The situation with my dry eyes has been a roller-coaster ride. Symptoms got better for a while, but the last few months they've come back again. Not as horrible as before, so that's a plus (if there really is one, haha).
I'm going through increased bouts of blurred vision and my overall vision is waning. For one glorious week last year, my eyesight had improved to the point where I didn't need driving glasses. That gives me hope!
The only thing I can attribute the brief stint with good vision to is I didn't eat any chocolate that week. Googling for chocolate allergy info, there was an article about chocolate consumption causing vision problems in certain individuals. This is embarrassing to admit, but chocolate has been an everyday part of my life since early childhood. It's like my crack. Not for much longer, though. It's time for round two with going chocolate free!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Saturday, October 10, 2009
My TheraTears Experiment: Day 30
Here it is, day 30 of taking TheraTears capsules. There’s actually an extra one in the bottle, so I’ve decided to throw all caution to the wind and take four capsules today. (Yep, call me a risk taker, heh heh.)
So, how’re my eyes doing? The short answer is: better, but not back to normal. Guess I’m not too surprised, though. The idea of some omega 3s as being my vision savior is pretty farfetched. Still, I had hope. (Can you blame me?)
After 30 days of taking the TheraTears nutritional supplement, my eyes have a much less grittiness to them. I still get that there’s-something-in-my-eye feeling, but it’s not as annoying and not as many times during the day. Eye moisture has also improved. I’m shedding a tear here and there, but it’s not anywhere near how my eyes used to normally be before the dry eye syndrome came on the scene.
As for my blurry vision, it’s still a problem. Who knows? Maybe it’s got little to nothing to do with the dry eye problem. So I’ll be on the lookout for some other natural remedy for the blurriness. (If you know of anything, let me know; thanks.)
Another thing to note is the appearance of my eyes. Their definitely not that horrible red color like before taking the TheraTears, but the eyeballs aren’t as white as they could be. They’ve got a grayish tint to them. Wonder if there’s an eyeball whitener on the market? (Just kidding!)
So, that’s the end result of my little experiment with TheraTears capsules. Will I continue taking them? Maybe next month. For the meantime, I want to test out that “no chocolate or caffeine” idea. I’ve got a few more pieces of candy to finish off before I try that one out (some people do a purge by throwing stuff out, I eat it up—waste not, want not, right?).
If you’ve done a no chocolate/no caffeine diet before, did it improve your eye problems? Less dry eye symptoms? Sharper vision? Let me know!
So, how’re my eyes doing? The short answer is: better, but not back to normal. Guess I’m not too surprised, though. The idea of some omega 3s as being my vision savior is pretty farfetched. Still, I had hope. (Can you blame me?)
After 30 days of taking the TheraTears nutritional supplement, my eyes have a much less grittiness to them. I still get that there’s-something-in-my-eye feeling, but it’s not as annoying and not as many times during the day. Eye moisture has also improved. I’m shedding a tear here and there, but it’s not anywhere near how my eyes used to normally be before the dry eye syndrome came on the scene.
As for my blurry vision, it’s still a problem. Who knows? Maybe it’s got little to nothing to do with the dry eye problem. So I’ll be on the lookout for some other natural remedy for the blurriness. (If you know of anything, let me know; thanks.)
Another thing to note is the appearance of my eyes. Their definitely not that horrible red color like before taking the TheraTears, but the eyeballs aren’t as white as they could be. They’ve got a grayish tint to them. Wonder if there’s an eyeball whitener on the market? (Just kidding!)
So, that’s the end result of my little experiment with TheraTears capsules. Will I continue taking them? Maybe next month. For the meantime, I want to test out that “no chocolate or caffeine” idea. I’ve got a few more pieces of candy to finish off before I try that one out (some people do a purge by throwing stuff out, I eat it up—waste not, want not, right?).
If you’ve done a no chocolate/no caffeine diet before, did it improve your eye problems? Less dry eye symptoms? Sharper vision? Let me know!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
My TheraTears Experiment: Day 9
I’m beginning to see a little improvement in eye moisture with this TheraTears dietary supplement. Yesterday, I walked into a room with a ceiling fan and felt the sensation of coolness in my eyes—something I hadn’t experienced in many months.
Yes, folks, it looks like this dry eye gal is actually getting her eye moisture back. Yay!
Today I felt a layer of tear film again. This time, it was during one of my several-times-a-day eye exercise routines. As I did eye rolls, that coolness sensation hit again. How awesome is that?!
And sorry to burst anyone’s bubble, but all is not peachy keen yet. I still feel like something’s in my eyes. That gritty feeling is as strong as ever, and let me tell you, it’s annoying like the dickens. Also, the burning sensation in my eyes is still present most of the time. Fun times, right?
As far as vision goes, my eyesight is still off-and-on blurry. The double vision and blurriness could end up being part of another set of eye problems, who knows? Of course, I hope it’s part of this dry eye disease that’s been plaguing me and that it’ll go away soon. Time will tell.
All in all, I’m pretty darn pleased so far with the TheraTears capsules. Day 9 and things are headed in the right direction, which is good since the past couple of days I’ve been experiencing these yucky fish burps because of this supplement. But if a few unpleasant fishy burps can give me my tear film layers back, it’s a small price to pay. (Especially in comparison of the awful side effects of some of these prescription drugs. I don’t know about you, but sometimes the side effects sound scarier than the original disease they’re supposed to treat.)
I’m purposely leaving my everyday diet as-is and not taking any other eye health supplements while on TheraTears for the month. I’m kind of itching to try new things out just to see if that’ll get me faster results, but then I would never be 100 percent sure if TheraTears was helping my eye moisture or if it was from something else.
If my eye dry isn’t totally under control with the TheraTears once the bottle’s done with, I’m probably going to try cutting out caffeine and chocolate from my diet. I’ve cut down on the stuff since first experiencing dry eye syndrome, but I’ve read that sometimes it’s not enough to just cut back. Has anyone tried completely cutting out the caffeine and chocolate? Did it reduce your dry eye?
Yes, folks, it looks like this dry eye gal is actually getting her eye moisture back. Yay!
Today I felt a layer of tear film again. This time, it was during one of my several-times-a-day eye exercise routines. As I did eye rolls, that coolness sensation hit again. How awesome is that?!
And sorry to burst anyone’s bubble, but all is not peachy keen yet. I still feel like something’s in my eyes. That gritty feeling is as strong as ever, and let me tell you, it’s annoying like the dickens. Also, the burning sensation in my eyes is still present most of the time. Fun times, right?
As far as vision goes, my eyesight is still off-and-on blurry. The double vision and blurriness could end up being part of another set of eye problems, who knows? Of course, I hope it’s part of this dry eye disease that’s been plaguing me and that it’ll go away soon. Time will tell.
All in all, I’m pretty darn pleased so far with the TheraTears capsules. Day 9 and things are headed in the right direction, which is good since the past couple of days I’ve been experiencing these yucky fish burps because of this supplement. But if a few unpleasant fishy burps can give me my tear film layers back, it’s a small price to pay. (Especially in comparison of the awful side effects of some of these prescription drugs. I don’t know about you, but sometimes the side effects sound scarier than the original disease they’re supposed to treat.)
I’m purposely leaving my everyday diet as-is and not taking any other eye health supplements while on TheraTears for the month. I’m kind of itching to try new things out just to see if that’ll get me faster results, but then I would never be 100 percent sure if TheraTears was helping my eye moisture or if it was from something else.
If my eye dry isn’t totally under control with the TheraTears once the bottle’s done with, I’m probably going to try cutting out caffeine and chocolate from my diet. I’ve cut down on the stuff since first experiencing dry eye syndrome, but I’ve read that sometimes it’s not enough to just cut back. Has anyone tried completely cutting out the caffeine and chocolate? Did it reduce your dry eye?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
My Worst-Ever Dry Eye Experience
Like so many others with dry eye syndrome, I go through those days where my eyeballs feel like sandpaper and the burning sensation is almost enough to drive a person mad. My worst-ever dry eye experience wasn’t to do with those symptoms, though.
The day I couldn’t cry was an absolute horror for me. It was a shortly after having my second child, who refused to sleep anywhere but on me (and to this day we’re still working on that—ugh!). No one ever mentions the difficulties of adding a second child to the mix. Not being able to give my first child the attention she deserves was such an awful feeling. So, with the lack of sleep and the “guilty mom” feelings I had going on, a good cry was in order.
But that cry never came.
That day, I learned how necessary tears are to grieving. Dry-eyed sobs do not get the job done. My lack of tears was extremely frustrating and could even be described as painful. I felt like my head was going to explode from trying so hard. I kept struggling to release some tears, but they never came that day.
So that’s my worst-ever dry eye experience. I hope to never feel that pain again. Today is day 5 of using TheraTears, a nutritional supplement. I think there’s an eye drop variety of TheraTears, but I’m hesitant to use it because of my negative experiences with eye drop medications (they cause my eyes to burn, even the ones without preservatives). Anyway, it’s day 5 and I’m not feeling any better. I’ll keep taking the capsules until the bottle runs out (in about a month) and see how my eyes are doing then.
What’s been your worst-ever episode with dry eye syndrome?
The day I couldn’t cry was an absolute horror for me. It was a shortly after having my second child, who refused to sleep anywhere but on me (and to this day we’re still working on that—ugh!). No one ever mentions the difficulties of adding a second child to the mix. Not being able to give my first child the attention she deserves was such an awful feeling. So, with the lack of sleep and the “guilty mom” feelings I had going on, a good cry was in order.
But that cry never came.
That day, I learned how necessary tears are to grieving. Dry-eyed sobs do not get the job done. My lack of tears was extremely frustrating and could even be described as painful. I felt like my head was going to explode from trying so hard. I kept struggling to release some tears, but they never came that day.
So that’s my worst-ever dry eye experience. I hope to never feel that pain again. Today is day 5 of using TheraTears, a nutritional supplement. I think there’s an eye drop variety of TheraTears, but I’m hesitant to use it because of my negative experiences with eye drop medications (they cause my eyes to burn, even the ones without preservatives). Anyway, it’s day 5 and I’m not feeling any better. I’ll keep taking the capsules until the bottle runs out (in about a month) and see how my eyes are doing then.
What’s been your worst-ever episode with dry eye syndrome?
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Can Positive Thinking Improve Eyesight?
I chanced upon a blog post about a writer's experiences with The Law of Attraction. Miranda, the author, has found this way of thinking to be very helpful in her life. I'm not too familiar with The Law of Attraction, but the gist of it seems to center on positivity--in even the most dreadful of times when nothing seems to be going your way.
Remaining positive even when facing a crisis of sorts sounds like a smart thing to do. Admittedly, I'm not always on my A-game when the shit hits the fan. But I vow from now on to try harder to not sweat the small stuff and to see the good in every situation.
So if life has dealt me a sour card with this dry eye syndrome and increasingly blurred vision, I'm going to do my best to enjoy what I have left and to stay hopeful that my eye problems will get better as time goes on. This isn't to say that I'm just gonna sit in my Lazy Boy chair and live in blissful ignorance as my vision deteriorates.
No, finding a cure for my eye dryness and blurriness is still a priority of mine. I'll never, ever give up on that. But I will strive to not get so down on myself and worry about the 'what ifs'. Instead of another day with eye problems, I'll look at it as another chance at finding a solution.
On a side note, I wonder how this Law of Attraction is working for dieters. It sounds like a useful tool for people wanting to lose weight, especially those struggling with binge eating. Hmm, I think I'll google it.
Anyhoo, catchya next time when I'll discuss my worst-ever experience with having dry eye syndrome. (I get the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.)
Remaining positive even when facing a crisis of sorts sounds like a smart thing to do. Admittedly, I'm not always on my A-game when the shit hits the fan. But I vow from now on to try harder to not sweat the small stuff and to see the good in every situation.
So if life has dealt me a sour card with this dry eye syndrome and increasingly blurred vision, I'm going to do my best to enjoy what I have left and to stay hopeful that my eye problems will get better as time goes on. This isn't to say that I'm just gonna sit in my Lazy Boy chair and live in blissful ignorance as my vision deteriorates.
No, finding a cure for my eye dryness and blurriness is still a priority of mine. I'll never, ever give up on that. But I will strive to not get so down on myself and worry about the 'what ifs'. Instead of another day with eye problems, I'll look at it as another chance at finding a solution.
On a side note, I wonder how this Law of Attraction is working for dieters. It sounds like a useful tool for people wanting to lose weight, especially those struggling with binge eating. Hmm, I think I'll google it.
Anyhoo, catchya next time when I'll discuss my worst-ever experience with having dry eye syndrome. (I get the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.)
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