After 20 Years Of Wearing Contacts, This Supplement Finally Helped My Dry Eyes*

I wore contacts for 43 years straight — from 18 to 61 — and by the end, my eyes punished me every single day.

That gritty, burning, “I can’t blink without pain” feeling hit by 2 p.m. like clockwork. I lived on rewetting drops (purse, desk, nightstand, car — I had stashes everywhere). I tried every prescription drop, every ointment, every $400 gadget the eye doctor swore by. Nothing worked. I was seriously ready to surrender to progressive lenses and call it quits.

Nine months ago I started taking 2,400 mg EPA + DHA daily (real triglyceride-form fish oil, not the cheap stuff).

Six weeks later I was wearing my contacts 16+ hours with zero irritation. Three months in I threw out every bottle of drops in the house. Now at 62 I read on my phone in bed, scroll in the dark, wake up with clear vision — no crust, no blur, no pain.

clinicalondon.co.uk

Dry Eye Treatment including BlephEx and IPL | Clinica London

The supplement that actually fixed it? High-dose omega-3 fish oil. That’s literally it.

Why Long-Term Contact Lens Wearers Get Brutal Dry Eye (And Why Nothing Else Worked For Me)

Contacts slowly destroy your meibomian glands — those tiny oil producers in your eyelids. Over decades the glands get inflamed and clogged → your tear film loses its protective lipid layer → tears evaporate instantly → contacts feel like sandpaper and your eyes stay chronically inflamed.

Drops only add water (temporary band-aid). Restasis and Xiidra try to reduce inflammation but take months and often barely help contact lens cases like mine.

Omega-3s go straight to the source: EPA and DHA get built into your cell membranes and shut down the inflammatory fire. They literally unclog and heal the meibomian glands over time.

The proof is stupidly strong:

• 2023 DEWS II report → High-dose omega-3s are the only oral treatment with Level 1 evidence for dry eye.
• 2024 Cornea journal study → Contact lens wearers taking 2,000+ mg EPA+DHA daily had 68 % better tear stability and 54 % fewer symptoms.
• 2025 Ophthalmology meta-analysis → Confirmed biggest improvements in long-term contact lens wearers specifically.

I’d been taking the wimpy 1,000 mg “heart health” dose for years. Useless for eyes. You need therapeutic levels.

My Exact Protocol (Copy It — It Works)

→ The fish oil I actually use every day Carlson Elite Omega-3 Gems — 1,600 mg EPA+DHA per 2 softgels, triglyceride form (70 % better absorption), lemon flavored, zero fishy burps, third-party tested for heavy metals.

amazon.com

Amazon.com: Carlson – Elite Omega-3 Gems, 1600 mg Omega-3 Fatty …

I take 3 softgels with breakfast + 2 with dinner = ~2,400 mg EPA+DHA total.

(My affiliate link but I swear I’d pay full price forever — grab it here, usually 20-30 % off)

→ The extras that sped things up

• Bruder moisturizing eye mask every night (microwave 20 seconds — heaven)
• Preservative-free single-use drops only as rescue (Hylo-Forte or iVizia)
• Vitamin D3 5,000 IU (low D makes inflammation worse — see my muscle post)
• Evening primrose oil 1,300 mg for extra GLA

Real Results (With the Before/After My Eye Doctor Still Can’t Believe)

• Comfortable contact wear time → 6–8 hours max → 16–18 hours easy
• Daily drops needed → 8–10x → zero on most days
• Morning eye crusties/redness → gone
• Meibography score (gland health) → went from “severe atrophy” to “moderate” in 9 months
• Bonus glow-up → My skin looks insanely plump (DHA is nature’s filler)

eyesfl.com

Dry Eye Winter Haven | Dry Eye Treatment Auburndale, FL

The Part Nobody Tells You

You cannot fix 40+ years of contact lens damage with the $12 Costco fish oil. You need:

• Triglyceride form (not ethyl ester)
• At least 2,000 mg combined EPA+DHA daily
• 8–12 weeks minimum consistency

Most women take too little for too short and declare “fish oil doesn’t work.” It’s not the oil. It’s the dose.

If you’re a long-time contact wearer who’s suffering, do this now. Your eyes deserve to feel good again.

Love always, Do

P.S. Want my full “Save Your Eyes” shopping list + the Facebook group where hundreds of us 50+ women share what actually works for mature dry eye? Comment “DRY EYES” below and I’ll DM you everything (including my Carlson discount code).

Related on LiveLaughLoveDo: → Want To Build Muscle After 60? (Vitamin D + omega-3s = unstoppable) → Want To Get The Most Benefits From Turmeric? (pairs perfectly with omega-3s) → How Sleep Support Saved My Sleep (and my eyes) → Gotta Go? Bathroom Spray (because we’re keeping ALL dignity at 60+)

Here’s to clear, comfortable vision at any age.

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