Has anyone tried Restasis?

[Silverlady]

test

I'm checking to see if my posts come thru. Sorry.
Billye

[Silverlady]

Positive story

I wanted to post this so that everyone wouldn't automatically think that Restasis burns everyone. When Restasis was prescribed for me, I was prepared for it to burn. (I have progressive eye problems due to Sjogrens.) I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it didn't.

And as far as it working, when I first started using it, I had mucus strings in my eyes. I no longer have them and the inflammation is much better. I don't wake up with my eyes really red. The eyes are still really dry and they are more uncomfortable as the day goes on but overall the comfort of my eyes is better than it was a year ago when I started using the Restasis. There is no way that I could have sat at the computer and read the new posts much less written this a year ago. So there is improvement.

Is the Restasis responsible? I don't know for sure and I'm not going to test it by not using it. It took months to get to where I am now. But I have to say, you should at least try it and see if it burns you. Ask the doctor to write a prescription for enough to just try it with the understanding that if it doesn't burn you, you can call and get more. It is not a drop that will help in a few days, it takes awhile, more time for some but it is worth a try.

Other things I did? I'll post my routine under the post/subject where the daily routines are.

Billye

[Rebecca Petris]

I wanted to post this so that everyone wouldn't automatically think that Restasis burns everyone.

Quite right. It can't possibly burn everyone, or it would hardly be prescribed so widely, for one thing.

In the clinical trials, 17% reported burning. One ophthalmologist who is among the top 20 Restasis prescription-writers told me about 50% had tolerance problems. Who knows what the actual percentage is, but it clearly is far from a certainty that it will produce a burning sensation.

[Jade9923]

In the old days when I was in such severe pain, I would have been willing to have pins stuck in my eyes if there was a chance of it helping me. Restasis does burn a bit but seriously, if it helps and you are bad enough, isn't it worth it? The burning subsides after a bit. It is no big deal for me. I guess it depends quite literally on how desparate you are for relief. Pain is a subjective thing.

[Judy]

Restasis is the one thing I think has greatly helped with my dry eyes. I was just thinking of this first thing this morning while applying the Restasis drops. I've been on them for 1 1/2 years now and I would NEVER go off of them unless I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO. I have very little or no burning (maybe I did at first but do not remember). I don't know what I would do without them. My eyes are definitely not great, but they are much better than they were.

Well that's my two cents for the day. Have a great one!

[Flick]

Restasis has helped me, too, I think, although who knows for sure. I plan to keep taking it though because it is one of the few treatments that I think could be treating the underlying cause of dry eye, and not just relieving the symptoms.

I do sometimes get a little burning from it, usually about 15 minutes after I put a drop in. My personal hypothesis about this is that the delivery vehicle (the drop itself) has evaporated by then, so all that's left is the cyclosporine itself, which is mildly irritating. It's not really a problem and it goes away if I put an artificial tear in.

One weird thing - when I first started Restasis last fall, it was fine in my right eye but in my left eye it was unbearable. My eye would burn and then be bright red for about three days. My eye doc had no explanation for this, so I only used Restasis in my right eye. Then about six months later (I think both eyes had improved somewhat by then) I tried again and it was fine in my left eye. I've used it in both ever since.