So, I’ve been having major problems with dry eyes lately- apparently, all the meds I take which have dry mouth as a side effect (which is every single one of them) can also cause dry eyes. And then I live in Ohio, which, as I mentioned is pretty fucking cold right now, which means it’s also pretty dry, which is not helpful. Obviously, stopping the meds is a non-starter, so I’ve been working on alternatives.Â
One of the appointments in the Week of Medical Self-Care was my annual eye doctor appointment. I said the dry eyes were getting worse and really starting to annoy me. My eye doctor said we could try the prescription drops (i.e., Restasis), but they’re kind of expensive and take several weeks to make a difference. Or, he could put a punctal plug into my tear ducts, which would keep whatever tears (artificial or otherwise) in my eyes longer. I decided to try the second option, and he put a temporary, dissolvable one in my right eye to see if it would work.Â
Well, I can definitely tell my right eye is less dry than my left eye. But I can also still feel the plug, which apparently I shouldn’t be able to, and my eyelid is now twitching. The eyelid twitching may not be related (it happens when I’m tired or stressed and has been happening a lot in the past couple months). I go back on the 20th to see how things are going and potentially get the permanent plugs put in, but I don’t know if I want to do that at the moment. It doesn’t hurt, but it is mildly uncomfortable and sort of feels like something is in my eye. This might be a case of me being ultra-sensitive to everything.Â
(the permanent ones are removable. My eye doctor said he’s never had to take them out, but it’s not difficult, so even if I decide to give them a try, it’s reversible).Â
On the plus side, my allergist (yesterday’s appointment) said I could try slippery elm stuff to see if it helps my dry mouth. I can’t do anything with xylitol (I get killer stomach cramps with any sugar alcohol, no matter how small an amount), but I’ve been reluctant to try anything herbal without checking with the guy who’d have to deal with me if I put myself in the hospital. He double checked the list and said it didn’t sound like a problem to him (I only have the really specific allergies/drug allergies memorized. Otherwise, I basically only have “trees are bad” levels of categories). So I’ll be looking for some of that.Â
