Blurry Vision with Contacts after Hormone Replacement Therapy

Q:  Since being on Prempro (estrogen and progesterone) for a few months, my menopausal symptoms have improved greatly, but my vision is blurry when I wear my contact lenses. I see fine when I wear my glasses. Why is this?

A:  I have never seen a patient with this problem, so I asked several colleagues and no one else had encountered it either. James Aiman, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, thought it was possible that the progesterone causes fluid retention and changes the shape of the cornea. Bhavna Sheth, MD, Associate Professor of Ophthamology, found a German study of 700 women that showed that postmenopausal women taking estrogen had fewer complaints of "dry eyes" than women not on hormones. This would go along with Dr. Aiman's opinion that more fluid in the eye could affect the lens or the cornea. Sorry I don't have more information!

"Dear Doctor" is a compilation of patient questions answered by doctors from the Medical College of Wisconsin.