Restasis

[Arcelus]

Hey all! I'm new to this dry eye thing and had a quick question for anyone that can answer it. I had the LASIK procedure done in early June of 2005 and for whatever reason have gotten some bad dry eye this winter... maybe because it has been so cold and dry. I live in Nebraska so you can only imagine.

When I went to an eye doctor about dry eye a few months ago he told me that if I began to have chronic dry eye and eye drops didn't seem to work for me that we could try restasis, however he was reluctant to get me started on it because he said that once I started it that I would be on it for the rest of my life. I believe, because he thought that my eyes would be dependant on it from the moment I began using it.

In looking through some of the posts, I've seen people talk about how they were on it for awhile and then decided to keep with it or not use it anymore. So, did my eye doctor lie to me? Just curious. Thanks!

Arcelus

[Julie1]

Arcelus,

Where do you live? I am also from Nebraska. I currently live in Lincoln, NE and see a doctor in Omaha, NE. Do you like your eye doctor? If not, I could possibly suggest a good doctor.

I think that many people stop using Restasis because it is either not working for them or the side effects outweigh any possible benefits. But, your doctor is correct, if you stop using the Restasis you will take steps backwards. I have been using Restasis for about 10 months, and it has really helped me. I am by no means symptom-free, but I am much better. I had some burning and redness from the Restasis, but those side effects went away after about five or six months.

What type of dry eye do you have? Do you just have a deficiency in tears or do you have evaporative dry eye? Have you tried plugs?

[Arcelus]

Restasis

Hey, Julie!

I also live in Lincoln, Nebraska. I have LASIK induced dry eye. My guess is that my dry eye must be seasonal when it is really dry out, because I didn't really have much dry eye after the LASIK, but for the first time in the last few months it has become noticable in the evenings. This last week with the winter dryness and winds made me feel as if I couldn't even hold my eyelids open because they were so dry. I've never felt that before. I ended up using REFRESH moderate/severe single use containers and that gave me some relief.

My eyes haven't been so bad the past couple of days though. My bet is that there has been more humidity as of late. Especially today since it has been foggy out. How cool would it be to live in the Northwest where there is always moisture in the air!

I began to freak out when my eyes were as bad as they were for a week straight thinking that it was going to stay that way. But, like I said, they seem to be a bit better now. We'll see what happens.

I originally went in to see the eye doctor a few months ago because I had an eyelid twitch that wouldn't seem to go away and it was around that time that I started to notice that I was having dry eye in the evenings. I didn't know if they were related and still don't. I still have that eyelid twitch that comes and goes. It seems to happen in weekly cycles. I'm thinking about getting botox in it from a neurologist, but that scares me a little too.

Arcelus

[Julie1]

It sounds like your dry eye is pretty mild if you only experience it in the winter and during the evenings. Did you ask your doctor if the eyelid twitch is related to the dryness?