xanax increase-made eyes drier! ??

[jenny2008]

Ok
so after what I thought was just allergies drying me out I went back to Dr. Foulks this past Monday. He asked me if I had any change in medications as I no longer had the papillae under my lids and my eyes were allergy free (yay!).. I then told him my work had become stressful and I went from taking 1-2 mg of xanax per week to 1-2mg of xanax per day for the past 4 weeks. He said that xanax will cause dry eye.

I do have to say that my eyes didn't start getting drier than usual until I had been on the increased dose of xanax for about a week. I have been weaning off and am down to only a 1 fraction of that dose..

I was wondering if anyone else out there has noticed Xanax when taken in large amounts caused drier eyes? And if so, how long does it take to get out of one's system so it doesn't affect the eyes?

Thank you so much for your responses in advance!! please respond! thanks!!

[autumnn]

Hi Jenny- I too take xanax, and sometimes in high doses. I havent noticed a change in it making my eyes drier. There are so many factors though, it is hard to tell what is doing what....also, my doctor did a test that is similar to a shirmers and my tear production was close to normal so it seems to indicate that the meds arent causing tear decrease....I think though I noticed a drying effect with ambien.

[indrep]

Xanax, prozac, etc. all list dry eyes as a possible side effect. Many medications increase the issues of dry eye.

As to how long aftering stopping does it stop affecting your eyes, it depends on long you were taking it. If the balance of your ocular surface environment has been altered then it could take some time with treatment for dry eye to regain the balance.

[Chicagogrl]

Hi,

I have been taking about 1 mg of Xanax a day since my diagnosis with dry eye. I think it does make my eyes some what drier, not really sure. The stress from the pain and um stress is worse though. With me I think that when I take a little less I can tell pretty quickly that my eyes are less dry. From what my Dr told me with meds that are drying once you stop or decrease things go back to normal. Also if it is any consolation my Aunt has dry eyes, but also has a severe allergy and has to stay on allergy meds all the time which her Dr confirms is increasing her dryness, but he is not too concerned since the allergy is life threatening. Good luck!

Carolyn

[Sammy B.]

All,

I'm a little late in posting on this thread but when I was taking Xanax earlier this year for my "dry eye freakouts" I stumbled across this article.

Apparently Xanax affects every part of your eye - not only the dryness factor but everything from light sensitivity to pupil size to the inability to focus (blurriness). I was sure at that moment that Xanax wasn't the drug I should be turning to if I already had eyeball issues.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5035689_xa...cts-eyes.html#

I told my general practitioner that I had been using Xanax here and there for anxiety and he advised that it's only for SEVERE PANIC ATTACKS and should not be considered a daily, maintenance drug.

He prescribed Ativan, 0.5mg, 2x a day and I couldn't be happier. He said it is in the same family of drugs as Xanax but is way less habit-forming and creates less of the scary side effects.

- Rose