Eye problem and anxiety?

[SueG]

I don't know whether I suffer from blepharospasm or not. My optometrist is advising me in coping with dry eyesdry and suggested that my eye closing was to do with my eyes feeling uncomfortable. There are times when my eyes will shut involuntarily for several seconds and for this reason I have stopped driving as this is unpredictable.

I am being treated by an ophthalmologist and being prescribed Monopost for my eye pressure and am extremely short sighted -26 so I need to wear gas permeable lenses to achieve decent vision but at the moment only wear them in the afternoon.

i have always been anxious where my eyes are concerned on top of this family illnesses cause more anxiety.

I know my eye shutting problem is less of an issue when I am concentrating on something else but generally I am thinking about my eyes most of the time. It also seems that I expect the eye shutting problem in certain situations for instance when looking into the face of someone I am speaking to. This leads me to wonder whether the triggers are psychological.

My question is does anyone else think their eye problems are worsened by stress and anxiety. I am considering cognitive behaviour therapy or even hypnosis. Has anyone gone down this route?

[wissen1]

Of course stress and anxiety worsens EVERY problem. And if you feel stressed and anxious a therapy is the right way to go. Which therapy works for you best is individual.
I feel my eyes reacting heavily to my emotional state.

[Hokucat]

Hi Sue. When did you first start having the involuntary eye shutting? Was it before or after you started taking Monopost and/or other eye drops?

When my eye dryness was at its worst a few years ago, zero Schirmers and 0-1 TBUT, I also started having involuntary shutting, most dangerously while driving. My eyes would often shut when I was driving at certain places, like the same left turn signals, etc....I do think it was partially anxiety that also caused my eyes to close at those spots, as I would get stressed as I approached those places. I also had involuntary shutting when I had to look up at someone or something for more than a few seconds. During this time, I was using several different rx eye drops, like Restasis, Lotemax, Asazite, etc. which could have been contributing factors.

My eye doctor told me it is the body's natural instinct to protect the eyes by shutting them, when the eyes are hurting or injured. I feel she was right. When my eyes started getting better almost two years ago, the involuntary shutting lessened. But it actually didn't go away completely until a few months after I stopped using my last rx eye drop, Lotemax, which has the BAK preservative that can damage the surface of the eye, and further exasperate an existing dry eye condition. So I think either the BAK or other ingredients in the Lotemax was adding to the problem in the end. Drops with BAK should be avoided.

I don't think Monopost has preservatives, but it could be some other ingredient in that drop that is bothering you. You might want to try rinsing your eyes with preservative-free saline about 20-30 minutes after using rx drops. My doctor agreed that would lessen the impact of any preservatives or ingredients bothering my eyes, while still getting the benefit of the drop. Plus a saline rinse can be soothing. This site's Dry Eye Shop sells several PF salines and sizes:

https://www.dryeyeshop.com/mobile/pr...ines-c162.aspx

[PhoenixEyes]

When I was on steroids for my dry eye (Dexamethasone, Prednisilone) my eye pressures went up and I was put on different medication to try and reduce the pressure, one of those was Monopost. Everyone is different so not all will get side effects, but not long after I put Monopost in my worst eye went a deep blood red (even more than the usual red inflammation) and I had an excruciating migraine. I looked up the possible side effects and one of them was conjunctival hyperaemia, where too much blood is supplied to the eye. So I would check the side effects and see if anything matches up.

The others I was on was Cosopt which stung like hell and Iopidine which wasn't as bad, but I wasn't on it for long as I ended up with another steroid side effect, cataracts, so stopped the steroids then my eye pressures normalized without the medications.

[SueG]

Sorry that I didn't reply sooner. Monopost doesn't have a preservative but to be honest I'm not sure when my involuntary blinking started whether before of after. I apply the Monopost drops at bedtime. My ophthalmologist wanted me to get my pressures down further as I am really short sighted and prescribe Tiopex which is a beta blocker but I really wasn't comfortable agreeing to this. I haven't suffered any of the side effects of using Monopost.

The contact lens solution that I use does contain preservative and although I have used this for over 40 years with no problem, I have found a preservative free solution which I am going to try.

My eye shutting does seem to be worse when I am worrying about something and as Hokucat I seem to suffer in certain situations. When I concentrate on something else it isn't as bad. I also wonder whether I have problems in certain situations due to expecting problems so I had wondered whether hypnotherapy or having Cognitive behaviour therapy would help.

My ophthalmologist just said my eyes will shut as they feel more comfortable but the shutting doesn't seem to relate to discomfort. His response was that he hadn't noticed me shutting my eyes.