AzaSite and MGD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mclaire66]

about a week and a half ago the dr said i had mgd on top of dry eye (supposedly caused by contact lenses) and gave me azasite, i used it for a week, the first couple of days it seemed okay and almost seemed like it might be helping but then it took a turn and by yesterday my eyes were so sore i could barely stand to look at the computer at work (my first and worst symptom this whole time has been light sensitivity) so i stopped using it which i'm hoping is safe to do, i don't ask the dr because every time i've called the dr whenever a drop makes me feel worse they tell me to keep taking it that it takes time and sometimes it gets worse before it gets better, but common sense tells me when something hurts this much it's probably a good idea to stop...

my reaction seems similar to yours NYer, it didn't bother me at first but now even after i stopped using it for a day my eyes are burning, sore like someone punched me and more light sensitive than before so i can only assume it's the azasite...

i'm doing the warm compresses and lid scrubs and think the baby shampoo bothered me too, i will try the cetaphil, thanks for the advice, i feel so lost since this all started and no one around me understands how bad it is, it's nice to have a place to come where people do understand...

[lgreene]

I've been suffering with terribly dry eyes for several years, and it's gotten worse recently - my eyes regularly get so red and irritated that I had to use Vexol (cortisone) just to be able to function (work, etc.).

I just started washing my eyelids (not scrubbing) with TheraTears eyelid wash and using Azasite - so far, my eyes are feeling about 50% better. I had thought that my problem was ocular rosacea (since I have facial rosacea/acne rosacea) that was causing MGD, so I was doing hot compresses/squeezing with Q-Tip (Dr. Latkany's Eye Spa - the only thing that up to this point has made my eyes feel at all better). I never thought it was blepharitis, because my eyelids are not crusty or red. However, my eyelids do feel painful and tender when I do the squeezing with the Q-Tip. From what I have read on this site and elsewhere, it does seem to be possible to have bleph without any visible symptoms. The fact that Azasite and eyelid washing with this special soapy solution from Theratears is working points to blepharitis (in other words, bacteria that is causing inflammation that is then causing MGD).

So far, so good for me with this - I'll let you know how it goes. I'm supposed to use Azasite for just one week (one drop per day in the eye, and spread it around on my eyelids). I'm not thrilled with the BAK preservative in Azasite, but I hope it won't be too much of an issue since it's only for a week at a time. I'm praying that this will continue to work for me, I've been pretty desperate recently!

[lgreene]

AzaSite WORKS!!

Update to my last posting: after 7 days of using AzaSite (1 drop in eye and spread on eyelashes per day), and now 4 days since I stopped treatment, I am amazed to report that my eyes feel 95% better! I was desperate because nothing was working, and it seems that I have found the solution for my problem. My eyes look and feel wet for the first time in years, I have practically no discomfort, and I feel so much better.

I want to emphasize that I did NOT have any obvious symptoms of blepharitis. I had seen Dr. Latkany (who suggested AzaSite), and he did NOT diagnose me with blepharitis. So for those of you whose tears are not viscous enough (my problem), it may be blepharitis, even if you don't have crusting or redness on the eyelids. I have continued warm compresses once per day, Restasis 1 drop twice per day, and washing with Sterilid solution (by TheraTears) twice a day. I have only had to use lubricating drops a few times in the past few days (I use preservative-free Refresh Celluvic, the only drops that work for me) - before this, I was using them every 15 minutes.

One thing I did notice about AzaSite: after the first few days, my eyes felt irritated, which I'm sure is due to the BAK preservative in them. That feeling went away once I stopped using AzaSite.

Now the question will be how long my eyes will stay in good shape before I have to use AzaSite again. My understanding is that it's not recommended to use AzaSite more than once a month (it's never good to use any antibiotic too much). Hopefully, with good lid hygiene (which I wasn't doing before), the bacteria causing the blepharitis will not come back. I'll let you all know how it goes. If anyone can tell me how often they have been told to use AzaSite, that would be helpful.

[Meebo]

I found that after the initial use of Azasite, maybe once every week, rubbing it directly to the eyelidss and not dropping it helps for the next day. Unfortunately, I do not know if this is actually attributing to my reduced symptoms.