New and Looking for an answer

[Spider]

Hi

I would just like to say hello to you all.

I was diagnosed with dry eyes in Sept. 2009. Due to the fact that I have SLE and Sjogrens Syndrome.

I have struggled with treatment for this condition for over a year now. I use lacri-lube at night just before I go to sleep and Carbommer Gel about 8 times a day.

I suffer really badly with hayfever in the summer and I have tried one antihistamine which just made matters worse.(I can't remember what it was called)

For the last 4 months I have told my GP that my eyes are sore and he has just brushed it off. So I went to see my optition who spent ages looking at my eyes and proceeded to tell me that I have some sort of Allergy and suggested I try Opatanol for 4 weeks and then go back and see him. He would then prescribe another antihistamine for long term use.

To be quite honest I am very concerned about this further form of treatment and wondered how others coped.

[Rebecca Petris]

Welcome Spider.

Are you in the UK perhaps? You may want to connect with some of our other UK members who have found some of the better doctors there for dry eye. There are far fewer doctors who understand dry eye than those who do.

Regarding opatanol (called patanol here): This is a good allergy drop, and a number of people here use it. I've used it in the past occasionally and also Pataday more recently. It is effective but it is drying, and the preservative can be harmful if used long term and irritating to some in the short term. I'm sure our Sjogrens members can comment more on what it's like to use it when you've got Sjogrens but in the meantime I'd just say that you'll have to take even better care of keeping your eyes well lubricated when you're using this drop.

What else did the optician say about your eyes? Did they comment on your meibomian glands or suggest any other treatments?

[Spider]

Hi

Sorry yes I'm in the UK.

My doctor has not been very helpful, so I asked my optition and he recommended opatanol to be taken for four weeks.

To be quite honest I am struggling to find out who should be looking after my eyes.