Dry eyes and nose benzo withdrawal - heads up about drops

[[Gr...]]

UPDATE:  BAK free nasal spray:  Arm & Hammer "Simply Saline" and some pharmacies have their own brand

Hello. Air conditioners and heat can dry out eyes out and I'm learning benzo withdrawal also can for some.  I generally have dry eyes and use Rx Restasis (21 years). My tears were looking great the month and months before I stopped the Xanax. Suddenly my eyes began to burn as if acid was in them (if that's what acid would feel like). It was debilitating. I kept using all my lubricants. I saw my Wills Eye ophthalmologist 3x in 3 wks. He couldn't understand my they dried up just like that. He thought it was neurological. I didn't mention the Xanax to him. I didn't know it could be from (sort of abruptly) dropping Xanax. The sudden dryness happened the same day I developed tinnitus which was during 3 weeks of missed doses. It makes a lot of sense now since I can correlate these with abrupt X stop.

What I have done is stayed away from any eyedrop that has BENZALKONIUM CHLORIDE (BAK) preservative (very common in drops, especially glaucoma drops). My eyes dried out so much and burned when I applied drops with BAK. Did the BAK cause the initial dryness? I don't think so because I used the drops because my eyes became dry, but they did make them burn and dried them out again. The BAK was aggravating my symptoms. It was fruitless putting lubricant in if they were only going to dry out my eyes over and over. I thought the Restasis wasn't working, little did I know I was going 1 step forward with Restasis and 2 steps back the the BAK drops. I threw out all of the BAK drops and have moved forward with PF (preservative free) only.

The best thing is to not use any eye drops or nasal spray with BAK. Sometimes BAK called by a fancy marketing name so check what those exact ingredients are.

BAK comes from an ammonium compound and is been banned in Europe. The FDA allows us to put this in our eyes! Small amounts or not, studies back to 2010 showed it damages the cornea and dries mucous membranes: eyes, nose, mouth. Read about it. I have nodules on my corneas and the eye doc recently asked if I ever worked with chemicals. The answer was no, yet the chemical was probably the BAK I was putting in my eyes for the last 25 years. The FDA should be on this. If you use glaucoma drops, see if you can get any without BAK, otherwise, don't overuse them.

Try to find nasal spray and eye drops without BAK. Allergy eye drops almost always have BAK such as Pataday. I think there is only one P-Free allergy eye drop called Alaway, but it's hard to find. Make sure it's the P-Free. It's possible you may not even need an allergy eye drop if you stop using BAK products because your eyes may not even be dry so they won't itch. Everything (pollen, dust, etc.) sticks to the eye if it is dry. Moisturizing is the best way to flush them. Take it from me, I've been through this for decades and I've learned my eyes are sensitive to BAK which was drying out my eyes. Since I stopped that preservative, my tears are not evaporating. Once the air conditioning is shut off for the season, my eyes will be very happy.

I read that over time, BAK can damage the cornea causing dry or drier eyes even though you are trying to moisturize with drops containing this very same preservative. Now I use Systane PF, Optive PF, night eye ointment. If you absolutely need nasal spray, stay away from BAK and make your own saline nasal spray with cooled boiled purified water in a sterile container and sterile nasal bulb. Always sterilize the bulb when done. You don't have stick it too far up your nostril, just a little bit and slightly tilt your head back. You'll be better off without the BAK. I've learned. My nose has become dry since this Xanax episode complicated by the constant air conditioning. 

I hope this info helps. 

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by [Gr...]
update

[[el...]]

 

Systane Preservative Free Vials work great for me and I have a chronic condition. My eye doctor recommended that one particularly for me because of my condition. I call them air conditioning for the eyes! You can check canada drugs website and see if you find a detailed description of this medication. That's where i usually check for all the medical information.

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by [el...]

[[or...]]

I also use Systane Preservative Free Vials. I find they are very effective. I have a dry eye condition and I use them whenever I need to. You might try these.

[[Ti...]]

I got dry eye during my taper of ativan two years ago. I was reinstated and back on it but tapering. Dry eye flare ups keep happening. I use Cequa (prescription) and systane for in between.

[[Gr...]]

@[Ti...] I heard Restasis is generic now. You may be able to get a voucher from the company for free prescriptions as long as you have commercial insurance and not Medicare.  Restasis has a program: My Tears, My Rewards

[[Ti...]]

I used Restasis before Cequa and it didn't help me. Thank you, though.