Dry Eye Since 2006

[susanna]

I believe I am perimenopausal too because of problems with my periods for the past few years and am wondering if it would be dry eye related. My eyes feel so tired when I get up, i have to use the puralub oinment twice a night now because i wake up in the middle of the night with my left eye and eye lid feeling like I cannot open it easily. I have been using restasis for two years and I have been also using refresh liquigel. I use the ointment at night and I am using a cool air humidifier at work and home. I now purchased swimmers goggles to wear at night to keep the moisture in my eyes but this condition is driving me absolutely nuts ecause when I put the refresh liquigel in my eyes remain blurry for a bit. Do we ever get over this if it is related to menopause?

[nahzee]

I believe I am perimenopausal too because of problems with my periods for the past few years and am wondering if it would be dry eye related. My eyes feel so tired when I get up, i have to use the puralub oinment twice a night now because i wake up in the middle of the night with my left eye and eye lid feeling like I cannot open it easily. I have been using restasis for two years and I have been also using refresh liquigel. I use the ointment at night and I am using a cool air humidifier at work and home. I now purchased swimmers goggles to wear at night to keep the moisture in my eyes but this condition is driving me absolutely nuts ecause when I put the refresh liquigel in my eyes remain blurry for a bit. Do we ever get over this if it is related to menopause?

Alright, here's some things I'll note, although I have no idea on the menopause front.

Sleeping in swim goggles is a bad, bad idea. You're depriving your eyes of much-needed oxygen. A sleep-goggle like tranquileyes, or even a regular sleep mask, would be a much better idea. Goggles are safe to wear during the day IF you take them off often (at least every two hours) and clean them and let your eyes breathe a bit. People who wear swim goggles during the day probably find themselves lifting them up and letting fresh air in fairly often to combat fogging.

Second, ointments are nasty beasts, for reasons a ton of smarter people can get into. Basically, you're sticking a thick oily coating in your eye, and that makes your OWN tears (or any artificial tears you add) far less effective. If you really need the thick-goop feeling, invest in a bottle of genteal gel, and leave your eyes open and blinking for at least a minute or two before you close them to sleep.

As you can get into by searching the forums and asking questions, drops are not anywhere near the full deal when it comes to managing dry eye. Starting from a good diagnosis to 'extreme' treatment options like blood serum or sclerals, you've still got a ways to go.

[kitty]

Welcome. I was diagnosed almost 3 years ago, also during peri menopause. I can completely relate. From what I have read, it only gets worse as we age. I can only hope that a fix will be found. Like Nahzee said, try something like tranquileyes instead of swim goggles. They sure are much more comfortable (I have tried both). I have found ointments to be quite irritating and they seem to make my eyes feel dryer, as do most gel tears other than GenTeal severe eye gel. Experiment and you may find some products that work better for you. Avoid fans and drafts in the bedroom as well. Be sure to run that humidifier in your bedroom at night.

[Lucy]

P.S. If you're wearing Tranquileyes, a fan or draft isn't much of a problem. I love my ceiling fan in the bedroom and T-eyes make it possible for me to run it year around. Lucy

[bernmee]

Hi,

I'm beginning to think my eyes are worse from when I ovulate to after my period....this month I will be firming testing that theory.

Anyway back to you. Are you sure that your dry eye is not being caused by or made worse becuase of another reason? Many people here suffer from ocular rosacea, blepheritis and numerous other things, sometimes the cause of your dry eye will help determine your treatment. For instance I have lots of tears but just bad oil production to stop them from evaporating, so I work on that oil production.

I'm not for one moment saying that your condition is not realted to your cycle, but it is a good idea to keep an open mind when yoou are doing your research and looking through lots of posts.


Keep well,

Bernadette