Use the search feature and archives to read the many posts about dry eyes. Stay on the restasis twice/day. Also consider going on enteric coated fish-oil (omega 3s) three/day. Start out with one/day with dinner and add a second one for breakfast after 2 weeks and a two for dinner 2 weeks after thatn (3/day) It wil take about 4 months for the omega 3 to be helpful
Yes dry eyes in a young person can sometimes be the first sign of a systemic problem such as thyroid disease or rheumatoid arthritis or autoimmune disease.
JCH MD
Sounds like a systemic issue, not occular since you also experiencing dry mouth. I used to have dry mouth and always woke up with a cotton mouth like nothing else (like when when badly hungover..) as well as dry eyes (no more dry mouth, but eyes still fairly dry in the AM) You need to look for underlying issues, and perhaps look into natural healing approaches..it could be an unbalance in your body, not neccessarely autoimmune like suggested. It is a possibility however...
If you have dry mouth and dry eyes you might want to ask your doctor about Sjogren's Syndrome.