Eye irritation 2.5 months into gluten free diet

[aperlo34]

Title says it all. I’m at 4 months since Dx/starting gluten-free diet but the last month and a half I’ve had pretty irritated eyes.

Originally they started really dry and sensitive to light, especially in the morning. Saw the eye doc and he said eye strain/dry eyes due to season change/radiators turning on in my apartment. I’ve been using a heat mask and eye drops and that helped a lot. However my eyes still feel tired and red and gunky, but not really dry anymore. Just a bit irritated. 
 

any thoughts?

 

THANKS!

[Scott Adams]

Eye irritation can be so frustrating, especially when you're already adjusting to life with celiac disease. It’s great that you’ve seen an eye doctor and taken steps like using a heat mask and drops, which seem to have helped with the dryness. Sometimes, lingering irritation can be linked to inflammation as your body heals, or even to other factors like allergies or environmental irritants (like dust or mold that might increase in colder months). Do you use lubricant eye drops like "Refresh"? I use this often, because I also have dry eye issues at times.

It might also be worth reviewing your diet and environment for hidden gluten or allergens, as cross-contamination could contribute to systemic inflammation and affect your eyes. Some celiacs report lingering or unusual symptoms during the first year of healing—it’s a process, but you’re on the right track. If it persists, consider a follow-up with your doctor or an allergist to rule out anything else. Hang in there—you’re doing everything right to support your recovery!

[aperlo34]

  On 12/12/2024 at 11:16 PM, Scott Adams said:

Eye irritation can be so frustrating, especially when you're already adjusting to life with celiac disease. It’s great that you’ve seen an eye doctor and taken steps like using a heat mask and drops, which seem to have helped with the dryness. Sometimes, lingering irritation can be linked to inflammation as your body heals, or even to other factors like allergies or environmental irritants (like dust or mold that might increase in colder months). Do you use lubricant eye drops like "Refresh"? I use this often, because I also have dry eye issues at times.

It might also be worth reviewing your diet and environment for hidden gluten or allergens, as cross-contamination could contribute to systemic inflammation and affect your eyes. Some celiacs report lingering or unusual symptoms during the first year of healing—it’s a process, but you’re on the right track. If it persists, consider a follow-up with your doctor or an allergist to rule out anything else. Hang in there—you’re doing everything right to support your recovery!

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I have been using the eye drops every hour and at night the gel drops as well as the heating mask. I have been traveling and kind of slowed on this routine, but it seems to be back a bit more now that I'm back at work (on the computer). 

It seems strange to me that I would start getting this after a couple of months into the gluten free diet. Between this, the muscle twitches, the anxiety... I am quite overwhelmed. I can't find much on people whose eyes start getting dry AFTER gluten free.

[Scott Adams]

I didn't have the issue until ~25 years after I went gluten-free. It's possible that our dry eye issues are not related to celiac disease...difficult to know for sure.

[knitty kitty]

I've had dry eye symptoms.  The eye drops did not help me.  What did help was making sure I was consuming Omega Three fats like flax seed oil and olive oil, and taking essential B vitamins, especially Riboflavin, Thiamin, and Vitamin C, as well as Vitamin A, one of the fat soluble vitamins.  

Newly diagnosed Celiac can have trouble absorbing fats and absorbing B vitamins.  Most gluten free processed foods contain saturated fats which the body can't utilize. Gluten free processed foods are not enriched with vitamins like gluten containing products. 

The eyes make a film of healthy omega three fats which keeps the eyes lubricated.  Insufficient omega threes can show up as dry eyes.  Most newly diagnosed Celiac are low in Vitamin D, as well as Vitamin A, both fat based vitamins.  

Thiamin Vitamin B 1 and Riboflavin B 2 are needed for eye health and optic nerve health.  Taking a B Complex vitamin supplement is beneficial.  Since the B vitamins are water soluble, any excess that the body doesn't need is excreted easily in urine.  The gluten free diet is low in essential B vitamins because gluten free processed foods that replace gluteny breads are not required to have vitamins and minerals added to them in order to replace vitamins and minerals lost in processing as is required with gluten containing products.  

Other things that are helpful is to refrain from using highly perfumed products (hair care, body washes, deodorants, room fresheners, cleaning products, etc.).  These can dry out the eyes, too.  

Staring at computer screens can be detrimental because you STARE and don't blink.  The tear ducts that keep the eyes lubricated are in the corners of the eyes.  Take breaks from staring at the computer screen.  Look out of the corners of your eyes to the right and blink several times, then look to the left and blink to help the tears spread over the whole eye.  

My eyes have sustained permanent damage because of nutritional deficiencies.  My ophthalmologist and my doctors did not connect any of my health problems with nutritional deficiencies which occurred with undiagnosed Celiac Disease.  My optic nerve shuts down and I lose my vision if I spend too much time looking at computer screens, led lights, and TV.  My vision goes gray and dim.  It's much worse than "optic snow".  It can take  hours or days for my vision to return.  My ophthalmologist said my vision might not come back from that sometime.  My ophthalmologist said the flash rate, refresh rate, is registered by the optic nerve which gets over stimulated and shuts down.  The optic nerve uses lots of Thiamine.  Thiamine insufficiency will cause permanent optic nerve damage unless corrected promptly.  My thiamine insufficiency/deficiency was not corrected promptly and I have this permanent damage and light sensitivity.  I take Benfotiamine, a form of Thiamine that also is beneficial for healing the intestinal tract.  Riboflavin,  Pyridoxine B 6,  and Vitamin A are also needed for eye health.  

Thiamine insufficiency can also cause anxiety.  Thiamine and magnesium will relieve muscle cramps.

Talk to your nutritionist and doctor about supplementing with essential vitamins and minerals while your intestines are recovering. 

Hope this helps!  

[pweidema]

  On 12/11/2024 at 3:01 PM, aperlo34 said:

Title says it all. I’m at 4 months since Dx/starting gluten-free diet but the last month and a half I’ve had pretty irritated eyes.

Originally they started really dry and sensitive to light, especially in the morning. Saw the eye doc and he said eye strain/dry eyes due to season change/radiators turning on in my apartment. I’ve been using a heat mask and eye drops and that helped a lot. However my eyes still feel tired and red and gunky, but not really dry anymore. Just a bit irritated. 
 

any thoughts?

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Two things:

1. If you are using drops 3x a day you should be sure to use preservative free. The preservatives themselves can cause irritation.

2. If the problem does not resolve, you may want to have a rheumatologist check for Sjogren's. There appears to be a relationship between celiac and Sjogren's.

[Scott Adams]

Great advice, as having one autoimmune disease makes you more vulnerable to getting others.

[aperlo34]

  On 12/23/2024 at 3:01 AM, pweidema said:

Two things:

1. If you are using drops 3x a day you should be sure to use preservative free. The preservatives themselves can cause irritation.

2. If the problem does not resolve, you may want to have a rheumatologist check for Sjogren's. There appears to be a relationship between celiac and Sjogren's.

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Would Sjogren’s only show up 1-2months after going gluten free? 😭😭😭😭

[Scott Adams]

There is no way to know for sure when an autoimmune disease might be triggered in someone, and this is just a theory that you might want to bring up with your doctor if your dry eye issues are prolonged. Of course you may not have Sjogren's, but it might be worth checking into if your issues are ongoing.

[knitty kitty]

  On 12/23/2024 at 5:35 PM, aperlo34 said:

Would Sjogren’s only show up 1-2months after going gluten free? 😭😭😭😭

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You have to add in how long you were an undiagnosed Celiac....

[aperlo34]

  On 12/24/2024 at 7:20 PM, knitty kitty said:

You have to add in how long you were an undiagnosed Celiac....

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Came out of nowhere this past September, I’m 29. No GI symptoms that I know of other than foul gas and minor constipation/discomfort. 

[knitty kitty]

Celiac disease can be triggered by an infection or a traumatic physical or emotional stress.  Some people can have relatively mild or no gastrointestinal symptoms for years, but additional stresses can push one over the edge and more  or worsening symptoms appear.  

[aperlo34]

  On 12/24/2024 at 7:26 PM, knitty kitty said:

Celiac disease can be triggered by an infection or a traumatic physical or emotional stress.  Some people can have relatively mild or no gastrointestinal symptoms for years, but additional stresses can push one over the edge and more  or worsening symptoms appear.  

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Yeah, I think that’s what’s going on. I’ve been following my eye dr’s recommended routine of eye drops and heating mask and today I feel much better. I’m also trying to cut out dairy for a month to see if maybe there’s something there. I would love for the eye problems to go away, it’s scaring me - the celiac felt like it was out of nowhere 😓

 

also on all sorts of supplements now…

[knitty kitty]

Which supplements are you taking?  

[aperlo34]

  On 12/24/2024 at 7:41 PM, knitty kitty said:

Which supplements are you taking?  

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• B-Complex
• B-12 1000mg (methyl sublingual)
• CoQ10 100mg
• D 3000iu 
• Centrum Men's Multivitamin
• Magnesium 400mg
• Omega 3 2000mg

My latest labs were:

• D - 43.6 (range 30-100)
• B12 - 406 (range 232-1245)
• Folate - 11.4 (range >3.0)
• ferritin - 117 (30-400)
• magnesium - 2.3 (1.6-2.3)
• Calcium - 9.9 (8.7-10.2)

My symptoms are currently - these all come and go except the dry eyes have been for a couple of months now:

Joint aching (mostly knuckles), muscle twitches, now apparently dry eyes. 

I'm considering looking into anxiety medication, the past 4 months have been horrible for me. I can't tell what is a real symptom anymore and what is just my mind. 

 

[knitty kitty]

@aperlo34,

Those symptoms sound awfully familiar to me.  Here's what I did for mine...

I got my Vitamin D up quickly by taking Vitamin D3 supplements several times throughout the day.  High dose Vitamin D supplementation is safe and effective in raising deficient Vitamin D levels.  Aim to get your level up around 80.  Our bodies work better with Vitamin D at this level.  Vitamin D will help with mood, achy joints and depression.  Vitamin A and Vitamin D will help heal eyes and intestines.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39125420/

I was prescribed anti anxiety meds, SSRIs.  They were a bad idea because SSRIs cause further intestinal damage.  I had such awful side effects, I had to quit taking them.    

Instead, I took Tryptophan supplements.  Tryptophan is needed to make serotonin, the feel good neurotransmitter.  Without enough serotonin, we feel anxious.  Tryptophan is important for intestinal health and our intestinal bacteria.  We get tryptophan (and Niacin) from our diet.  Our body can make tryptophan from Niacin Vitamin B 3.  In celiac disease, we may not be absorbing sufficient amounts of Niacin and the other water soluble B vitamins.  I took my B Complex twice a day with meals.  I took a Tryptophan supplement at bedtime.  I found adding a Lysine supplement helpful in reducing anxiety.  Lysine is an amino acid found in lots of foods like meats.  Lysine helps with intestinal health and improves serotonin use in the body.  Serotonin, besides improving mood, also stimulates tear production!!! 

Influence of Tryptophan and Serotonin on Mood and Cognition with a Possible Role of the Gut-Brain Axis

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4728667/

And...

Serotonin hormonally regulates lacrimal gland secretory function via the serotonin type 3a receptor

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5537296/

And...

l-Lysine acts like a partial serotonin receptor 4 antagonist and inhibits serotonin-mediated intestinal pathologies and anxiety in rats

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC307574/

I also take Benfotiamine, a form of Thiamin Vitamin B 1, shown to promote healing in the gastrointestinal tract.  Supplementing with Benfotiamine improves anxiety and helps heal the intestines and improves brain function.  Benfotiamine needs magnesium to work properly, so I take Magnesium Threonate, a form of magnesium which gets into the brain easily and helps immensely with anxiety and thinking.  Niacin and thiamine with riboflavin and pyridoxine are used to make enzymes and energy for all healing we're going through.

Magnesium and calcium can be pulled out of our bones to keep our blood levels stable.  Containing both of these minerals, broccoli and leafy greens, like kale and collards, are great for the Celiac diet.

Hope this helps!  

Happy Holidays!

Edited December 25, 2024 by knitty kitty
Typo correction

[dirkmatthews]

I found out I had celiac because of eye problems. I developed an eye irritation that was sensitive to light, pressure, and red. My eye doctor said I had iritis, an inflammation of the iris. The treatment was prednisone drops. This is a common symptom related to ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis that runs in my family. My doctor wanted to start me on immunosuppressants, but I refused due to side effects.

I tried a few anti-inflammatory diets and found the specific carb diet helped, which led my doctor to test me for celiac, which was positive. Now I know when I get glutened because I have a flare up of my iritis. I call it my canary in a coal mine. First the eye, then the arthritis flare up begins.