New "Schirmers" test

[cmclien]

I had my 6 mo dry eye checkup last week and since we hadn't done a schirmers test in 6 years he thought we should do one again.  He always looks at my corneas and assesses for damage and inflammation though.

I was expecting that nasty paper that sits in your eyes but there is a new 15 second test that has replaced it that I didn't know about.  It looks like red string, that they put in the same place in your lower lid and it turns I think he said yellow where your tears reach to.  It was much more comfortable.

The good news is after 6 years of restasis (sigh), plugs, ointment and hundreds of thousands of drops (and lots of money later) I have NO corneal damage and inflammation anymore (well at least for this visit, winter IS coming afterall).  AND my new schirmer test had me at about a 15 which is now in the normal range.  When I had it done 6 years ago he said it was about 7.
Cindi

[cmclien]

Oh yeah, and lets not forget about the 6 flaxseed pills I take everyday.

It does explain why I can now wear my contacts for about 6-8 hours a day again.  They used to just blur up on me when my tear production was lower and stick to my eyeballs.

[ohiolady]

That is good news Cindy.  I've heard of that test.  My last Schirmers was 0 and 2 so I'm envious of your numbers.  My doctor just did the tear break up test on me.  Normal is 10 seconds and mine was 3.  I don't think that is very good.  But, with that said, my eyes are not nearly as painful as in the beginning and I'm grateful for that.

It is rather painful to think of how much money we spend on our eyes, isn't it?  

Anna

[cmclien]

Hi Anna,
I don't know what the numbers mean ratio wise in pain as they decline but I was absolutely miserable almost constantly for the first year.  They would tell me they were improving a little but I couldn't tell at all.  The thing that bothered me the most besides the CONSTANT burning was the CONSTANT tearing which they told me was reflexive tearing.  So I had all these tears running down my face that did nothing for me.

I keep wondering what has helped so much this past year.  Before that I was kinda in a state of stasis where they had damage but not too severely but enough that they still burned and I was always using drops.  I think the increased amount of flax and a few other supplements.  I think one of them or maybe a combination of them has helped.  I have added marshmallow root capsules, aloe vera capsules (the high quality freeze dried kind I can only find on-line) and a supplement that has chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine sulfate, quercetin, rutin and hylauronate sodium.

Maybe one of the natural supplement users on this site can help point out which one is helping but I am sure its one or more of them!

I've never had a tear film break up test that I know of anyways.  What does it help them determine?
Glad you're feeling a little better anyways.

[ohiolady]

Cindy,

I think the tear break up is just what is says, the amount of time it takes before tears break up.  So, I guess my tears don't hang around as long as they should.  I take 3000 mg of fish oil and believe that has helped with my eyes.. Also, I take Evoxac for my lack of saliva and feel it helps the eyes a teeny bit. 

Anna

[kwolfsheimer]

I have never had a Schirmer's test and wonder why not??  I've been on Restassis for over a year, had plugs put in, but no actually testing other than a visual (as far as I can tell)-- the doc, of course, uses his lens.  My eyes are incredibly dry and I have the emergency response tears which puddle up.  Does anyone know how doctors are able to distinguish basal tears from the response tears on a Schirmer's test?

I have also never had a lip biopsy.

Maybe I don't need these tests, but I'm not sure.    Since my insurance is balking on sending me to John Hopkins, I think that I am going to be asking a lot more questions about my care since it seems like my local docs are not providing these services.

[Patze]

Hi Cindi, congratulations!  That is such good news!  I've not had that particular test, but I sure didn't want to do the old one (have enough problems with the dyes they put into my eyes every 3-4 months).

Hi Kwolfsheimer, I too have been on Restasis for several years now, and like I mentioned above, I've never had a Schirmer's test performed as my dryness was diagnosed as being Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD).  Eh, the way I see it, the less tests that I have to have, the happier I am (the happier my wallet is too )!

Do me a favor, before you decide to have a lip biopsy, please go through some of the topics about it so you can see some of the pros and cons about it.  Mine wasn't done well and I've had problems ever since, but others have never had any problems with theirs, and everything in between.

Take care of yourselves -

Patze

[cmclien]

Thats a good question as my eyes were tearing up quite a bit in his office the other day with those awful yellow drops, the slit lamp that I felt blind for a few after he shined it in my eyes etc.  I could feel they were tearing too so I don't know the answer to that! 
Let us know if you find out.

They usually like to do a schirmers just to get a baseline on how dry you really are and sometimes after the plugs they'll do it again but mine hadn't been done in 6 years so I guess once they do it they figure it doesn't matter.  Dry is dry and they treat you for symptoms.

[Pegasus47]

Hi All:

This new test is called Zone Quick- optometrist tend to use it more often.  It is more comfortable.  The red is a phenothaline dye that detects how much tear has wicked up in 15 seconds. 

Congradulations!   Sounds like your tear secretion glands are intact.  Very good news indeed.

Pegasus