Dry Eye - contact lens

[leahjade]

Any women have trouble with their contacts after menopause? I started suffering from dry eye - any suggestions anyone?

 

[golfgal]

Well, not a woman, nor menopausal but my DS15 has bad allergies that really bother his eyes. Our eye dr just switched him to daily disposables and they have made a world of difference!!

 

[leahjade]

Thanks I read somewhere that the daily lenses help so I may have to try them. How much more expensive are they than the monthlies?

 

[MerMom60_94]

I have eyedrops made by Systane specific for contact lens wearers. I have to admit, I only where contacts in spurts. Sometimes they work for me and sometimes they aren't worth the discomfort. When I wear them, though, these drops do help some.

 

[leahjade]

I am heartbroken to think I may be getting too old for contacts! I don't even own a pair of glasses so I'm willing to try drops, new brands of lenses, anything not to give up contacts!

 

[golfgal]

Thanks I read somewhere that the daily lenses help so I may have to try them. How much more expensive are they than the monthlies?

He was on a high water contact before the dailies (Extreme H2O) which are a little more expensive then most contacts anyway so the price difference wasn't that much. Ok, just looked his up and the diailies on 1-800 contacts were $120 for 6 months so $240/year. His old contacts were $200 for a year's supply. Keep in mind that you don't really need contact solution with these either-we have some because DD and I wear them but I would keep a bottle around if we didn't so in the long run, they probably cost less.

 

[arminnie]

Yes - virtually all of my friends started limiting their contact use after menopause. I thought I just looked too old with glasses so I had lasik. It was expensive, but it's been about 5 years and I would have spent a lot on contacts and glasses in those 5 years.

Best thing I ever did. Took like 30 seconds per eye with no pain at all.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Had issue with dry eyes last summer. Saw my eye dr, was SO afraid I wouldn't be able to wear contacts or that i had irritated/scratched my cornea.

But just dry eyes. She has me use eye drops at night and as soon as I was getting home from work contacts came out and moisturizng drops in

So much better!! Haven't had the issue in almost a year now.

Good luck, dry eyes can be so uncomfortable!

 

[AmericangirlinFrance]

I am not menopausal (mid 20s), but I'm a contact wearer with HORRIBLE dry eyes. Here's what I do:

- I wear "Night and Day" brand contact lenses. They are designed to be slept in and worn for a few days at a time without taking them out, which means they have the largest amount of oxygen flowing into your eyes. I don't sleep in them, though.
- I clean them with an enzyme cleaner (Clear Care) - this seems to clean them extra-well which helps with dryness.
- When my contacts are out, I use eye drops (I think they are called Soothe, from Bausch & Lomb) - they are a milky consistency, not clear, they make your vision kind of blurry, but they work better because they have an oily/lipid base.

I have heard good things about Restasis, but I tried it and it made my eyes burn a LOT!

Good luck... it is really no fun!

 

[bballmom56]

I am heartbroken to think I may be getting too old for contacts! I don't even own a pair of glasses so I'm willing to try drops, new brands of lenses, anything not to give up contacts!

I actually asked at my last appointment if there was an age or stage of life where I would not physically be able to wear contacts any more and was told no. I was trying to envision myself at 80 yo still taking them out at night and putting them in for the morning, lol!

Now maybe he didn't want to go into the things that may or may not happen as a result of aging in order not to upset me. It probably affects people differently. So for now I just happily continue wearing them as I have for 35 years.

Last year I thought I was having a dry eye problem - that is certainly what it felt like. The doctor assured me it was not and was not sure what was causing the feeling. For some reason, I tried taking an antihistamine and that solved the problem which amazed me. My eyes certainly were not tearing as with allergies, they felt dry. But it worked, so when it happens now, I take the allergy med. and it is fine.

 

[arminnie]

I forgot to mention in my response that I wore gas perm not soft contacts. Most people in my age group started out with those hard poker chip contacts and then eventually switched to gas perm.

Soft contacts often have a big adjustment problem with people who had gas perm or hard contacts. Plus I could never get sharp enough vision with the soft ones.

So I didn't mean to be overly pessimistic about how dry eye affected my menopausal friends. Plus they make such advances every year.

What I do love about my lasik is that one eye is slightly undercorrected so I rarely have to use readers when I am out shopping - unless I am trying to read reallly tiny ingredient print.

 

[bballmom56]

I forgot to mention in my response that I wore gas perm not soft contacts. Most people in my age group started out with those hard poker chip contacts and then eventually switched to gas perm.

Soft contacts often have a big adjustment problem with people who had gas perm or hard contacts. Plus I could never get sharp enough vision with the soft ones.

So I didn't mean to be overly pessimistic about how dry eye affected my menopausal friends. Plus they make such advances every year.

What I do love about my lasik is that one eye is slightly undercorrected so I rarely have to use readers when I am out shopping - unless I am trying to read reallly tiny ingredient print.

I have the gas perm also and have never had the soft. The doctor said the gas perm were better for me anyway because the soft would not be able to correct my vision enough. I actually have the monovision lenses now where one contact is for reading and one for distance. Not a perfect solution as it compromises the distance a bit, but I still prefer it to my glasses.

 

[leahjade]

Pumbaa - what kind of drops do you use at night? Guess I'll go that route first then try a different brand of contacts if that doesn't work!

 

[dolfinjuls]

I'm an optometric tech and just about everyone has dry eyes now to some extent. We have patients in their 70's and 80's wearing contacts, so don't give up yet. I would definitely see your optometrist as dry eyes can really affect your contact lens wear.

If you're not using lubricating drops now, start! Thera Tears is a great drop to use whenever. I think the best though is Oasis Tears, but they are hard to find in drug stores, usually you have to get them @ your dr's office. If you feel like your eyes are dry, then you've waited too long to put drops in.

There are also dry eye vitamins that help a lot. And probably a last resort would be punctum plugs. But don't give up yet...there are a lot of options for you!

 

[leahjade]

Do you use the drops with your contacts in or before bed? I've worn contacts for 30 years and have never once had to use drops, so this is all new for me! This "getting older stuff" is a pain!

 

[leahjade]

Doctor gave me a silicon lens to try - anyone have any luck with those?

 

[pppiglet]

My eyes are actually extremely dry AFTER I take out my lens. I have to put drops in whenever I get up in the night and when I get up in the morning before I take a shower. Then I put my lens in and another dose of drops. I'm fine all day after that. No drops at all during the day.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Unfortunately, I also have been having to limit my contact lens use since menopause. I've been wearing contact lenses for 40 years (starting with the really hard lenses that aren't even made any more). My doctor just put me on estrogen for another problem, and since that tends to "moisten" everything, I'm hoping that helps my eyes with my contact lenses. I hope!

 

[leahjade]

Piglet, what drops do you use at night?

 

[AllisonK]

I'm only in my early 20s but I'm a full-time contact wearer (only wear my glasses MAYBE 20 minutes/day if that). I have gas permeable lenses due to a cornea disease and I also wear a soft lens in my right eye UNDER the gas perm to keep it from moving around too much (can wear just the gas perm in my left eye - but the disease hasn't progressed too much in the left eye yet). I started wearing soft lenses when I was 15 and switched to gas perms when I was 18.

I use the enzyme cleaner (Clear Care) at night and when I take out my lenses I use Refresh for Dry Eyes (and also sometimes use it when I wake up) and during the day I use Refresh for Contacts and before my lenses go in I rinse them with plain saline. Also in the spring/summer I get prescription allergy drops that I put in when I wake up and before I go to bed and they help IMMENSELY.

I never had a dry eye problem until I started with the gas perms 3 and a half years ago but it is SO worth it to be able to SEE correctly (and DRIVE - I didn't get my license until last Thanksgiving due to my eyes and also being away at school) that I just use drops and deal with it. But the enzyme cleaner helps a lot. It's expensive but I really don't mind paying the price because it cleans my lenses much better than the specialized cleaner for gas perms do.