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[Trixiebell]

Hi I’ve been on HRT for 3 years now .
I have had a horrible gritty feeling on top of my eye ball it’s also stingy but not itchy
No redness , I have never had this before seeing an optician tomorrow
Has anybody else had this ? I’ve read hormone changes can  cause dry eye
I’m worried as I don’t know what it is I have been bathing with warm water until I get advice tomorrow

[Northerngirl]

Hi Trixiebell,  I've always suffered with severe dry/itchy eyes from perimenopause all the way through until postmenopause (12 years now).
It's extremely annoying isn't it!!!
I'm sure your optician will offer good advice tomorrow and check that there is nothing else going on.
I was advised to use a high strength daily omega 3 supplement to help and I always have a good quality eyedrop in the house and use regularly...I use Hycosan extra(red bottle) or Theolaz. It's trial and error to see what works for you. I  try to alternate every few months also. You can also buy heat/cold eye masks which are quite helpful...I heat mine in the microwave for about 10 seconds.
I found that whether I was on HRT or not I always had dry eye issues, the HRT didn't help this problem.
I think it's one of the main symptoms of menopause and never really goes away, you just learn to control it. That's my experience anyway.
Hope all goes well tomorrow....let us know.

[Trixiebell]

Thankyou for your reply Northerngirl , I’ve never had this before so quite worried
I thought that it was an episode of Blepharitis which I’ve had diagnosed before it’s usually made better by warm water compresses but that’s not working
Thankyou for your advice it’s appreciated
May I ask what strength Omega 3 do you take please

I just feel as though it’s one thing after another at the moment 😞

[CLKD]

As oestrogen levels drop the body may become dry - inside and out: deep in the ears, eyes, nostrils, vagina, skin ....... my optician diagnosed blethritis [sp] and advised drops on a regular basis.  After a lot of screen work mine feel gritty ........

[Northerngirl]

Hi, I use the 1000mg strength....you can buy anywhere really. Don't have to spend a fortune on them. Walnuts and Brazil nuts are also good, as would oily fish but I don't like that😂.They were recommended by my optician, I just have to hope they are working. The eyedrops are most useful I find.
Yes I agree with you that the whole menopause experience is one thing after another  and never ending unfortunately.
Hope your optician helps tomorrow 

[CLKD]

I'm another non-fish person ........ 

[Furyan]

I find that yhe amount of oestrogen I take is directly related to dryness in all the areas mentioned. I get very dry, gritty eyes (blurry too) when I lower my patch, it corrects itself within a couple days of upping it again. Annoying really because I want to take as little oestrogen as possible due to the horrendous fluid retention it causes.

[Trixiebell]

Thankyou Northerngirl ,
Furyan I’m taking 75mg Everol which I’ve been on for some time .
I dont know if this is dry eye but I seem to have health  anxiety something that I never used to have when I was younger .
My husband is telling me to not faff at the opticians but to go to the Dr for a Moorfields referral 🙈
The irritation in my eye comes and goes maybe it’s because I’m constantly thinking about it

[DottyD68]

Hi Trixiebell,

Sounds like Dry Eye to me. I have had it for past 10 years which co-incided with start of peri-menopause. Apparently it is common in ladies of a certain age.

I manage it with a number of things:-

1. Hycosan eye drops during the day.
2. Hycosan night gel at night.
3. Daily heated eye pad for 10 minutes every day. I have an electric one plugged in next to my bed so put it on first thing in the morning when I'm coming to. I find it really relaxing and much better than the microwavable ones as it has 3 different constant heat settings.
4. Take Sea Buckthorn capsules daily. These are also supposed to help with other hormone related dryness. Get them from Holland and Barratt.
5. Wear glasses when it's windy.

Sounds like a faff but it's part of my routine now.

Hope you get on ok tomorrow.

[CLKD]

Furyan - there are other methods of delivering HRT which may not cause fluid retention.  Have U discussed this issue with your GP?  I became bloated a few days before a period was due, awful!

[Furyan]

Furyan - there are other methods of delivering HRT which may not cause fluid retention.  Have U discussed this issue with your GP?  I became bloated a few days before a period was due, awful!

Hi CLKD - I have an upcoming appointment with GP to look at this. I was thinking of giving Tibolone a try - I know there are mixed reviews about it but I was thinking if it is ‘t actually oestrogen it might give me a break? Meanwhile, i asked for another prescription of Furosemide (diuretic) to help with the retention - it helped a little before but if I could find a way to take HRT without it causing this problem, that’s ideal.

What other types of HRT were you thinking?

[Cocobra]

Dear All,

DottyD68 has nailed it: I do all that she is doing although I found that the warm compresses and the cleaning of the tear duct (due to blepharitis) were no longer necessary once blepharitis went away. But the Hycosan night gel is a saviour: I use it every night - it's a Vit.A gel that can only be used at night because it blurs the vision but it really works.
I did not found Omega 3 or other supplements to work for me, but we're all different. I'd try the gel, the compresses and cleaning ear duct before moving onto supplements (which are not cheap). The cleaning of ear duct is done with Qtip drenched in warm water and bicarbonate: this advice was given to me at Moorfield Eye Hospital and it worked. My optician also reminded me the 20-20-20 rule when working on a screen: every 20 minutes, look for 20 seconds in the distance and blink 20 times.

But everyone is right here: no matter how much HRT, once you have it, it's for life. However, once the symptoms are under control, life looks a lot better - trust me!

All best to all.

[Trixiebell]

Just to catch up I went to the optician today and had a thorough eye examination, photos of the back of my eye , glaucoma test , eye test
He put yellow drops in my eyes to look for abnormalities.
Everything is fine but my right eye is very dry he put some Hycosan intense drops  in & almost immediately I had relief
My left eye is slightly dry but the right being the worst . He did say that menopause can cause these symptoms

Thankyou all so much for kind words and reassurance , I’m so relieved that’s it’s nothing serious .
Mind you the Hycosan drops aren’t cheap 🙈

[DottyD68]

Glad you got it checked out.

Yes not of it cheap  I usually buy in lots of 3 from Amazon which makes it a bit cheaper. Hope things settle.

[Trixiebell]

Thankyou Dotty , I’m just wondering what ever next as far as my health is concerned 😞