Dry eyes - contact lenses/propranolol

[Lauren83]

I'm wondering if anyone suffers from severely dry eyes and has found any drops that work? I have always had dry eyes and try to limit my contact lense wear and have to use drops constantly especially during the night and when I wake. I'm currently on propranolol and it's made it so much worse which I know can be a side effect. I'm now on my 5th prescribed drops from the GP and having to put drops in constantly during the night and have problems opening my eyes upon waking, they feel stuck together and I'm having to use a warm flannel to help open them some mornings.

I now have tears to the surface of my eye where my lenses have lifted some cells off due to the dryness and I have constantly blood shot eyes with burst blood vessels.

So far I have tried
Clinitas multi
Clinitas gel
Hycosan extra (seemed to be the best so far)
Hycosan night gel
Hypromellose
Xailin night

Hi I found when on propanalol I kept thinking about my contacts. Normally I put them in and forget they were there but the medication made me aware of them. They didn’t hurt though.

For dry eyes I found taking evening primrose helped along with washing my eyes with cotton bud dipped in boiled water and cleaning along lash line. You can also buy a microwaveable bag and sit with that on your eyes for 10 minutes. I found this combo took a few weeks but definitely did help a lot.

@PinkSubscriber thanks so much for these tips it's really helpful. I'm the same I can feel them when they are in, my prescriptions so strong I hate wearing my glasses as the lenses are so thick so I'm desperate to try to find a solution, I did come off the propranolol for 6 weeks but ended up going back on them this week. Will definitely try your suggestions thanks

Have you tried giving yourself a complete break from contact lenses? Is your optician still happy for you to be wearing them?

I really hated wearing my glasses. I would never ever go anywhere with them on because I hated how I looked and how it felt wearing them.

Then I got severe dry eyes. It was so bad the optician told me to give up my lenses for a while.

It was the best thing I ever did. My eyes feel normal now. My eyes feel healthy and when I think back to the stinging dry eyes I can't bring myself to put contacts in my eyes again.

Now instead of paying for expensive contact lenses I buy new varifocal glasses once a year. I am building up a nice collection of glasses.

Following with interest. I have dry eyes always have had and I’m on propranolol. Since I’ve been on it they have been more awkward to put in and out. I just don’t wear them anymore. The last time I wore them one of them really stuck to my eye and the stress of trying to get it out was enough to put me off for a while.

The best thing I did was buy a steam heat eye mask and wore for a good few minutes everyday. My dry eyes have all but gone!

@peanutsandcream I have an appt Friday so will see what they say, they wouldn't see me whilst they were closed as they said it wasn't an emergency and just said take an antihistamine and get my other half to see if I'm sleeping with my eyes open.

The first time I was on beta blockers years ago they were trying different solutions and lenses before a locum realised it was the propranolol, they did tell me to stop wearing them and I did for a couple of months. I had to go back weekly and have the dye put in so they could check the scarring left on my eyes from where the damage was

I'm the same with my glasses I just feel so self conscious, I did buy some nice Whistles ones and I like the frames just hate the lenses, I paid for the really high index ones but they are still so thick

@Buddyelf I have been hardly wearing them whilst I have been working from home but when it's been really sunny and I have wanted to wear sunglasses I have put them in. I'm going to order some prescription sunglasses this week incase the sun comes back!

@glassmister Will definitely get one thanks for the tip! I have a baby and toddler so up a lot in the night still when it's the worst. I'm having to try to prise them open with drops whilst I'm making a bottle for the baby

I have trouble with dry eyes and I also hate my glasses as they give me such a headache if I wear them for more than 4 hours. But I know that I need to try to sort out the dry eyes so I wear my glasses for the first and last two hours of each day and have religiously been taking omega 3 supplements as advised by my optometrist. It's only been two weeks but I do feel there has been a slight improvement.

Just to update I have been to the opticians and they are referring me to the eye hospital. They say they can see signs of dry eyes on the outer surface of my eye but it's the underside of my eye lids and tissue under my eye that seem really rough and damaged, he feels there's a disruption to my tear production and the eye hospital are better equipped to deal with it. He thinks it's the beta blockers but also it's been made worse as I already suffered with dry eyes. Thanks fo much for all the tips as I am trying them all in the hope it helps

My dh uses Vit-A-pos ointment.
I've used his before as I also get dry eyes and have now given up on contacts. It feels like you are putting a load of Vaseline in your eyes , and you most definitely have to put them in before bed as you can hardly see after, but we find it works well.

Hycosan extra eye drops are amazing for dry eyes, best one I’ve used. Hope you get it sorted at the eye hospital.

Thanks both, I do have an eye ointment to use overnight and it does feel like Vaseline. I also have the hycosan extra in the red bottle and agree it's the best one I have used. I was buying it but the GP was able to prescribe a generic version called clinitas multi. These are the ones I have been on

Are you taking propanolol because of an overactive thyroid? If so, grave’s disease can cause dry and red eyes as one of the symptoms

No for anxiety/phobia, thanks for letting me know though

Watching with interest OP as I also have painful stuck-together eyes in the morning. I have used
Optrex Double Action ActiMist Dry and Tired Eye Spray, 10 ml
In the past and going back to it. It's sprayed on the outside of the eyes to cool the skin and also lubricator the eyes. I've tried Superdrug own make (cheaper) but nowhere near as good as that comes out in a larger spray rather than the Optrex very fine mist. I see you use a wet flannel on your eyes first thing in the morning so the Actimist spray would be good when you are out of the home.

Also have you tried Systane Gel Drops lubricant eye gel? It's a cross between the Carbomer (Clinitas) gel and lubricant eye drops. Very soothing. All, sadly, very expensive though thankfully I get the Carbomer on prescription now.

I like the sound of the heat steam eye mask and will read up on that.

I've been prescribed Hylo Forte. I'd definitely recommend it

It could also be your contact lenses. I don’t really produce any tears at all (“bone dry” was the test result) & after various years of not quite right contacts, I get along with Acuvue Oasys Dailies which apparently squeeze out a bit of eye drop fluid with each blink. I can’t wear anything except dailies due to dry eyes.

Hycosan Extra are also the best tear drops in my experience.