My eye pain and inflammation totally under control for over a year.

[Cabut]

Hi,
I live in one of the driest spots in the US, southern Arizona, where the humidity routinely dips below 15%.
I had dry eye and blepharitis, along with multiple corneal abrasions for years. Sometimes the pain would be so intense I thought for sure I had some kind of permanent nerve damage. I saw just about every eye doctor, eye surgeon, and neurologist both in the Tucson area and in Los Angeles at Cedars Sinai ,and had about given up hope, when during a very painful eye episode ,I happened upon a young eye surgeon who convinced me to follow her program. At first her recommendations seemed simplistic. Nothing I hadn't tried at one time or other and had discarded as failures. She had the enthusiasm and confidence of youth and took my problem seriously.
I listened and figured I would give her plan a try. It was simple. Twice a day a hot compress for 5 minutes in the morning and night followed by a drop of Restasis in each eye. Do that twice a day, religiously. If you have eye pain, a drop of FML a mild steroid, as needed up to 4 times a day. She also recommended serum tears as needed. Well, I didn't have a lot of faith at first, and winced the first week or so as I put in the Restasis. In about 5 minutes or so I would follow it up with a drop of FML. During the day, I'd use the serum tears, liberally at first, but later only twice a day or so as my eyes were producing good tears.

By the end of the second week ,the constant burning became a bit less, after a month I started to have periods when I wasn't thinking about my eyes. After three months it was only occasionally that I felt discomfort. Now,
after about 18 months my eyes do not get in the way of my enjoyment of life. It is totally controlled with the Restasis and the hot compresses and serum tears, which I continue to do and will probably do for the rest of my days.

Now I must confess, I did try Restasis years ago, and it did help control the inflammation. After awhile when I though I was "cured", I stopped using it ,and months later when I had a flare up and tried Restasis again, it hurt like hell, so I stopped. From then on virtually every new eye specialist I saw asked me if I ever had tried Restasis and my answer was invariably, yes I tried it twice but the second time I could not tolerate it. Not one said you should try it again and persist. They more or less threw there hands up and prescribed me a steroid
or a salve, or some kind of allergy eye drops. The only doctor that insisted I try it again was this young and very capable woman doctor. I sure am glad I did. To give you an idea of how well I'm doing I am actually able to drive around in my convertible (after sundown) without ill effects!

Now to those of you who might think I had mild case of dry eye or whatever. I didn't. My oil glands were clogged solid and my corneas were abraded and scratched up constantly. I was in the kind of pain where I didn't care if I lived or died.
So bottom line, it isn't easy, and it isn't cheap, but this has worked for me and it might work for you!

Best,
Cabut

[Faith1989]

Thank you for posting this. I to have JUST begun having success with Restasis 8 months in, also using 100 percent serum. I do use Alrex when I start feeling any discomfort but am starting to feel hopeful. I, like you, tried many times and always quit. This time I promised myself I would give it six full months before I determined whether it worked. At six months I seen a little progress and am now on month 8. It is true how they say it takes a long time! At first it just made my eyes red and worse (see my previous posts) I always gave up, and I usually just got drier. I am excited to see where I am another six months from now. I will always be on it unless a better drug comes out!

So to all the people out there who want to quit, give it time!

[Cabut]

Add the warm compresses to your regimen and see if it makes a difference. It did for me. My lid glands were blocked. When my doctor tried to express them, very little would come out. 5 minutes each time before your Restasis. After six weeks my tear quality had improved because those glands opened.
It does take time but I don't know where I would be if I didn't stick it out.

Best,
Cabut

[runnergirl]

Thank you so much for posting, it definately gives me hope. I too tried restasis and could not stand the burning so I did what you did. I told all the doctors that yes I did try but it didnt work. And like you, I finally met my new younger doctor (doctor #7) and she insisted that I try restasis again and continue for 6 months. well, it has been a struggle, however, it has now been 9 months on restasis and I finally have seen an improvement. There are actually moments where my eyes are not even a thought. I really do not even use drops during the day anymore. HOwever, I could probably be better if I did the warm compresses. I am going to add that in. 2 years ago, my eyes kept closing on their own. I was diagnosed with dry eye and given restasis. Then I left there because I thought restasis was not the right med and went to another doctor that said I had blepharospasm and injected botox. Anyway, I am glad you posted and glad you are doing so well. I think this post will help many.

[Cabut]

Thank you runnergirl. I cannot stress enough how important the hot compresses were to my success. My doctor suggested a rice pack heated in the microwave until very warm, as warm as I could stand it for 5 minutes. I ended up using a folded wet wash cloth heated in the microwave for 25 seconds and after it cooled down, a further 18 seconds. I bought about 20 medium washcloths for this purpose and would put them in the wash after use. I would immediately follow this with a drop of Restasis in each eye. In the beginning, I would follow this up with a drop of FML in five minutes or so if my eyes would continue to sting. After a couple of months the Restasis would no longer burn or sting. I continue this regimen to this day and have been advised by my new doctor that I should continue it for the foreseeable future.