Has anyone been diagnosed with "Dry Eyes"?
I went to the eye doctor today because over the weekend my right eye seemed kind of blurry and it felt scratchy and irritated. He said my retina and cornea are fine but I have dry eyes. You don't need to be stage 4 to have this but I did see that there is a correlation with menopause and antihormonal drugs. I am so frustrated with numerous side effects from all the drugs but my eyes? Come on! I can take aches and pains but I need to have clear vision! Anyone in the same boat? And what have you found that has relieved your symptoms? Any help greatly appreciated!
Comments
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Smiley, every treatment I've been on has had the side effect of dry eyes. And so can natural menopause. I use Systane ultra or Systane balance drops morning, night, and as needed in between. They also make a gel for nighttime if you need more.
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I agree with Shetland Pony. Plus, I take a break mid-day and rest with a damp compress on my eyes for about 15 minutes - it helps a ton.
The night time gel blurs my vision, but only for a minute or two so that I can read without strain.
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I use refresh tears and refresh liquigel. In the morning I start with about 4 drops of the tears in each eye, blink slowly a few times and repeat 2 more times. I basically oversaturate. Oversaturating also helps flush out any potential allergens too like pollen, dust, etc.I repeat at night before bed. If they are really bad at night I'll use the liquigel. The only thing with the liquigel is everything is super blurry for a while after it so I try to make sure I'm already in the bed before I use them.
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I have had dry eye issues since Stage 4 dx. (Probably caused by meds and ovary removal.) It was almost unbearable on Xeloda but has been manageable on other meds. I use an over the counter gel moisturizing drop in the morning and evening and then keep a normal/lighter moisturing drop in my bag to use during the day as needed. The gel drops are a must.
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Yes. I am not stage 4 but saw this post. I believe radiation gave me my dry eye problems with tamoxifen not helping. Back in the spring I had actual dry patches on my eyes. Eye doc had me use 4-5 drops a day of Retaine MGD, and it healed the patches. I now use 2 drops a day morning and night to maintain. $$$ stuff but it's a good product and I happily buy it so my eyes feel good. I can't really wear my contacts anymore but that's ok. Glasses are better than burning eyes!
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Thanks for all your feedback ladies! I have been a mess! Have any of you experienced blurry vision with your dry eyes? When I saw the eye doctor he said this is because I don't have enough tears on the surface of my eye. He talked about putting plugs in my eyes and then a prescription for Retasis or something like that. I looked up the drug on ask a patient and it got horrific reviews. And right now I am not considering plugs. So I am going to go to Target today and look at more OTC drops. I just can tell that my vision is not as sharp in my right eye. It seems more blurry in the morning when I wake up with a little bit of goop. I did use a humidifier in my room last night and that did seem to help. I guess i noticed that my eyes were kind of dry but then it just seemed to hit like BOOM!
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smiley, definitely try the otc stuff first. It will probably help and be all you need.
Its been, gosh, 15 years or more since my husband had lasik surgery on his eyes to improve his eyesight. He was then instructed to use Blink eye drops several times a day and he used them for at least a year. His eyesight was greatly improved by the lasik, altho he eventually got a very mild eyeglass perscription for when he drives at night or when day conditions are cloudy.
But in the past year, he complained about his vision a bit more often. I got him another box of the Blink tears and he says he was urprised how much they make a big difference in his vision and eye comfort. He doesnt even need them every day, but will use them as needed. We keep some in the car and at home.
The Blink tears come in small, individual dose type containers. This is apparently to keep comtamination down. Dh can get several uses out of one dose. They are also "preservative free" which is supposed to be the better way to go with eye drops. I googled information on eye drops when dh was having the eye issues recently and you will find lots of good info out there. I cant say that you really need individual dose eyedrops, but I got them because I could keep a few in the car. Best wishes
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Hi
I had been suffering with dry eye too, not sure if from chemo putting me into menopause, Tamoxifen or Ibrance. But on the recommendation of an opthalmologist, I bought a bead type eye pack. You put it in the microwave to warm and place on the eyes for 10 mins. Its supposed to open up the tear duct I think to help the eye lubricate itself.
Hth
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I did get a little bit of blurriness at the beginning. It was mostly scratchy burning pain. I thought I had just been wearing my contacts too much.
With the OTC drops, make sure they are lubricant drops for dry eyes, and not the drops to clear redness or it'll make it worse. My eye doctor also sent me right to the preservative free drops, saying the preservative ones can make it worse. That might have been because of my tendency to be allergic to everything though. Hard to say.
So yeah, I like the Retaine. My husband has eye problems as well and his eye doctor had him using I think refresh tears preservative free single vials after a procedure, and that seemed to work out well. I admit I recap the Retaine...the eye doctor told me it was ok (and she actually recommended it), as long as the tip or the tip of the cap touches nothing, and it's tossed at the end of the day. That said, I am a germaphobe so sometimes I toss it anyway after a single use. But when I'm in a really clean situation and feel like I capped the vial well, it goes in the fridge upright in an empty Rx bottle. If I haven't used it by the end of the day I throw it out (per doctor instructions). I probably wouldn't recap if I'm out and about somewhere.
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Hmm, I do like to avoid preservatives in everything, but the preservative-free drops in individual vials are even more expensive than the drops with preservatives. I go through lots of those little bottles. But maybe I will look into buying online. Also, I think I'll consult the pharmacist again about what to try that does not have preservatives. He steered me toward the right kind before, both in terms of type (lubricant tears, not red-out) and strength (on chemo you need the kind for moderate or severe). Maybe I will follow your example, gb, and keep a vial of preservative-free drops in the fridge for home use. I can continue carrying the other little bottles in my purse for use away from home. And I will look up the brands everyone has mentioned, to compare. It's not fun going around with tears running down my cheeks, and having my ability to read diminished as my eyes dry out. I avoid fans for sure. Jennifer, warm or cold compress, and did a provider recommend it or did you figure it out on your own?
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Tepid. And, I figured it out on my own out of desperation. Reading = life.
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Thanks, Jennifer!
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Thanks for the info DivineMrsM. I did get Blink tears and liked them a lot. They didn't seem to sting or burn my eyes as much as some of the other ones. I am keeping one of those in my purse.
Hopeful 17 I ordered an eye bead pack off of Amazon! Thanks for the tip!
GB2115 I am trying to get preservative free drops as well. I read that those actually over time can hurt your cornea/retina plus I just want to put "more natural" stuff on my eyes. I have been using an eye drop in those single packs that I found at WF as well. And another one I found at Target by Samilison or something like that which is in a small glass bottle....homeopathic. I also have a Refresh bottle! These suckers get expensive that is for sure!
Shetland Pony I have also started sleeping with a humidifier and no longer use my ceiling fan which sucks because being post menopause I still get hot and have to throw off the covers. But I do feel this humidifier has helped. I also "dimmed" my computer. I found my eyes are very sensitive now to light as well. In general, I am trying to not use my computer as much either to give my eyes a break. Maybe I will actually get stuff done around my house! ha ha!
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I'm on arimidex and I have dry eyes too, which at times make it uncomfortable to read. Asked the MO if there is a correlation between the drug and the dryness, but of course he said "no". I disagree. I've been using the Systane, which relieve the dry eye, but if I used them too often my eyes get irritated. Maybe preservative free is the way to go along with the compresses.
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I have had huge issue with my eyes including 3 detached retinas. Dry eyes are a huge issue for me. I actually had a punctal plug placed in my tear duct by a eye specialist. It redirects any moisture back into your eye and I have noticed a big difference. That along with preservative free eye drops have made a big difference. Good luck.
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Preservative-free Systane has been the only drops I can use without irritating my eyes. Expensive (like everything else) but worth it.
JJ
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