Severe dry eye

[CiderWithLizzie]

Hello - I have suffered with severe dry eye for the last 30 years (autoimmune related) and am not 3 years post menopause. My dry eye seems to have got worse recently and I wondered if HRT might help or hinder? I’ve not taken any HRT before due to thinking I couldn’t as I have had previous blood clots, but I understand the newer treatments would be ok. For info I did try the coil but felt that it made my dry eyes worse (progesterone only?), so maybe this is an indication it won’t help me. Just wondering if anyone has any positive or negative experiences to share? Thanks.

What medications do you use for your dry eye?

I have an eye/nerve issue that causes dry eyes - one eye in particular - and six months of HRT hasn’t especially helped.

I use Xailin ointment at night which helps (but don’t put it in until you’re ready to sleep as you can’t see with it in!) and then HycoSan extra during the day.

hope you get it sorted, it’s so annoying isn’t it. Feels like I have sand in my eyes 😩

I have very dry eyes. Some inflammatory cause but deffo worse since menopause. Am going to ask GP for HRT next week partly for the eyes but also for arthritis. No idea if it will work but worth a try I think.

Glad I read this message as my eyes have been super dry and I just assumed it was due to poor sleep and I have accidentally spent a fortune on the wrong kind of eye drops. Didn’t even think to try to get something on prescription. I thought I’d read somewhere that standard HRT doesn’t help dry eye but might be wrong

Thank you for the replies.
Im using a ton of drops - Xailin night 4 times a day (very greasy but the only thing that provides slightly longer help), Thealoz duo which feel lovely but don’t last long and Liquifilm tears too. Have to use drops every few minutes unfortunately. I’m a patient at the cornea clinic and have recently tried IPL for Meibomium gland dysfunction. I’m on the waiting list for scleral contact lenses. Just wondering if my (very) bad situation has got worse due to menopause and whether HRT could help.

I’ve just started with onega 7 supplements. Lots of posts about dry eyes on menopause matters forum and lots of ppl there rated omega 7’s.

In case it helps anyone I eventually discovered (thanks to an interested optician) that ibuprofen helps my dry eyes. Turns out it's an inflammatory problem for me. I am still going to try HRT as it hasn't cured it.

Mine are so bad I’m under the corneal clinic and have to use steroid drops.

What’s a scleral contact lense?

I’m also a patient at the corneal clinic. Scleral contact lenses are large diameter Jensen that vault over the cornea and rest in the white of the eye. They are filled with saline and bathe the cornea and si are very good for dry eyes.

*lenses

Oooh they sound interesting.

It has helped for me. but I think omega 3 helped a lot prior to that and many swear by omega 7. It's just pricy.

Thanks I’ve just ordered some omega7/sea buckthorn capsules.

Unfortunately this is the one thing HRT hasn’t helped for me.

I have severely dry eyes and mouth because of Sjogrens syndrome. I get serum eye drops on the NHS which help massively, and use loads of other drops on prescription.

My ocular dryness was well-managed until my periods stopped in October (I'm 50 and my periods had been regular up to then) but has been flaring more recently.

I've been trialling evorel sequi patches for the past couple of months, mainly to see if they would help with my aches and pains. They haven't improved my eye dryness at all, and have actually worsened my oral dryness, which had been very well-managed on oral pilocarpine. Dryness is even listed as a potential side-effect unfortunately. They might well help someone else, though - it all seems a matter of trial and error.

Thanks for your reply.