I am so glad to see someone else bring this up!! I had asked my neuro if it was ok to continue wearing contacts when I was dxd because they hurt, a lot! He said he saw no reason for me not to. But yes, they hurt just like you described! But mine were hurting even before mestinon, during mestinon use, and again, now, as I am waiting to pick up my new med and have been off mestinon since Wed morning.

I, too, HATE my glasses because they are super thick, even with the reduced lenses (-9.5 diopters, fyi). But I have also found to be less annoyed by my visual manifestations of MG when wearing my glasses. I guess part of it is because my double vision is peripherally, and my glasses have never allowed me to see peripherally since I am so blind and they don't wrap around! I also seem to tolerate my blurry eye better when wearing my glasses.

I always wear my contacts, and I too take Mestinon around the clock. My eyes will hurt when I'm wearing contacts if they are dry, or I fall asleep with my contacts in (like I did last night), or I don't get a lot of sleep (which, for me, is less than 4 hours a night), but otherwise I've not had any problems with wearing contacts and my MG / mestinon. I've also noticed that my eyes tend to be drier if I forget to take my timespan at night - my theory on that is that my muscles are weaker without the timespan so my eyes don't close completely and so they dry out more. who knows if that's true, but, it's my story and I'm stickin' to it. :)

What Jenn said makes sense to me. I know my eyes have been better over time. During my early months of MG though, I had issues with my eyes and discussed it with my neuro. She mentioned the strength issue drying them out, which seems to have resolved itself forthemostpart.

Anyway,

One of the side effects of mestinon is tearing...I seem to wipe them off every once in awhile myself. With contacts, you may have other liquids involved. My wife recently went to the eye doctor. She wears reading glasses, and had been having pain in your eyes, like they were really dry and/or stinging. She was using eye drops to lubricate, but they were including redness remover etc...She was told to get Systane Lubricant Eye Drops

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=systane+lubricant+eye+drop&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=4682501362215202586&sa=X&ei=9eDrToH7F5DXiALr-6CvBA&ved=0CIwBEPMCMAU

She hasn't had any problems since...

Hope that helps,

TJ

Sorry that link didn't work. It was a google search. Try this:

http://www.systane.com/Systane-Lubricant-Eye-Drops.aspx

TJ, thanks for the link! I use the Systane long lasting eye drops in the mornings. I've had a dry eye issue that began about a year or so ago, coincidentally around the same time my droopy eyes began. I realized I was sleeping with my eyes half open...again most likely MG. I began wearing a sleep mask to try to keep them protected at least. I began using those drops when the dryness got so bad I could barely open my eyes. It helps some.

Another point is that a lot of people don't realize that extremely watery eyes is actually a sign of dry eyes. Often it means that the chemical makeup of the tears are off and aren't satisfying the needs of your eyes, so it makes more to try to compensate. I am notorious for looking like I am crying while cycling (with glasses covering my eyes) or being out in the cold. I've had that issue for many years.

My guess is it all comes together in a perfect storm...natural dry eye issue, MG keeping my eyes from closing, then perhaps additional dryness from my eyes overworking to try to focus...and there we have it...contacts become uncomfortable! I had hoped that the "eye watering" side effect of our meds would help. ;-) Guess I'd better update my glasses Rx! :-)

You might want to look at the side effects of prednisone. If you are becoming dehydrated from it, dry eyes, but that usually causes increased tearing. Just a thought. Metinon is an orally active cholinesterase inhibitor. It prevents the breakdown of acetylcholine (pronounced "a cee til coline") by allowing more acetylcholine to accumulate. Acetylcholine is the chemical that sends nerve impulses to the muscle. With more acetylcholine, there is more control of voluntary functions such as eye movements, limited strength, swallowing and breathing. Tearing is involuntary so it would not be effected.
Good luck but a neuro-optho should be seeing you.
Dale

Actually, increased tearing is a side effect of mestinon (as are increased saliva and sweating, stomach cramps, and diarrhea). Myasthenia only affects voluntary muscles while mestinon affects both voluntary and involuntary muscles.

If you look up pyridostigmine on drug.com you will see that increased tear production is listed as one of the side effects as is the resulting blurry vision.

We have lots of reasons to have dry eyes, probably sleeping with them partially open and not blinking enough during the day and the possibility of Sjorgens syndrome, another autoimmune disease. I keep artificial tears all over the house so I won't hesitate to use them. Regarding glasses: Glasses properly fit by opticians (not optometrists or glasses sales persons) do not hurt and don't have to be removed due to discomfort. I have to drive a lot of miles. You can get names from their licensing board.
I wore glasses with clear lenses before I needed them for reading, etc. I was practicing pediatrics and it definitely cuts down on the infection rate. It is just another opening to the outside world and hand to eye is common practice. Children sneezing or coughing around your face is too. So I wear glasses as much for protection for my eyes and health as I do as a visual aid. I clean bricks and get into vegetation. I do not shoot BB guns. b.

Sjogren's Syndrome. Now I'm misplacing letters as well as things around the house! b.

We don't blink as much as we should and the eyes dry out. That is what my eye doc said. I have always had dry eyes and the Mg made it worse. Good eye drops, 2 times a day was recommended to me.

My contacts seem to make my eyes much more tires, to the point the eyelids twitch. This, of course simply makes it difficult to wear contacts. I wear glasses far more than my contacts. According to my doctor my eyes are not dry, however, there are mornings I wake up and want to rub them. It is Extremely painful.