| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Jena |
Posted - 03/17/2009 : 21:52:45
Is dry eye TMS? I cannot find my Sarno books and Ive never had dry eye before (at least i dont think I Have). My eye doctor told me I have extremely dry eyes and that I am to young to have this. He also explained in rare cases it can cause me to go blind. Why did he have to mention that to me, I dont know. Any advice on how to go about this? Also if this is in fact an autoimmune disease since my ANA came up slightly positive then is there a way reverse an autoimmune disease since Sarno claims TMS causes it and since TMS can be cured? Thanks, hope everyone is feeling great = ) |
| 13 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| positivevibes |
Posted - 03/27/2009 : 00:02:53
If you are having sinus issues, you might want to consult an ENT who is a sinus specialist.
Yes, I know that Sarno says that allergies and sinus issues can be TMS. But...well....I had a very large benign growth in my sinuses and I had absolutely NO IDEA that it was there until last summer. I'd always had sinus problems, but figured it was just that I had crappy sinuses. But a growth...sheesh, that was a shocking revelation!
I had endoscopic sinus surgery this past October to remove the growth. It surfaced because I'd had unusual problems during 2 airplane flights and wound up seeing a different ENT doctor. I had never gotten a CT Scan of my sinuses previously...which the new doctor ordered. It turns out that x-rays don't show this sort of thing, but there it was, clear as day on the CT scan. My sinus surgeon said I'd probably had it for years and it finally grew to the point of causing problems.
What I'm trying to say is that if you're having sinus issues, you should make sure that something from your sinuses isn't causing this problem or making it worse. My sinus surgeon is one of the top in the country and was explaining some of this stuff to me. The sinuses surround the eyes and in some cases can cause eye problems and tear duct problems. He has actually invented a procedure to unblock tear ducts using an agioplasty-type technique with a tiny balloon. Sounds weird, but it's true.
But look, please don't be scared. I bet it's not serious. I bet it can easily be taken care of. You just need to get to the bottom of it and investigate the logical avenues. From what you've said, investigating your sinuses is a logical aveue. And like I said, if you go through all this medical stuff and there is nothing wrong, then TMS could be the culprit after all.
Don't let the doctors scare you. What you're dealing with isn't life or death, so try to put it into perspective. I'm sure you'll find your answer, but please try your best to be calm.
Seems to me that you need to investigate a few things: 1)Do you actually have an autoimmune disease that is causing this 2)Does it have anything to do with your sinuses -- is anything unusual going on in your sinuses? 3) Why do you have swelling in that gland, and what can be done to treat it? |
| Jena |
Posted - 03/26/2009 : 18:38:27
He is an opthomalogist. I have tried researching it online and I am not truly understanding what is going on. I have read that blocked glands cause dry eye so I know I definitely have blocked glands so maybe if I treat that then dry eye will go away? I would have never known I had dry eye! My eyes never really bothered me the only reason I went to the eye doctor was because I had 2 chalazions which are styes! I asked to take a dry eye test because I am always paranoid and it turns out I do have dry eye! I also have a sinus infection I believe so I wonder if this can cause swollen oil glands? I honestly dont want to go to the doctor anymore because I feel good but then when I leave they always have something bad to tell me. I am going back to see the doctor again next week. He told me I have 2 abrasions as well. He is not sure what is going on. I have severe severe SEVERE anxiety issues and now that I know I have dry eye my eyes are sooooo much worse! The thing that I am confused about is if fibromylagia is curable according to Sarno which is an autoimmune disease why arent the other ones considered curable?
Also my lacrimal gland (which is the gland above the eye) is swollen. I was thinking maybe I just had an infection but my dr didnt mention that. This btw happened very suddenly and I have been extremely stressed. |
| positivevibes |
Posted - 03/26/2009 : 17:32:03
quote:
Originally posted by Jena
No one in my family has an autoimmune disease. I know that 10% of the healthy population has a positive ANA but does not have an autoimmune disease. I'm hoping I'm one of them. My number was 160 titer which most doctors consider negative. I don't know what to do anymore. I have so much anxiety.
First, you should make sure that your eye doctor is an opthomologist, not just an optomitrist (not sure which you're seeing).
Secondly, IMO you should make an appt with an endocrinologist.
I'm not telling you this to scare you or to add to your anxiety. I'm sure that whatever is causing the dry eye, it can be remedied one way or another, so there is no need to be anxious about it. Dr. Sarno always says to see a medical doctor first to rule out certain types of conditions. You'll just be doing your "due dilligence" before deciding if indeed your eye condition is being caused solely by TMS. |
| Jena |
Posted - 03/26/2009 : 12:36:31
No one in my family has an autoimmune disease. I know that 10% of the healthy population has a positive ANA but does not have an autoimmune disease. I'm hoping I'm one of them. My number was 160 titer which most doctors consider negative. I don't know what to do anymore. I have so much anxiety. |
| positivevibes |
Posted - 03/25/2009 : 22:41:54
I have an autoimmune disease: hashimoto's thyroiditis, which is the autoimmune component of being hypothyroid.
I have heard that dry eyes can be a component of an autoimmune disease, such as Sjogren's Syndrome or thyroid eye disease. I don't know much about it, but I have heard that various autoimmune diseases have a dry eye component. Apparently it has something to do with the inability to create tears properly, or a dysfunction in the tear duct.
Sometimes people have positive blood tests for autoimmune diseases but they don't have many (or any) symptoms. This called "being sub-clinical." Usually after a length of time, if the autoimmune disease is not treated, the symptoms will either grow (if they are minimal), or will finally make their appearance (if you haven't had any symptoms up to that point in time).
For example, my mother tested positive for Hashimoto's antibodies a long time ago. She didn't have any symptoms until about 5 years ago, when her TSH levels began to climb and she began to feel very tired.
You should make sure that you follow this up with an opthomologist and possibly also an endocrinologist.
Now, if you are treated for this condition and your eyes remain dry, you might want to suspect TMS.
Anyway, with all due respect to Dr. Sarno, I don't believe that all autoimmune conditions are TMS related. All of the women in my family have one or another autoimmune disease. That tells me that there's a genetic component to this. Which brings me to this question for you: do any of your relatives have thyroid disease, or any other sort of autoimmune condition?
|
| Jena |
Posted - 03/25/2009 : 20:01:19
Thank you for the great advice. I had to go to the eye dr for an emergency appointment today. I had severe stabbing pain in my eye. He looked at my eye and said I have a scratched cornea on the both eyes! He started mentioning my dry eyes and autoimmune diseases so now I'm worried. He didn't seem to worried but not only are my eyes dry they are like swollen a little bit. I do find it ironic though after they told me I have dry eye my eyes have been so much worse! That's your mind for ya! Since sarno explains symptoms can be cured and he does mention autoimmune disease did he mean autoimmune can be cured if you do the tms work religiously? Do you think I can reverse my eye problems? Did you have other symptoms besides that they were dry? Also has anyone here taken a ana autoimmune blood test it came up positive but you don't have an autoimmune disease because my doctorsaid this is common. |
| tcherie |
Posted - 03/22/2009 : 13:25:21
Hello Jena,
I am a young person that was diagnosed with dry eye. I went to a dry eye expert and he told me that mine's was mainly caused by allergies. It was of interest to me because I never thought I was bothered by allergies. My problems all started during a very stressful period of my life.
I believe my eye pain was a combination of dry eyes, allergies, and sinuses. I took Restasis but it never fully helped me. When I took allergy medicine I felt better. As you know allergies are a TMS equivalent.
I know TMS is not about the physical, but in my honest opinion, you can overcome dry eye if you strengthen your immune system. Strengthening can be a combination of the emotional TMS work as well as better nutrition habits and exercise. You just have to get your body flowing again, and I do not believe that journaling alone, or releasing anger is going to do it. You have to take care of YOU. Your emotional side and your physical side, and you will start to get better. Your symptoms will start to become less and less, and then one day you will wake up and not think about it anymore.
I take this very personal because dry eye was the beginning of my journey, and not thinking I could recover from it sank me into a deep depression. It was only when one day I woke up and said I am going to fight this, that I began to make the lifestyle changes and get better.
Also, I do not know if you ever went to the site www.dryeyezone.com. If you have I would stay away. Personally, I find it depressing. All those people relaying their horror stories waiting for a cure.
Jena, focus and really learn about health and heal yourself emotionally, and you will get better. Dry eye is just a symptom that your body is hurting right now. It will get better, get all negative thoughts about going blind out of your head. That was my concern too.
Train your mind to say, "this is temporary, I will be better soon." Or, "My body is strong, I will overcome this."
Close Window |
| mizlorinj |
Posted - 03/20/2009 : 10:51:06
When I went to Sarno's lecture 2 yrs ago, a guy was there who had dry eye and he was doing the TMS program.
Best wishes,
Lori |
| marytabby |
Posted - 03/20/2009 : 08:42:37
I didn't have puffiness or any kind. Just annoying eye irritation. |
| Jena |
Posted - 03/19/2009 : 21:14:24
My eye doctor wasn't concerned either;however, how do you know it's not an autoimmune disease? I'm really worried that's what it is. Do you have puffyness all around your eye? I have this one area of swelling near my right eye right above the part that's closest to the temple. |
| marytabby |
Posted - 03/19/2009 : 06:55:57
I believe dry eye is TMS equivalent, at least for me it is, just as my twitching eyelid which hasn't stopped for 6 weeks is a TMS equivalent. Dry eye can be legit in some cases I guess if you work in dusty conditions or constantly have air blowing on your eyes but in my case it went away on its own just as most other oddities. The eye twitch has me annoyed as all hell. I even had an opthomologist and optometrist look at me to rule out physical causation and they both said, nothing wrong with the eye, it's stress or too much caffeine. Well I don't drink/eat too much caffeine so it's anxiety for sure. |
| Scottydog |
Posted - 03/19/2009 : 04:42:27
I have dry eyes, which is probably a TMS thing but unfortunately I haven't got rid of it fully yet.
I do seem to find that there is tension in the muscles around the eye itself and when I make a deliberate effort to relax the muscles the dry eye feels less severe.
I have never heard of it causing blindness (despite searching about it online!). |
| steffi |
Posted - 03/18/2009 : 05:17:39
I think they'll mention anything and everything to cover their *ss. I was diagnosed with dry eye at about 51. I started using Restasis and did so for several years. I am now 56 and no longer seem to need it. Don't know if it's a TMS issue or not. Best of luck to you. |
|
|
