Restasis Tip...

[Missy]

Just a thought...

I read today that in order for Restasis to work a steroid drop must be used first to reduce inflammation. This doctor said that Restasis can keep inflammation down but it is not strong enough to get rid of it on it's own. Anyone heard this before??

[Rebecca Petris]

Yes, I think that it has become fairly common practice to use Restasis in conjunction with, or after a course of, a steroid drop or an NSAID. There are several examples of this in some prior posts.

[Amy09]

how is this possible though, because you can only use a steroid drop for a short period of time, but restasis has to be used for atleast 6 months before you start seeing results?

[SusieD]

I understood the idea was to bring the inflammation under control (as much as possible) with a steroid drop then switch to restasis as kind of maintenance. This makes sense to me.

[Delilah]

Best Steriod drop?

Hi Everyone,
It's been awhile since I've posted, I've been working graveyard shifts. I've been on the Restasis now for about 3 months now. I just read the post about the steriod eye drop working in conjuction with the Restasis and I was wondering which steriod eye drop is the best to use? My eyes are still the same, I have the stringy mucus still coming out, they are still dry as bones in the morning and I feel like Im never going to get any relief? The Castor Oil eye drops worked great for awhile then it all went back to the way it was before?
I guess I will order some more of the Castor oil eye drops again but I really would like to know what steroid eye drop is the best to use with the Restasis. I hope everyone is doing good and your summer is going good as well. Ciao Delilah

[kitty]

Delilah, the steroid drops are to be used most often only short term when burning and associated redness are severe. The are used to treat inflammation. My eye doc prescribes them for me to be used only for 2-3 weeks to bring me relief from my severe eye pain. He did this just prior to starting me on Restasis. I can't say as though the Restasis has made much difference, the burning might be a bit less severe. It's so hard to know what is the benefit of Restasis and what is simply the natural course of this disorder. I believe the more often used steroid drops are the "soft" ones like Lotemax.

[Flick]

http://www.eyeworld.org/article.php?...uery=dry%20eye

Article by Dr. Plugfelder about using steroids to tolerate Restasis.

Hope this helps!

[calli66]

I have almost completed 3 months on Restasis; this is my second "try." Last summer, when I first tried R, I experienced severe burning, inflammation, and it got worse and worse, so by the end of that period of 3 months, my eyes were a total mess.

This spring, I took the advice of this forum and tried again--first using Lotemax as a pre-drop, but just for 3 days. I found I didn't need it. My eyes were in better shape when I started this time--a condition that I attribute to the internvening 8 months using genteal gel "correctly" (for me, only at night). Before that, I was using saline at night (5-6 times) and drops during the day, which did no good at all. I'm not using many drops during the day now.

I still get a slight amount of burning from the Restasis, but it's tolerable.

Overall, I think Restasis is helping, but I still have bad days (like once a week), especially in my left eye.

C66

[mef]

Restasis

I have been on Restasis for 5 months now. I did not see much improvement until the end of the fourth month. For the past 3 - 4 weeks I've noticed my eyes are much less dry...but then last Thursday I accidentally missed my a.m. dose, and by Friday evening I noticed more dryness again! Hard to believe that skipping one dose could set me backward, but I guess that's what happened?!

[kitty]

I have been on Restasis for 5 months now. I did not see much improvement until the end of the fourth month. For the past 3 - 4 weeks I've noticed my eyes are much less dry...but then last Thursday I accidentally missed my a.m. dose, and by Friday evening I noticed more dryness again! Hard to believe that skipping one dose could set me backward, but I guess that's what happened?!

A question probably best answered by your own doctor, but IMO, I doubt it. My doc just put my Restasis on hold for two days to see if I am allergic to it. If not, I am back on it, with apparently no loss in the time invested so far
(2 months). The last time I went off Restasis, it took a week or so for me to notice that I was not as comfortable as I had been. It took that long for the redness and severe burning to return. I suppose everyone is different. But, some people are maintained on once daily dosing of Restasis, so this is another reason why I suspect that one missed dose did not set you back.

[mef]

Yes, I believe you're right...I think I'm chalking this new dryness up to an antibiotic that I just started...good luck with your Restasis experience - hope you're not allergic to it!

[Amy09]

i just read the article from dr. pflugfelder and he made it seem like a steroid drop wasn't necessary with restasis unless restasis causes symptoms of severe burning. does that mean that if i have no problems with burning from restasis (knock on wood) that i don't need the steroid drop? sorry to be so paranoid about this, but i want to do whatever is best to make restasis work effectively. i take twice the recommended dosage of restasis, have taken it for almost two years now, and was only on a steroid for probably a few month about a year ago. is the restasis still able to work without it??

[kitty]

I think it would be wise to discuss your concerns with your doctor. However, before I started my last trial of Restasis, my doc put me on steroid drops for a few weeks. He said that Restais tends to burn more in eyes that are already inflammed, and that it can be better tolerated if inflammation is reduced with steroids first. That was the rationale for the use of steroids in my case. Your situation may be different.

[SusieD]

i just read the article from dr. pflugfelder and he made it seem like a steroid drop wasn't necessary with restasis unless restasis causes symptoms of severe burning. does that mean that if i have no problems with burning from restasis (knock on wood) that i don't need the steroid drop? sorry to be so paranoid about this, but i want to do whatever is best to make restasis work effectively. i take twice the recommended dosage of restasis, have taken it for almost two years now, and was only on a steroid for probably a few month about a year ago. is the restasis still able to work without it??

If you've already been on restasis for two years and get no burning - that would suggest you dont have that much inflammation and that the restasis is probably controlling it quite well. If it aint broke, dont fix it.