A month on Restasis

[crispen_2000]

Hey everyone...I just wanted to report that I have been on Restasis for over a month now and I am starting to see results...I'm by no means cured, however, I no longer have to use gels at night...I will keep posting about my experience as time goes on...

Trevor

[fernellen]

restasis for one month

Congratulations Trevor!!

For me, today was the first day without any drops in 9 months. I'm going on 10 hours with no inflamation. Yesterday was awful and I had to keep my eyes closed for over twelve hours. That's when books on tape come in handy.

I have been on restasis for one month. I don't know if it is the restasis or the big rest that helped today. It's also raining outside. I don't want to jinx this by putting in drops that may aggravate the situation. This is a slippery slope.

Did you see the financial cutoff to get assistance? That's really low. Most of the other drug companies have an $18,000 cutoff.

[Delilah]

Restasis or Castor Oil?

Hello Everyone and I'd like to say Im very happy for you Trevor, I am not sure if I am at a standstill or what? I've been on the Restasis for over a month and now using the Castor Oil eye drops as well and I noticed improvement as soon as I started the Castor oil drops but now I am noticing my eyes sort of going back to being worse again and very, very dry in the mornings, stringy mucus is coming back a bit more, but I am not sure if it is the Restasis or the Castor oil eye drops that were helping me? Im just so sick and tired of this high and lows of dry eye. It seems like some drops will work really good and your eyes feel better and then they go back to worse again? Today is a bad eye day for me, its almost full-time summer here in Idaho which is almost as bad as our winters as this state is extremely dry, we either have lots of rain storms which I love in the summer or bone dry summers that make you feel like a roasted turkey in the oven I am going to continue using the Restasis and the Castor oil eye drops and hopefully someday I'll be completely cured from this, which I highly doubt but I would love to have one day of not using drops, how would that be? Ciao D

[indrep]

Delilah

Remember that almost all over the counter eye drops are strictly for COMFORT. They are not doing anything to help the Dry Eye Syndrome disease. The lubricating, soothing effect of drops only lasts for a few minutes, generally.

I posted in another area that humidity can have a dramatic affect on tear evaporation, so it may be the weather more than the meds you are trying.

Hang in there with the REstasis for at least 90 days if you can.

[Rebecca Petris]

The lubricating, soothing effect of drops only lasts for a few minutes, generally.

Probably true of many of the lowest end formulations but I disagree with this as a generalization. I think that a decent palliative drop ought to be able to provide at least 2-3 hours of symptomatic relief. I don't mean elimination of symptoms, but at least a marked reduction of symptoms and elimination of the need to reach for the drops again for awhile.

[crispen_2000]

Delilah, I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing unfavorable dry eye symptoms after what appeared to be a small but significant "help" using Castor Oil Drops. From your previous posts, I gather that this has been a long and at times devastating condition for you. And I have a question for you - what do you do with the strings of mucus that venture forth from your eyes? Do you pick it out with your fingers or put a hot compress over your eyes? OR I'm wondering if perhaps the mucus is actually a build of all the drops you're using? What does your doctor think? I would encourage you to continue using the RESTASIS for at least another couple of months...

I have now been on Restasis for approx. two and a half months. Yesterday I only had to put drops in twice. I seem to able to use the computer for longer periods of time. In another post, I recently said how my schrimmer test was 10 mm in both eyes - a couple of months ago it was 7mm in my right eye and 5 in my left eye. Also, I still don't have to put any gel in my eyes at night - before, even with the gel, I was waking up three to five times a night. For me, I believe that gels at night made my eyes WORSE. I know this hasn't been the case for everyone, but I can only speak from my own experience. Also, plugs didn't do a think for me for some reason. That isn't to say that people shouldn't try temporary plugs.

Besides using RESTASIS, my weaponry against my dry eye battle goes as follows:

- Thera Tears and Soothe Drops (I have tried MANY different drops - Systane was the worst for me and MOST of the preservatives in drops bothered my eyes.)
- Flax Seed Oil - 6000 mg daily
- Fish Oil - 2000 mg daily
- Primrose Oil - 2000 mg daily
- Borage Oil - 2000 mg daily
- Eating fish two to three times a week
- Bio Tears Capsules
- Restasis
- Goggles when I'm outside
- Humidifier in the bedroom and beside the computer.
- Gentle Hot Compress twice a day
- Going to the Gym (I find this helps with the depression that goes along with dry eye, often)
- Psychotherapy
- Absolutely no caffeine or alcohol
- Avoid cigarette smoke (this makes my eyes REALLY bad)

Before taking as many omega 3's as I do, I would suggest talking to your doctor. Or if you are pregnant or have high blood pressure or diabetes.

One thing I have to stress with dry eye patients is to try and find a doctor you like and that will spend more than five minutes with you in his or her office. Also, getting a second opinion doesn't hurt.

Also, to follow up on what Rebecca said, some drops aren't JUST for comfort. THERA TEARS have been "shown to restore conjunctival goblet cells" and Soothe drops have been shown to "re-establish the lipid (oily) layer of tears".


Trevor

[SusieD]

I have to put my two pence worth in on this - drops in general (and I have tried as many as I can get my hands on) do only give me comfort for a few minutes and then I feel as though I want to put more in. This is particularly so on really bad days. Of course everyones dry eye is different and when it is less severe the drops probably help for longer.

[sazy123]

Same here, for me most of the artificial tears i have tried do not last long and the ones that have added benifits, like systain,theratears,soothe which is supposed to stabilise the tear film unless you only see the bennfits after a few months (which i didnt)- these have been shown to help the tear film, so i use them for this reason that they might be doing something bennificial. for example, i use blink becuase i like the idea of sodium hydr (sorry forgot the spelling), and they also feel soothing. when my eyes feel the worst-which is when i need artificial tears the most i find they last just a few minutes then my eyes feel exactly the same again, i cant be bothered to keep doing something if its only going to last this long so i hardly use them and just tolerate the irritation instead. However when my eyes are having a better day, but they feel a bit groggy artificial tears do help, but then i hardly have to use them becuase i have less irritaion anyway. like at the moment my eyes feel better maybe becuase of this sinus infection that i still have. so for me i feel like drops help for a longer period in a milder situation than a moderate/severe situation. Thats just my experiance.