in a row I ate the salmon, and three days in a row my eyes were more moist. It might be that the oil from eating salmon is more fresh and plentiful than the capsules, combined with the protein. I’m not sure, all I know is it works, at least to me. Costco has some very fresh, oily salmon that almost always works for me. The other day I had salmon that was not juicy/oily enough, and it didn’t do anything for me.

Do you know if your meibomian glands are blocked? If they are, fish oil, salmon oil, eating salmon or other supplements or diet changes might not help if your oils cannot get through, until you get them unblocked.

[LindaDawn]

Hi. Hokucat. I read somewhere that eating fresh fish like sardines/salmon contains tons more oils than you could ever afford to take as supplements. I have sardines every day when holidaying Spain but haven’t notice a great difference. My eyes are usually better when in Spain but I have put it down to resting eyes more but perhaps it’s the sardines I eat. So difficult with this disease to know what is working when you follow so many routines/supplements/diets. LOL.

[Hokucat]

LindaDawn , that makes sense on what you read about eating fresh fish gives way more oils than supplements, thanks for sharing that and giving me some validation to my personal experience! You’re right it’s hard to know what is working with the entire regimen/supplements/diet/meds we are on. It can help to make only one change at a time for at least a week, while keeping everything else constant. This way you can methodically test it. Keeping a daily journal detailing all this can help too. If you suspect fresh sardines or salmon might make a difference for you, perhaps that’s something to test out for a week while you’re not on vacation.

[LindaDawn]

Hi Hokucat. I do keep a journal but I find it so tedious!!! Sometimes I think you need much more than 1 week to see if something works or doesn’t. So difficult at times. My own feeling is that it will be a few things that make a difference rather just one,

[Hokucat]

Yes, sometimes it can take a couple of weeks to see if something works. I guess it depends what it is, how bad one’s condition is, etc. I totally agree the journal can be tedious! It’s a lot of trial and error. But I have to say it really helped me figure out what helped, what had no impact, and what made my condition worse. I’m very methodical personally and it was a big part of my career, and it was still challenging for me to keep up the journal, so totally understand, especially when our eyes are uncomfortable to begin with!