Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[sophielee]

Hi,

I've been in peri for about 5 years. I've suffered from mild dry eye off and on. In the past,the discomfort was easily taken care of with artificial tears once or twice a day and the bouts usually stick around for about a week.

That was then. For about a month now, i've had dry eye that's quite horrible. My eyes are sore and burning no matter how many times I use eye drops, gel-type and regular. I've got the humidifier running day and night and it's also not helping.

I've stopped going outside because the sunlight bothers me and i can feel the breeze on my eyeballs and it's quite uncomfortable.

I know menopause can dry you inside and out. I just need to know that it will get better. That my dry eyes will get better. My job requires that I look at a computer all day. This dry eye makes that really difficult. I'm at my wits end. Please help.

Has anyone else experienced this? If so, how long did it last?

[Dierdre]

I get dry eyes and im at a compter all day but i use gel drops and that usually works.  I think you need to see an optician, your    symptoms sound quite severe.

[Annie0710]

I'm really suffering with dry eyes too.  It really gets me down at times as has ruined some potential good social events

There are supplements that can help although they didn't work for me (omega and another one(google them))

I have been offered tear ducts blocking but only when the dry eye gets to a worse stage, not sure how bad it has to get.

The ONLY thing that gives me moderate comfort is using Blephaclean wipes before bed.  None of the gels and artificial tears have helped either x

[Lyncola]

I understand your pain, I've had painful dry eyes for a year now,  since I started premenopausal.
Seen my doctor and my optometrist. I use eye drops works for about a minute.

With me, my pain is in left eye, right in the corner. Some days my poor left eye can be so painful. I've been told there nothing wrong with my eye. If you find an answer please let me know

[alibeau]

I have tried a number of eye drops/gels....

My dry eyes come and go, I presume as my hormone levels rise and fall, when they are at their worst I use Clinitas Hydrate Liquid Eye Gel (as recommended by my optician) and I do find that this helps.

Ali x

[CLKD]

Pain is different from the eyes feeling dry.  Mine feel gritty sometimes  or get very itchy.  A good rub works 

Lyncola - have you any problems with teeth, could it be referred pain?

[sophielee]

Thank you ladies for your insight.

It seems it may not get any better. The pain kept me up all night and I had to call off from work today. I know I can't keep doing this. I feel quite anxious and concerned for the future.

May I ask how you cope?

[CLKD]

I remember now having had stabbing pains in the side of one eye earlier today !  sharp, instant and 'ouch' but gone.  In the area of the eye near the nose.  Like neuralgia but that's a different nerve.

Maybe have a look-see at your Hospital web-site to see if there is a specific pain relief clinic, often run by Anesthestists.  If pain is keeping you awake there will be a reason for it, pain is a warning after all.  Is it postural?

[Mogster71]

I have terribly dry eyes, my job also involves all-day computer use. Contact lenses are a complete no-no now and have been for a couple of years. No eye drops seem to do anything for me

I would really think about going to see your optician to check there is no underlying issue causing the soreness - do you get any headaches at all?

I have (only today) started taking Omega 7 supplement for the same thing (sea buckthorn oil) which is supposed to be good for this x

[sophielee]

I would really think about going to see your optician to check there is no underlying issue causing the soreness - do you get any headaches at all?

I have (only today) started taking Omega 7 supplement for the same thing (sea buckthorn oil) which is supposed to be good for this x

I did have one day where i had a headache on the left side that coincided with a very sore left eye. Aside from that, i havent seen a correlation.

I have been taking Omega supplement with Vitamin 3 since this started. It's not helped but maybe it takes time? Sometimes I don't know what makes me feel worse, the anxiety from this condition and other peri issues, or the disappointment at the toll it's taken on my life.

 

[Wrensong]

Hi Sophielee, please don't worry but do either see your GP or an optician about your dry eye.  It's important to get expert advice on this.  I've been on artificial tears for nearly 30 years - Viscotears, Hylo Forte, Clinitas & now Optive Plus & I'm currently seeing an Ophthalmologist after referral from my optician as the dryness has worsened markedly since BSO.  It's important that any eye drops used daily long term don't contain preservative. 

The tears are produced by the lachrymal glands but the Meibomian glands (in the eyelids) also produce an oily layer that protects the tear film & prevents it evaporating too quickly.  If the Meibomian glands are not working well then relief from artificial tears may also be only fleeting.  MGD (Meibomian gland dysfunction)  is fairly common as we age.  The oils the glands produce tend to thicken & clog the outlets close to the lash line.   An Ophthalmologist can examine you & test to see how well the various glands are working & prescribe appropriate treatment.

As Annie said, the Blephasol range can help to keep the lids clean.  This has been recommended by my Ophthalmologist along with use of a heated eye mask twice daily to liquify the oils, followed by a massage technique to express them.  If you Google MGD there are online videos about it. 

There's some evidence that counter-intuitively, the oestrogen in HRT may make dry eyes worse & androgen deficiency may be behind dry eye & Meibomian gland dysfunction, but the relationship with sex hormones seems to be very complex.  There was a study showing that women with DES on oestrogen-only HRT fared worse than those on combi oestrogen-progestogen, but surprisingly perhaps, that women on no HRT fared better than either of the other groups.  Unfortunately I can't find the link!  If there is a link between declining androgen levels & the development of DES then the finding about combi HRT makes some sense - if the progestogen was one of the more androgenic kinds.  There's an interesting (but rather long) link here for anyone technically minded!

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cxo.12147

I'm currently trialling testosterone in hope it will help my dry eye condition among other things, but have also been referred for investigation for Sjogren's which causes systemic dryness.

Please do get it checked out.
Wx

[CLKD]

   many years ago my Aunt complained of dry mouth and eyes.  Of course I wasn't aware of menopause then so couldn't give advice other than buy sweeties recommended by a Pharmacist.  Her GP kept telling her it was the medication she was already taking. 

[sophielee]

I'm going to see my GP today.
I don't know what she can do except refer me to a dry eye specialist. From what i read on the internet, there's really no cure for dry eye, just methods to manage and mitigate the symptoms.

There's a couple of medications that can help. Maybe she will prescribe them.

[Countrygirl]

Sophielee hope it went well at the drs today x

I started suffering with very dry eyes along with what I know now were perimenopause symptoms and ended up with a corneal abrasion late 2018 and had to stop wearing contact lenses after over 20 years of daily wear. I use drops from the hospital and gel at night, but the pain sometimes first thing is awful stabby pains and I regularly get them checked at the opticians to make sure there is no more damage being caused x

[sophielee]

hi,

Thank you for all your comments.
I went to see my GP. As expected, she said there's no cure and said I should continue doing what i'm doing in order to manage my condition...warm compresses, eye drops, stay away from windy areas. She seemed a little dismissive and said her dry eye patients managed their day to day with eye drops. At that point, I started to get a little upset.

I asked her if she could tell me what I can do to ensure it doesn't get worse even if she can't tell me the long term prognosis. I also asked her about prescriptions like Restasis. At that point, she said she would refer me to an opthalmologist. I'm waiting for an appointment date. She said the wait is about 2 weeks.

@Countrygirl, I'm sorry to hear about the stabby pains. I don't have those. I just have an uncomfortable dry feeling bordering on soreness all the time. What kind of drops and gel do you use?

@Hasty, I have been using preservative free eye drops. It has helped but only for a couple of hours at a time. And sometimes when the eyes are really sore, it does not help at all.

I think this is linked to hormones as it coincides with a month where I've skipped a period. A less severe episode occurred a year ago, also during a skipped month. This is the latest bit of my well-being that menopause has taken a bite of. I'm sure there will be others.