300.3 Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 (edited) Well I just went to my one of appointment with eye doctors. Some already no my situation. I was on ssri's for a long time with no side effects. Luvox 14 years Prozac 5+ After trying to go lower in Prozac for 7 months it worked great. When I went back up that's when the issues started. I was back on 60mg Prozac and eyes burned. I tried zoloft 120 if I remember and had severe eye pain Now back on luvox 37.5 and have eye pain not at bad as zoloft. I was at glaucoma specialist. Retina specialist and now just got done with neurological opthamologist They now say I have dry eyes .. Now have to see a dry eye specialist... What meds have some tried that don't cause an issue with dry eyes? I used Prozac Zoloft Luvox. I currently am on a low dose of luvox because I wanted to see if it made a difference and it did. My eyes don't hurt as much. My ocd is under control but I assume I'm having withdrawl from ssri because of the low dose. No ocd issues yet. Edited October 10, 2016 by 300.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Wait a sec. I thought you tried some things (artificial tears) for dry eyes and it didn't work. Or maybe I'm mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300.3 Posted October 10, 2016 Author Share Posted October 10, 2016 I used 400$ Restasis for a week. Which takes 4 weeks to work. Also I have been using good over the counter eye drops. They said I needed to buy preservative free drops because preservative drops can make issues worse. Also 1 drop each eye every hour. Which is going to cost a fortune. I bought a box of preservative free drops and there single use. But I can squeeze maybe 4 hours out of each vial. Now tommorow I need to get appointment with this dry eye specialist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 You might try taking flax seed oil. I have Glaucoma and my elderly husband has severe dry-eye. Rather than use drops all the time, we started taking 1000mg of flax seed oil (it comes in a gel capsule) twice a day. My husband's dry eyes improved in a week, and he hasn't used drops in years. I get reddened, irritated eyes from my Glaucoma drops, and the flax seed oil has helped with it quite a bit. If you try it, be sure to take it with food. People who take it on an empty stomach end up with mild nausea or an upset stomach. As with any supplement, you could check with your doctors on this. I can tell you that the ophthalmologists at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia are the ones who suggested it to me. I have shared this information with a lot of my friends who have dry-eye, or itchy eyes from allergies, and it has worked for all of them. Flax seed oil is also good for your heart and circulatory system. olga 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300.3 Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 (edited) Olga I will buy some flaxseed oil pills this weekend. I don't think these will affect the medication that I'm on.. but I do have a Dr appointment this weekend so I will ask him. Basically he takes 2000mg a day split in 2? I really can't believe this is from dry eyes but from some reading I see others having similar pain and have the same frustration I'm having. I was at Columbia in NYC today for about 3 hours with 2 doctors. They zeroed in to the fact that after I nap or when I wake up I have no pain for an hour. Also the fact that each time I went lower on an ssri the pain became less. Also as Jt said it was suggested numerous times I might have dry eyes. The other issue is after seeing so many doctors they have different views on things. But this was the second time dry eyes came up and the 2nd time they see "signs" of glaucoma in my right eye. I asked them if the glaucoma "signs" are from my ssri's? He said no because this type is hereditary . That was determined after I told them it's in the family. Also this isn't narrow angle glaucoma the type that ssri's can cause. The other upsetting thing is the fact that the typical glaucoma tests which determine pressure wouldn't pick this up. The last time I was at the hospital it was a different section with different test equipment. They took a test that I had taken locally and wanted to take it with there equipment because Columbia never did . Edited October 11, 2016 by 300.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Yes, we buy 1000mg capsules and take them twice a day. My glaucoma is the open-angle type. If they are detecting it early, that's a good thing and it can be watched closely before it affects your vision. The usual tests for Glaucoma measure your interocular pressure. That can certainly be a symptom of Glaucoma, but it is possible to have fairly high IOPs and yet NOT have Glaucoma. If your optic nerve is being affected by your interocular pressure, that is more of a determining factor for a Glaucoma diagnosis. Open-angle Glaucoma is indeed hereditary, and if you are eventually diagnosed, you should let your siblings, offspring and other close relatives know. They need to be tested. If you would like to chat on line with other Glaucoma patients, here is a link to the Wills Eye Hospital Glaucoma Service Foundation: http://willsglaucoma.org/about-the-glaucoma-service-foundation-to-prevent-blindness I used to moderate the chat room, and I can tell you that there is a lot of good information on their website. You can search the chat highlights with specific questions. It was a doctor from chat one night who suggested the flax seed oil, and I also got a referral from them to a Glaucoma specialist in my area. I hope the flax seed oil helps you. It made a world of difference to me, and to my husband. olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300.3 Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 So the flaxseed pills are for the dry eyes correct? Asking because I wasn't officially diagnosed with glaucoma and am looking for relief from the pain from dry eyes due to ssri usage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notloki Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 It would seem so: http://www.allaboutvision.com/nutrition/flaxseed-oil.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 11 hours ago, 300.3 said: So the flaxseed pills are for the dry eyes correct? Asking because I wasn't officially diagnosed with glaucoma and am looking for relief from the pain from dry eyes due to ssri usage. Yes, they cured my husband's dry eyes. He has the condition common in elderly people, when production of tears slows down and the eyes become dry and scratchy. He never used drops again once he started taking the flax seed oil. I take it because it's good for the heart and because my eyes are red and irritated from my Glaucoma drops. (I sometimes look like I'm totally stoned on weed because my eyes are so red. :D) Once I got faithful about taking it, the redness diminished a LOT. I like suggesting it because it's not terribly expensive and it's good for a couple of things in addition to your eyes. olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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