Restasis: Worse Before Better?

[ringo]

Aaron,

I so very much feel for you! I had to quit my job too because of the long hours with the computer....i actually got hospitalized because i was insisting to bear the pain and just work and work... eventually one day I had severe erosions which made it impossible for me to stay with closed or open eyes, i was just screaming for help.

I am sure that as SAAG says, if you take some time off, with doctor's recommendation which you can show to your company, it would not be a problem. Even a couple of weeks with intensive treatment and rest can make a huge difference.

FML drops take good care of the inflammation, but steroids can dry the eyes before they start resolving the inflammation. They do dry eyes of people who do not have dry eye. But in the case of dry eye associated inflammation, once the inflammation starts to diminish, more tears will come. This may take some time, no medication works instantly in the case of dry eyes (long standing desiccation, long standing inflammation, etc.) Please give it a chance.

The other day i had to go to a different doctor at night, as i thought i had contaminated my eyes (hopefully i was just paranoid). And he told me my eyes are perfect, that i am a perfectly healthy person, and there is nothing wrong with me-- and even if i had dryness or erosions or whatever-- that is still "nothing". And this word "nothing" is exactly what he said. Eye inflammation-- he said-- as long as its not vision threatening-- its nothing.

I was sitting there and i felt like crying, coz i had tried to explain to him what i have been through with my eyes and that i am concerend. He kept repeating that in his opinion I have anxiety and there is nothing wrong with me.Just the eye dryness. Which is nothing. I simply left without saying good bye.

So when the doctor tells you that you are fine, and you feel terrible pain and discomfort, something is not right. Clinical signs of dry eye do not always correlate with the patient's feelings. That must be either because doctors do not see all the clinical signs or their manifestations, or because there is somethng they fail to recognize or understand. It is very sad that in this age of scientific wonders we are afflicted with a condition that is a total enigma to doctors.

I know it is hard, but you must continue with your treatment, and do your best to give your eyes some rest, and trust that you will get better if you treat your condition. I assure you, you will get better. It is a matter of some time and patience. Please do not get discouraged if you do not see immediate results. With dry eye improvement comes slowly. And sometimes things do seem worse before they get better.

I wish you feel better very soon! Please let us know how it goes.

[Brighteyes]

Not sure if I'm too late on this but in my experience the burning went away after a few months. However, the redness did not. After 2 years on Restasis I recently stopped taking it and my eyes became white again (lids still red and swollen unfortunately). I should also note that if you have rosacea Restasis won't benefit your eyes IMO. Even if you only have mild signs of rosacea you need to start treating it asap (antibiotics, topicals, gentle cleansers, IPL, red light thereapy, etc...).

[Aaron77]

Not sure if I'm too late on this but in my experience the burning went away after a few months. However, the redness did not. After 2 years on Restasis I recently stopped taking it and my eyes became white again (lids still red and swollen unfortunately). I should also note that if you have rosacea Restasis won't benefit your eyes IMO. Even if you only have mild signs of rosacea you need to start treating it asap (antibiotics, topicals, gentle cleansers, IPL, red light thereapy, etc...).

Do you feel as though the Restasis actually helped the condition of your eyes at all?

[Brighteyes]

While I was using Restasis I thought it was helping because my eyes got somewhat better, albeit very slowly. However, in hindsight I think it was just taking proper care of my eyes and treating the underlying rosacea that was helping all along. I can't definitively say either way, but I do know for certain that today my eyes are better not taking Restasis.

[ringo]

I think that the Restasis definitely helps people with a recent onset of dry eyes or with moderate dry eyes. Unfortunately for the people with severe dry eyes, with long standing inflammation, the most Restasis can do in my opinion, is to hardly keep the inflammation from deteriorating.

In addition, Restasis tends to burn badly inflamed eyes.

That is the reason why many doctors have resorted to prescribing Restasis together with a mild steroid and/or NSAID drop.

Personally, I would say that the lack of significant improvement on Restasis is due to its very low concentration of the active ingredient.
Still, this is the only FDA approved drug for treating dry eye, because of its unique mechanism of controlling dry eye associated inflammation.

So, after all, it must be better taking it, rather than not, and give it its time.

I have also read that it helps people with ocular rosacea as well.

I have been on restasis for quite a long time, and I must admit that had it not been for all the other drops and medications I was given, Restasis on its own would not have done much, if anything, as my eyes used to be very inflamed.

Still the doctor insisted that i take a cyclosporine preparation. He says there is nothing better on the market for dry eye.
If you are new to Restasis, i think you must give it a chance, regardless of other people's experiences. Many have benefited from it with or without other medications.

[sandra lee]

restasis adverse reactions

Not sure if I'm too late on this but in my experience the burning went away after a few months. However, the redness did not. After 2 years on Restasis I recently stopped taking it and my eyes became white again (lids still red and swollen unfortunately). I should also note that if you have rosacea Restasis won't benefit your eyes IMO. Even if you only have mild signs of rosacea you need to start treating it asap (antibiotics, topicals, gentle cleansers, IPL, red light thereapy, etc...).

Has anyone heard of or experienced a side effect of Restasis such as inner eylid redness and looks like an inner stye starting?Thanks for any help you can offer

[Aaron77]

I'm taking a couple days off the Restasis to see if the stinging dies down a bit, its been driving me crazy and if its the Restasis that is doing it I have to get off or maybe only take it at bedtime.

[Brighteyes]

Has anyone heard of or experienced a side effect of Restasis such as inner eylid redness and looks like an inner stye starting?Thanks for any help you can offer

I am unaware of any Restasis "side-effects." However, it may be causing your eyelids to be more red than usual. I'm guessing the eyelid redness and inner stye are products of your overall eye problems.

[Brighteyes]

I'm taking a couple days of the Restasis to see if the stinging dies down a bit, its been driving me crazy and if its the Restasis that is doing it I have to get off or maybe only take it at bedtime.

It's worth a shot. Just wanted to say I've tried taking it only at night and my eyes still burned. Especially now that I don't use it, if I use it randomly at night (done this twice in the past year) my eyes will burn for 2 days.

[Aaron77]

So I'm still doing the Restasis and the eyes are still burning, picked up some refreesh endura today and the eyes burned just like they do with the Restasis when I put it in - I think for me the burn is coming from the castor oil, if only there was a different delivery vehicle out there...

[Aaron77]

Are you putting the restasis in the cooler. It helps tremendously. I quit using it 5 months ago after the burning everyday for a month. Now when I cool it down, I don't feel a thing. Also, I put Soothe PF in my eyes before adding the restasis. Hope this helps.

My problem is my eyes burn anytime I use them for the computer or TV since starting Restasis along with the time I put them in my eyes.

[Aaron77]

Are you keeping them cool before using it? For me, it made a big difference. When I used them at room temperature, my eyes burned all day and not just a few minutes.

I'm going to try cooling them then, thanks.

[Keymaker]

Keep at it Aaron. I had PRK on Aug 28 2008 and suffered badly. On May 15 2009 I finally gave in and tried Restasis 2x daily. Now I feel almost normal and am using 1 drop per day at night and no other drops or therapies. I had no issues with dry eye before the PRK so Restasis may just be helping me back to normal or maybe it is the true cause of my relief I don't know.

[Aaron77]

Keep at it Aaron. I had PRK on Aug 28 2008 and suffered badly. On May 15 2009 I finally gave in and tried Restasis 2x daily. Now I feel almost normal and am using 1 drop per day at night and no other drops or therapies. I had no issues with dry eye before the PRK so Restasis may just be helping me back to normal or maybe it is the true cause of my relief I don't know.

How long did it take for the Restasis to make a difference and when did you start using only the one drop a day?

[sandra lee]

Has anyone heard of or experienced a side effect of Restasis such as inner eylid redness and looks like an inner stye starting?Thanks for any help you can offer

Yes,after using Restasis for approx. a month(and I was told to put one drop of Refresh Plus and then 1 drop of Restasis to dilute it)I experienced inner eyelid redness and inflammation and a stye.Since I have been battling mgd/bleph for over a year with no styes,I asked my Dr. if he thought the Restasis was to blame and he denied it saying it was an anti inflammatory.I still am skeptical on his explanation though and my eyes felt somewhat better before I started it.