Restasis users 4xs a day?

[LiliS]

I hope you,re ok now ( post in 2015) ,but i wanted to say that is dorbidden to use Restasis ( cyclosporine is an immunosupressant!!) in viral or bacterian or micotic infections of the eye!!

Hi Cobra,

Wishing you luck with your doctor's appointment in 2 days! I would like to hear their opinion on your diagnosis and treatment...

Keymaker,

This is the greatest most inspiring news! Congratulations on your wondrous improvement--- your story of fighting dry eye and recovering from it is close to a miracle, and it is the kind of experience that gives tremendous hope to me and all others who are still fighting a disease that is so hard to beat! God bless you and keep you well, and I hope that from now on your eyes will be feeling better with every passing day!

Thank you for sharing....

Daniela

[Keymaker]

Thanks Ringo. I have just (with Doc's permission) stopped the use of Restasis. He seems to think after 8 months it's a good time to try. I went 1 drop 2x per day for 6 months, to 1 each per day 1 month, 1 drop every other day for 1 month. I have now been 7 days with no Restasis and so far I feel no bad effects or regression. I realize it could all come back however. He stated he may try a set of permanent plugs if I need a little boost, but I can do all activities so far and feel about 95% with the occasional dry period that lasts a few minutes.

[03CobraDryEye]

Cobra,
I am so glad you are doing better! Please keep us posted, especially regarding your progresss with the doctors at the Wilmer institute...

Keymaker,

it makes me so utterly sad to read about what you have gone through; I have contemplated suicide on occasion, and then have resigned to the fact that i will just spend the rest of my life waiting for the day when it will all end and the pain will stop. I am so glad you have a loving supportive family who are helping you to get through.

I owe everything to my husband who has taken care of me and has provided the best treatments I could get.

Will do. Going to Wilmer in 2 days and I'm hoping to God that it will be encouraging news that I'm coming back with.

Cobra,
I am so glad you are doing better! Please keep us posted, especially regarding your progresss with the doctors at the Wilmer institute...

Keymaker,

it makes me so utterly sad to read about what you have gone through; I have contemplated suicide on occasion, and then have resigned to the fact that i will just spend the rest of my life waiting for the day when it will all end and the pain will stop. I am so glad you have a loving supportive family who are helping you to get through.

I owe everything to my husband who has taken care of me and has provided the best treatments I could get.

[03CobraDryEye]

Well I'm still sticking to using 4 vials a day, but I'm going to follow your suggestion of pinching the inner eyelids after putting a drop in each eye and I'm going to repeat the procedure until the vial is empty. Better late than never is right.

Well, on the bright side, now your vials will last longer! Better late than never, right?

[03CobraDryEye]

I think the best way to get more effect from it would be to use one drop per eye, then close you eyes for 2-3 minutes while putting gentle pressure on the inside corners of your eyes to prevent the drops from draining away.

This will allow more time for the Restasis to absorb and do it's thing.

Oh man I haven't been doing right. I've been laying down in bed and putting 4 drops on each eye and then standing up and letting my eye absorb the medication. I'm so pissed at myself after also finding another site that gives identical instructions to yours.

[Lucy]

Keymaker, your post is very touching. I'm glad you are doing better. Lucy

I think the best way to get more effect from it would be to use one drop per eye, then close you eyes for 2-3 minutes while putting gentle pressure on the inside corners of your eyes to prevent the drops from draining away.

This will allow more time for the Restasis to absorb and do it's thing.

[03CobraDryEye]

I am sorry to hear you are having so much trouble, hang in there, it will get better. I use Restasis 4x per day and I think that it helps. Actually I have tried 3x and 4x per day and I find that there is not all that much difference between them. However, I did find quite a bit of difference between 3x or 4x per day and just 2x per day. So for me the increase in dosage did help quite a bit. Also, one thing that might help you save a little money is when I use Restasis, 1 vial usually lasts me an entire day. When I was using Restasis 2x a day, 1 vial would last me about 2 days, so try to squeeze as much out of the vials as you can. I hope this helps.

I like the idea of saturating both eyes with the contents each vial contains. I understand your approach as far as attempting to save money but my concern is that by just using one drop in each eye to make a vial last the entire day, won't saturate the eye with enough medicine.

[Keymaker]

SAAG reading your posts have given me alot of strength. I cannot imagine the trials you have had and I have followed your story from the begining. You are truly a person who is beautiful inside and out to be so strong of character. And Rebecca what can I say about you that has not been said already. Thanks for all you do.

I was lucky in that my PRK doc has been very supportive. When he could tell I was in trouble he gave me his personal cellphone number and email and told me to contact him no matter what day or time it was. I never called but I did send emails which he always answered within an hour or two. After my breakdown, he came to his office the next morning (Sunday) to meet with me and my wife to help. When I contact him, he always sees me very quickly and has never charged me any additional. I know it's a good situation compared to a lot of other docs.

I am much better now. But I have stared the dragon in the eye and I will never be the same. Hopefully there will be relief for all of us not too far down the road.

[Rebecca Petris]

Keymaker, that gave me shivers in retrospect! I am so thankful you fell asleep and that caring people are helping you through. What's so tragic is that it's at those very moments when the anguish is peaking that it can be the very hardest to even try to reach out for help.

I feel so grateful every time I hear of the successes here... whether it's how & why someone's still alive to fight another day or the good day, week or month someone's having. You never know what posting your experience may do for unseen, unknown readers who need to be propped up with fresh hope.

You will get there Cobra. I say this because I will never forget May 6 2009. I sat in my den at 3 am and decided that I could not take it and would take my life. Thank God I finally feel asleep and my wife came down the next morning, saw a pistol in my hand and slipped out and called my father. He came over, slid the gun from me, woke me up and then held onto me while I cried for what was happening to me. (I am 48, he is 74). They then realized how bad off I was and with their support and with the help of a good doctor I am now stable. Surround yourself with those you love and hang in there.

I teared up reading that... I can totally relate to how you felt... it's a constant struggle to keep up hope when in a situation like this! I hope so badly that I won't have to struggle with my eyes for the rest of my life... but hearing about successes like yours helps me to remain hopeful!

[Keymaker]

You will get there Cobra. I say this because I will never forget May 6 2009. I sat in my den at 3 am and decided that I could not take it and would take my life. Thank God I finally feel asleep and my wife came down the next morning, saw a pistol in my hand and slipped out and called my father. He came over, slid the gun from me, woke me up and then held onto me while I cried for what was happening to me. (I am 48, he is 74). They then realized how bad off I was and with their support and with the help of a good doctor I am now stable. Surround yourself with those you love and hang in there.