Dry Eye

[May3]

I have been having problems with dry eye on the right with an acoustic neuroma on the right side (2.1cm). I was wondering if this is a symptom that the AN is growing even though the MRI scans show that it is stable?  Or maybe this is due to allerigies that my eye doctor thinks is happening. 

[mk]

The dry eye is due to the AN affecting the trigeminal nerve and reducing sensation to the cornea of the eye. Because of the reduced sensation, the cornea does not give the correct "signals" for tear production. I also thought that it was due to allergies at the beginning, and my doctors didn't think that it had anything to do with the AN. Because the tear ducts are connected, the other eye was trying to compensate, and was becoming irritated too.

I did my research and concluded that it must have been due to the AN. My optometrist agreed and explained to me what I wrote above. It is annoying but you can take care of this by using eye drops regularly during the day. You may have to experiment a bit with what drops work better for you. I have been using Systane and Bion Tears by Alcon during the day and the GenTeal drops which are thicker at night.

Marianna

[amanda1987]

I agree with mk about using the drops. I had my AN surgery when I was 15, six years ago. Since then, I have to put in drops on a daily basis (even more frequently during the fall and winter). My eye doctor told me that as we get older our eyes naturally start to dry out. With no tear production, it can age your eyes even quicker. 

[lori67]

I think if your eye problem were caused by allergies, it would affect both eyes, not just one.

Sounds to me like it's more AN- related.

Lori

[May3]

Thank you all for your responses and help.  MK, how did you find out your information?  I was wondering what resources did you use?  Thanks.   

[mk]

Well, I did tons of research  . When I first had these symptoms I thought it was due to allergies, but it was getting worse and at some point my eye was very red and irritated. It struck me that my symptoms were similar to those reported by other ANers, post surgery, although I didn't have surgery and my eye was closing normally. I posted the question to the Cyberknife forum, were the good doctors gave me the hint. Also some fellow ANers suggested some eye drops that did provide some relief. I then decided to go see my optometrist (would take months to get a referral for an opthalmologist here), and he confirmed that the trigeminal nerve (nerve V) is responsible for sensation to the cornea, and given the absence of sensation, the tear production is affected.

Apart from the dry eye, do you have any other symptoms? Typically if the trigeminal nerve is affected by the AN you should be experiencing some reduced sensation on your face (could be different areas) and/or a feeling like your tongue has been "burned". These were the symptoms that actually led me to the discovery of the AN.

MK