I had severe photophobia (light being too bring) for 20 years, but my eyes didn't feel dry till recently. I don't think the photophobia was due to dry eyes. The first ophthalmologist I saw 30 years ago said he couldn't do the exam because I couldn't tolerate the light he needed to do the exam. I also felt exhausted every time I was in the sun and started to avoid it. I also always said I was a low energy person and didn't have the energy that others seemed to have. I just felt that was just normal for me until recently when I routinely wanted to sleep 18 hours a day. That obviously wasn't normal. But the earlier experiences over the decades, how many people noticed these kind of seeming coincidences decades before the disease was obvious.
Worst with Sjogren's.
Hi Lea, and welcome!
I have to wear quite dark glasses for photophobia. In fact, during the summer months, I wear very dark prescription polarized sunglasses.
I've always had sensitive eyes, but in recent years, the photophobia seems much worse.
Kathyx
My experience has been similar. Years of photophobia, especially in the AM. Some days I could barely drive to work. Prior to that, I had dry problems, which I thought were due to contact lenses.
The other drynesses I attributed to menopause. In retrospect, if I had eliminated wheat and dairy, I would have avoided much of the dryness and possibly been able to continue wearing contacts.
After about 10 years of intermittent photophobia, an opthamologist mentioned Sjs because my eyes were quite dry. A year or 2 later, I was finally diagnosed, based on symptoms, but not labs, which have remained sero neutral.
Photophobia was my wake up call that I had Sjogrens. When I went to the opthamologist he did a Schirmers test which was 0 for both eyes, meaning very dry. Part of my eye pain was from damage to the cornea due to the dryness. When my Sjogren's improved I had less photophobia.