Watering eyes

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Snow-

I¹m very new to this, with a lot of symptoms but no solid diagnosis based on

labs. I have Ophthalmoplegia (droopy lids, and reduced eye muscle

function), and periodically my eyes water like crazy. For me, this is due

to a combination of corneal exposure due to the disease and really bad

allergies: the problem only happens when I¹m in a highly allergic state.

During this time, my ophthalmologist inserts a (temporary) plug in one of

the tear drains in each eye to increase the amount of lubrication and the

over-the-top tearing is completely or nearly stopped.

It seems really counter intuitive- your eyes are watering, and you want them

to drain more, right? But, if you have ophthalmoplegia, and your lids don¹t

function well, your eyes probably have more exposure than normal and can

become very dry, especially if they are irritated by allergens. Plugging

one of the drains allows tears to stay on the eye longer, and the dryness is

relieved. If my eyes still tear after the plugs are in, I use frequent

doses of synthetic tears to lubricate my eyes as much as possible. The more

lubricated my eyes are, the less they tear.

At the end of allergy season (mid-October in No. Cal, for me) the plugs are

removed and my eyes are fine, until the whole cycle starts again. I¹m

working with an allergist, and I¹m hoping that the immunotherapy I¹m doing

will lessen the allergic response eventually.

I¹d see your ophthalmologist first so s/he can determine if your eyes are

tearing in response to allergens or corneal dryness or some other reason

readily apparent. Dry eyes and excessive tearing are commonplace eye

complaints, and happen to people without mito, too.

Good luck!

Kathleen

>

> laurie

>

>

>> > but I don't know much about this disease. And since I have been

>> > reading and checking in on the sites everyday, I have discovered so

>> > much and found that the things I am going through, other ones are

>> > going through it too. I am not imagining it or becoming a

>> > hypochondriac. What a relief. But I don't want to be a bother either,

>> > there are probably more important e mails for needing a response. So

>> > when any one can, I am experiencing at times, that all of a sudden my

>> > eyes will start to water and it feels like they overflow and looks

>> > like I am crying. Is this possibley related to mito? So I know what

>> > and whom to go see about this. It has become bothersome. Thank you

>> >

>> >

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