Dry Eye Medications

[Vicki In Oregon]

I am wondering if meds for sjorgens patients can help with our dry eyes?

Also, the following article talks about 2 meds being developed for dry eyes. Have not had time to read it but wonder if anyone has heard anything about milkin and Diquafosol? I wonder when they will be out? I assume they are taken orally.

Any news on the androgen drops? And how do the tetracyclines work in drop form as compared to taken orally? Less side effects?

http://www.revoptom.com/index.asp?Ar...3/allergan.htm

[Rebecca Petris]

Diquafosol has been twice rejected by the FDA and the company is now being investigated by the SEC in relation to their dry eye trials. Not promising.

Androgen trials are halted (as far as I know) though they, or something similar, can be compounded at Leiter's in San Jose; however, physicians are not going to prescribe it for you unless they have considerable prior experience with it (and there aren't too many who have, since it's experimental).

[Vicki In Oregon]

Thanks Rebecca. You know the FDA is here to protect us and to some degree they do. But at the same time so much politics is involved that many times drugs are approved and not approved for reasons unrelated to what is in the patients best interest. Just wanted to make that statement.

[neil0502]

some people have some luck w salagen or evoxac. search dez or google. neil, from a train station.

[Silverlady]

Salagen

Salagen is one of the meds I use. But I have Sjogrens (severe dry mouth and dry eyes) and people who do not have Sjogrens will suffer some more extensive side effects. Salagen is used to treat symptoms of dry mouth and throat. See: http://www.drugs.com/cons/Salagen.html This medicine also has the added benefit of causing a small amount of moisture in the eyes for SOME people. It does this for me. But...it only lasts for a short time, maybe an hour or two. And it has significant side effects. Sweating is one of them. For some people this sweating is profuse. See the link, there are other precautions and side effects. Drug interactions also. In other words, this is not a medication to take lightly.

Billye

[kaypeeoh]

Salagen is oral Pilocarpine. I've used pilo eyedrops. It's an old drug used for glaucoma treatment. It's useful for LASIK eyes because it causes miosis (narrows the pupils). By diluting 1% down to 1/8th% I found it worked better than Alphagan without the headaches that 1% would cause. But the eyedrops did nothing for improving tear quantity or quality.

Rebecca mentioned androgen eyedrops. I got 1% DHEA from Leiters. On this site a physician mentioned using it for his dry eye. I tried it for a short while and found no change. Also the drops are a suspension, meaning powder floating in liquid. The drops left white powder residue on my eyelids.

[Vicki In Oregon]

The inner ear doctor had samples of evoxac and gave me a box but have not used it precisely because I am afraid of side effects. I will wait till the rheumy/immun guy tells me if I have sjorgens but I bet I dont. From what it sounds like there really is not much that can be done. Does DHEA drops have a systemic affect on the body? I know a woman who took it orally and her hair fell out. That is risky. I wonder if the Restasis magically began to work for people later on in useage. I am getting close to the 3 month mark with no noticeable improvements. Lastly, how are ppl getting the doxy and tetra drops? I previously only heard of them in oral form. Do those work as well as the pill form and do they have a systemic affect on the body at all? I cant believe all these years with so many sufferers that something has not been created to help us. Not to mention so many other conditions that ppl probably suffer from that nothing was invented even just to manage symptoms. Those oTC drops are really nothing to a severe case like most on here. If I had to choose one i would choose Systane FREE hands down but to me *all* are worthless unless you are a mild dry sufferer

[Lucy]

I recently started taking Salagen for dry mouth from Sjogrens. I cannot seem to get a track record going and it's only been a few weeks. It definitely makes saliva for me, but as Billye says it has lots of side effects. I cannot say that it has done anything for my eyes, though. I have not stayed on a strict regimen while taking Salagen. I'm trying, but I am on so many new meds for Sjogrens I'm going to have to get my own private pharmacist to keep track.

If I do notice that Salagen helps with my dry eyes, I'll post about it for sure.

[Maria1972]

Vickie,
You asked about people taking doxy drops. I'm one of them and on my second week the burning went away, and the major headaches too. I'm feeling better , but I can't say 100%. I have 2 more weeks to go. I can't take antibiotic orally b/c they wipe out the good bacteria in my body (that has bad consequences, sp for women) If I can treat it locally, that the option for me. My drops are made in Leiter's pharmacy.

[Lucy]

Maria, interesting about the doxy drops. I've never tried them. You can only take them for 30 days from what I'm reading into your post? Or, that's what the doc thinks will help if it's going to help. I hope you will let us know more later about this.

[Vicki In Oregon]

Yes Maria I am interested also in your drops. I have not heard anyone here use them and I am not excited about the idea of taking it orally either due to side effects you mentioned. My doctors did not mention them. I wonder if they are even aware they exist. Did you say they are made at a compounding pharmacy? Thanks.

[Rebecca Petris]

My doctors did not mention them. I wonder if they are even aware they exist.

I would not expect most doctors to be aware of things like this. Doxy drops are in early clinical trials. Even if a doctor is aware, they would (as with androgen) likely be unwilling to prescribe them unless they have personal experience with it as it's considered an experimental treatment.

[Vicki In Oregon]

I wonder where to find an opthamologist to prescribe me the anti biotic drops. Like I said before, I am unwilling to take the oral form even if a doctor agreed. Maybe I can even ask the rheumatologist who is also an immunologist when I see him for my issues since I appear to be dry more than just my eyes. That is all new to me. I wonder what side effects there could be to the topical anti biotic. I also wonder if the steroid drops they had me use so long caused any permanent dryness.

The link below states that Salagen and Evoxac may increase tear production even though they were inteded for saliva production. So Lucy, there is hope for this to maybe work for you. If the doctor tells me I have sjorgens I will take it too but I get tempted now since I have samples. I dont though as it can cause nausea and I am still dealing with chronic nausea since I saw the chiro. Not to mention the other unpleasant side effects it lists.

The article also says that:

Bromhexine cough syrup may stimulate the production of tears.

Where do you buy this? When I looked online it seems like it is just an ingredient in some cough syrups but dont know which ones. And some also contain anti histamines which we know are bad for dry eyes. And you cant take cough syrup forever. Also if there is pseudoephedrine in the cough syrup I cant take it as I appear to be allergic, makes me sick. So I am wondering if this can even work and if there is a way just to get that one ingredient?

and....

Infliximab, a medication that suppresses the immune system, has shown good results in improving dry mouth symptoms and easing DRY EYES and fatigue, but is still under study for use with Sjögren's syndrome.

I wonder if any of these meds will be available to non sjorgens patients if their eyes are in bad shape. It worries me though that this Infixmab suppresses the immune system, we don't need to get more condtions and diseases.

http://health.yahoo.com/topic/other/...hwise/aa152043

[Lucy]

Vicki--you have to be careful you're not going to make your situation worse. You are delving into everything you can get your hands on. Notice, I didn't say "trying" everything. Dry eyes cannot be cured quickly. Most of the stuff you are mentioning is something most of us have never heard of.

Rebecca and I, with others on this bb, have been looking for solutions for 5,6 7 or more years. If it was ONE THING, we'd all have it, you can be sure. I know you are concerned about taking meds that may harm you, and you should be concerned. If you can slow down, take some of the pressure off and just know this will take time, you will probably feel better. Your frantic search is just making you more tense and probably adding to your stress.

The more frantic you are, the more the docs will shy away from you and not want to give of their time. I was just now diagnosed with Sjogrens and my rheum said I'd probably had it 7 years (that's how long it takes to show up in the bloodwork.) I'm on some medications that are making me feel like I'm alive again, but doing little for the dryness.

[Vicki In Oregon]

Hi Lucy. I do understand what you are saying. Well not just my eyes my lids are killing me too lately. I dont know if i have blethartis or MGD. The doc says no to the latter, have not asked about the former. And says not to do heat on my eyes or scrubs. Again, he seems to think you have to have Rosacea to get help from those things. Yet he also says there is no test that shows if one has MGD. He does not believe that the meiboian glands can be clogged yet people here get them unclogged and feel better. I just dont know if i trust him. All I know is that I feel worse and worse. Yesterday I felt a bit better and thought, the restasis is maybe finally starting to work! But then today I am back to being miserable so it is like you say, sometimes its worse sometimes better. Lately mostly the former for me. I want to at least find someone who will give me rx for the drops so I know I am trying something. Right now, I am on unpaid leave from work and can;t not work if I am to survive which is one of the reasons I am so anxious to find answers. 7 years sjorgens did not show up on bloodwork?!?!? That is crazy, dont they do a lip biopsy now? Does that give quicker results? I am not anxious for the biopsy if the doctor recmmends it. How are you doinf with the side effects of the medication? Was it Salagen you are on? I'm sorry, did you say too that you tried the sclerals and are having some problems with them?