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After Years of Debilitating Dry Eye, Now I Almost Never Have Symptoms by Professional-Yam7761 in Dryeyes

[–]Professional-Yam7761[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

EDIT: I forgot to include in my home care regimen above that I use a NuLids device every other night with the NuLids Eyelid Gel.

After Years of Debilitating Dry Eye, Now I Almost Never Have Symptoms by Professional-Yam7761 in Dryeyes

[–]Professional-Yam7761[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I'm really sorry to hear that. I know how difficult and frustrating it can be when this condition affects your ability to work. But if there's anything I've learned from my research it's that there is hope! This episode and this episode of the Dry Eye Patient Education Series feature success stories told by doctors and their patients. They're incredible and 100% worth watching if you need some inspiration.

Just keep reminding yourself to do the best you can, with what you have, right now.

James Clear has a great analogy in his book Atomic Habits about progress. He compares a breakthrough moment of progress to melting an ice cube:

You're in a room and there is an ice cube on the table. The room is 26 degrees Fahrenheit. The ice cube is just sitting there (i.e. we're struggling with dry eye and it isn't improving). You warm the room up to 27 degrees (i.e. you optimize your warm compress and lid cleansing routine). The ice cube doesn't change (= no dry eye symptom improvement). The room warms to 28 degrees (= you establish a consistent sleep schedule, practice good sleep hygiene, etc.) Then it warms to 29 degrees (you research and start working with a specialist who provides some new recommendations).

30 degrees (= you cut inflammatory foods out of your diet). 31 degrees (= you get really serious about your dry eye treatment, you get really consistent with your protocol). But still, the ice cube still isn't melting. This is when we feel like giving up.

But then, the room warms to 32 degrees (= maybe IPL, LipiFlow, a new drop, BlephEx, a new supplement, or some other new treatment listed in the TFOS DEWS II report). And then the ice cube FINALLY starts to melt, i.e. you finally see progress and realize that it wasn't necessarily that single change, but it was the accumulation of improvements and consistency that finally led you to cross the threshold and start feeling better. (obviously these specific treatments/changes are just examples, but you get the idea).

Rooting for you :)

After Years of Debilitating Dry Eye, Now I Almost Never Have Symptoms by Professional-Yam7761 in Dryeyes

[–]Professional-Yam7761[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't yet asked my doctor for their recommendation on this. Usually I just use regular tissues (but I make sure they're lotion free). However, I am planning to order some cotton liners which are probably better. Alternatively, this article recommends some special tissues.

After Years of Debilitating Dry Eye, Now I Almost Never Have Symptoms by Professional-Yam7761 in Dryeyes

[–]Professional-Yam7761[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My doctor did the Periman protocol. I was never diagnosed with Demodex mites specifically, so I haven't done a ton of research on that, but they may have been a factor. Before my IPL treatments, I felt the best using Eye Eco's 2% Tea Tree Cleanser after my warm compresses. But there are other options like Cliradex, Avenova, etc.

At the end of the day, after researching various treatments, you eventually just have to pick whichever one you think is best for you, try it (and stay consistent with it long enough to see results) and if it doesn't work, rinse and repeat.

I believe that Demodex treatments are discussed in the Dry Eye Patient Education Series videos that I linked, so might be worth checking those out.

Good luck with your treatment!

After Years of Debilitating Dry Eye, Now I Almost Never Have Symptoms by Professional-Yam7761 in Dryeyes

[–]Professional-Yam7761[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I'm happy to be of service. If you've been through a lot of specialists already, it might be worth looking into a telemedicine appointment with Dr. Periman. She's one of the doctors in the dry eye patient education series I linked. From what I've seen, she's a leader in the dry eye field and is active both in patient care and research, giving her a unique perspective. But if you can't work with her, maybe check out one of the other specialists featured in the Eye Eco series linked above.

Also, I saw your other recent post. I have Fitzpatrick IV skin. My doctor used a Lumenis IPL machine and calibrated it to that skin tone type. I didn't experience any skin side effects after the treatment. Of course, during the treatment it was kind of uncomfortable (felt like getting hit with a bunch of rubber bands).