Eyes...wow.

[BlackShoesBlackSocks]

So my eyes have really taken a beating for multiple reasons. The left constantly waters and hurts. ENT's opinion was allergy migraines, no antihistamines work, sometimes they may make the eye less watery but the pain can be even worse, they also seem to make the blood vessels look more dialted which eventually just makes everything worse.

 

The dark circles and puffiness just add to it, but the watering and aching eye is somehting l am hoping will really improve if this may be at all gluten related. With drops for dry eye, usually l'm just left with a clump of the drops in my inner eye and no real improvement.

 

l have had optic aura so l thought it could be migraine, my headaches are more dull and not very migraine like. l am hoping it's not Sjoregn's syndrome because surgery is sometimes required for the tear duct issue and even then it may not be resolved.

 

Anyone have a general, constant pain that seems sinus related but very much behind the eye as a symptom that improved?

[Gemini]

I hate to say it but you should be tested for Sjogren's.  I have Sjogren's and yes, your eyeballs can hurt because they get so dry and allergy season does not help at all.   There is blood work for Sjogren's and it's antibody testing but like Celiac, you can still have Sjogren's and test negative for it.  Do you have dry mouth also?

Most docs are useless when trying to figure out Sjogren's.  I knew I had it before they did. I use Restasis eye drops every day and they help about 70%.  My eyes always get worse during allergy season, no matter what I do. I just hibernate in humid weather at home with the AC running to keep comfortable.

What surgery are you referring to regarding Sjogren's?  They can sometimes try punctal plugs and that is done in office and it's easy to do.  They did not help me at all so I never had them done a second time.

[BlackShoesBlackSocks]

9 minutes ago, Gemini said:

I hate to say it but you should be tested for Sjogren's.  I have Sjogren's and yes, your eyeballs can hurt because they get so dry and allergy season does not help at all.   There is blood work for Sjogren's and it's antibody testing but like Celiac, you can still have Sjogren's and test negative for it.  Do you have dry mouth also?

Most docs are useless when trying to figure out Sjogren's.  I knew I had it before they did. I use Restasis eye drops every day and they help about 70%.  My eyes always get worse during allergy season, no matter what I do. I just hibernate in humid weather at home with the AC running to keep comfortable.

What surgery are you referring to regarding Sjogren's?  They can sometimes try punctal plugs and that is done in office and it's easy to do.  They did not help me at all so I never had them done a second time.

l didnt get too deep into reading about the surgery and really  blocked out the possibility of having it when l read that sometimes it's necessary. It may be just plugs that was called 'surgery'/

 

Have you found anything that works? It seems like it's very hard to treat and in many cases can be related to  Celiac, but by the time some of the (damage?) to the tear duct has taken place,  going gluten free may not help.

 

l did find some migraine meds helped, especially muscle relaxers and also nasal Lidocaine at the ENT's office. But these are all things l can't use daily, l would kill for a home version of the numbing nasal spray.

[Gemini]

The only thing that I use is the Restasis eye drops (RX) and OTC hydrating drops.  Did you have damage to your tear duct?

I found that once I went gluten free, the eye problems got better. But that most likely is because the longer I ate gluten free, the more I tamed the systemic inflammation down and that helped with my other autoimmune issues.  It does not cure any of these problems but the symptoms became easier to deal with. Until the humidity sets in (I am allergic to mold) and then all bets are off and I become a hermit.   

I remember the year before diagnosis of Celiac and I was miserable.  My eyes were so bad. They were so insanely dry and light sensitive I had to wear my sunglasses everywhere. I still have those problems but they are much better so I can live with it most days.  There really is no systemic medication at the moment that will help without serious side effects so the eye drops are all I use. 

If they want to try the punctal plugs, do not sweat it at all. They use a numbing eye drop and put them in right in the office.  I never felt a thing.....really, it was a piece of gluten free cake!

[BlackShoesBlackSocks]

45 minutes ago, Gemini said:

The only thing that I use is the Restasis eye drops (RX) and OTC hydrating drops.  Did you have damage to your tear duct?

I found that once I went gluten free, the eye problems got better. But that most likely is because the longer I ate gluten free, the more I tamed the systemic inflammation down and that helped with my other autoimmune issues.  It does not cure any of these problems but the symptoms became easier to deal with. Until the humidity sets in (I am allergic to mold) and then all bets are off and I become a hermit.   

I remember the year before diagnosis of Celiac and I was miserable.  My eyes were so bad. They were so insanely dry and light sensitive I had to wear my sunglasses everywhere. I still have those problems but they are much better so I can live with it most days.  There really is no systemic medication at the moment that will help without serious side effects so the eye drops are all I use. 

If they want to try the punctal plugs, do not sweat it at all. They use a numbing eye drop and put them in right in the office.  I never felt a thing.....really, it was a piece of gluten free cake!

l have a suspected mold allergy but i may be using that liberally...as far as l know im not allergic to molds in foods, like tomatoes or bread or anything. just very severe reactions to rain and humidity.

 

l'm actually headed to the urgent care right now, feeling fine but l've been looking for a place to  do an ''ear wash'' (wax removal) for a realllly long time, ENT didnt have the machine, this place does.

l'm going to ask for an eyewash too but l think even getting my ears flushed after years of allergies and may help the headache sensation.It's sprobably going to be very gross vut l  have wanted it done,lol.

 

l  tend to think a lot of discomfort is related, not to say ear  blockage could be a cause here butyou just never know what might make you feel better.

[Gemini]

4 minutes ago, BlackShoesBlackSocks said:

l have a suspected mold allergy but i may be using that liberally...as far as l know im not allergic to molds in foods, like tomatoes or bread or anything. just very severe reactions to rain and humidity.

 

l'm actually headed to the urgent care right now, feeling fine but l've been looking for a place to  do an ''ear wash'' (wax removal) for a realllly long time, ENT didnt have the machine, this place does.

l'm going to ask for an eyewash too but l think even getting my ears flushed after years of allergies and may help the headache sensation.It's sprobably going to be very gross vut l  have wanted it done,lol.

 

l  tend to think a lot of discomfort is related, not to say ear  blockage could be a cause here butyou just never know what might make you feel better.

I am allergic to mold like in rain and humidity, not food wise, although I really try not to eat any moldy bread.    If you have severe symptoms of allergy on a warm, rainy day or the day after when it's sunny and all those mold spores let go, then you probably have a mold allergy.  It's very common.

 

[celiac sharon]

If I may offer one other suggestion. It won't fix your allergies by any means, but my ophthalmologist told me to take flax oil every day. It's not a cure but it absolutely eased the symptoms for me of dry eyes. Still have to use drops at times and I am most affected by cold. But I really found out just how much it was helping when I decided I didn't want to take those big gel caps. Big mistake, I was miserable and it took me a while of taking it to get back to baseline

[BlackShoesBlackSocks]

3 hours ago, celiac sharon said:

If I may offer one other suggestion. It won't fix your allergies by any means, but my ophthalmologist told me to take flax oil every day. It's not a cure but it absolutely eased the symptoms for me of dry eyes. Still have to use drops at times and I am most affected by cold. But I really found out just how much it was helping when I decided I didn't want to take those big gel caps. Big mistake, I was miserable and it took me a while of taking it to get back to baseline

l will definitely try  it, l think allergy meds make dry eye worse so l was hoping for something to take internally that might reduce it. Today l got RX Zaditor and even if it works, can't be good for dry eye.

[gilligan]

I had the same problem long before I knew I had celiac.  Restasis did not help me at all.  I was referred to an eye specialist, and he was very helpful.  He said to continue with Restasis, but I told him it was a waste of time.  He told me that it doesn't work for everyone.  He also gave me a Bruder Mask, which is an eye mask with beads in it that you warm in the microwave. Put over your eyes 4x daily for about 10 min.  Then, massage your eyes gently - the warmth melts the fat in your eye glands and massaging helps disperse it over the surface. You can also get it on Amazon or just use a warm, wet compress.  I was told to use preservative free (very important) otc eye drops and a gel at bedtime.  He also gave me  an otc supplement called HydroEye.  There are similar ones under another name - it's essentially flax oil. Also, it's important to wash your eyes daily with an otc product called OcuVue Lid Scrub.  They are pricey but work well.  A clean warm cloth and Johnson Baby Shampoo works as well.  This has made a tremendous difference for me.

 

[Gemini]

All of the above mentioned treatments are worth trying but I have done almost all of them with little to no improvement.  If you just have dry eye caused by anything other than Sjogren's, they might help but if you have Sjogren's with a lot of collateral damage to your glands, don't expect a lot of improvement. As far as using preservative free drops, as long as you keep the tip clean and don't touch your eye, then using the bottle with the preservative will be fine.  There was no difference when I tried the preservative free ones and they are a PITA to carry around.

Do people not wash their eye lids?    I just use gentle soap and water because that works well and you don't have to buy more stuff to use that costs more.

 

 

[Gemini]

15 hours ago, BlackShoesBlackSocks said:

l will definitely try  it, l think allergy meds make dry eye worse so l was hoping for something to take internally that might reduce it. Today l got RX Zaditor and even if it works, can't be good for dry eye.

Zaditor is OTC now and that is what I use for my eyes during allergy season.  It works well and I don't worry about it drying out my eyes even more because you only use 1 drop in each eye, 1-2 times per day.  They help tremendously with the allergic response so well worth using!  You can try some of the supplements mentioned for dry eye as you never know who they might help.

[BlackShoesBlackSocks]

On 23/08/2017 at 0:28 PM, Gemini said:

Zaditor is OTC now and that is what I use for my eyes during allergy season.  It works well and I don't worry about it drying out my eyes even more because you only use 1 drop in each eye, 1-2 times per day.  They help tremendously with the allergic response so well worth using!  You can try some of the supplements mentioned for dry eye as you never know who they might help.

l actually got RXed Zaditor which is great because it's expensive, lve been using two drops though so will use one.

 

l don't know if anyone else feels like the blood vessels in one or both eyes look dilated or broken sometimes but l finally bought some real Sudafed and it does seem to help, although l guess l just have wonky sinuses.