dry eyes

Dear sisters,

I have been off HRT for about two months and have been taking Effexor to help with mood swings and hot flashes. The hot flashes are still pretty bad, but I'm dealing pretty well with them. My husband and I are working on the vaginal lubrication problem (I'm just starting using a vaginal lubricant daily rather than just when we're going to have sex) and since my libido is good lately (Effexor helped me with this, too, happily, though it doesn't help everyone) and I can still have "the big O," we're pretty satisfied in that area, too.

I know it may seem like a small issue compared to the bigger ones listed above, but I wanted to ask about options for dry eyes. I have been noticing it more and more. I went on a trip to Europe recently (yay!) and the plane ride made the dryness much worse (and of course the flight was looooong). I don't want to use chemical eye drops because I know they can contribute to more dryness later, but I do need some suggestions on natural lubrication for my eyes. Like real tears. I'm going to ask my pharmacist what she'd suggest, too (she and I have been chatting a lot thanks to this whole surgery and menopause thing!)

If anyone has any advice, I'd appreciate it! Hope you all have wonderful weekends!

-Christie in Chandler, AZ

I had a tah with ovaries removed also in Sept 2001. I started having trouble with dry eyes in spring of 2002. My eye doctor had me discontinued my contacts I have tried several over the counter eye drops and I used Refresh PM at night. I would try the over the counter drops 4 times a day or more and refresh at night. Do you wear contacts? If you do you might want your eye doctor to see if you need to wear you contacts. I am glad somebody else is out there with dry eyes after a hyst. I am taking premarin. Are you using any hormorne replacement? This is just my personal advice. If you are still having alot of trouble, contact your doctor. Good Luck.

i have really dry eyes that did worsen after my hyst, i was also a contact lens wearer for 30 yrs, then had lasik. my eye surgeon put punctal plugs in my tear ducts which worked wonderfully! they are teeny tiny plugs that go into your lower ducts (you can have the uppers done too-i did) and it is usually covered by insurance---this is considered a medical problem, not an eye exam. call an/your eye dr and ask about them, if they don't do it, they will know someone who does. this procedure was relatively painless and after 3 days, i hardly ever noticed that i had them in. i did have to have one duct cauterized shut because i couldn't keep the plug in an upper duct. it was also recommended to me to use thera tears eye drops (no chemicals) 4 x's a day...which i still have to use, even with the plugs! not to scare you, but chronic dry eyes can damage your eyes permantly...it is not just a nuisance-that "sandpaper" feeling is wearing away your eyeball. long term contact lens wearers are at risk, as are women with a lack of estrogen, and lasik can dry eyes too...could this be my problem?!!! but i did have the dry eyes before hyst and before lasik, it was just a little more pronounced afterwards. good luck and i highly recommend the punctal plugs!