Restasis makes eyes worse??

[Katewest]

I have had two ipl treatments and they have not helped. I started restasis around the same time about three weeks. I am thinking of stopping the restasis to see if it's making my eyes worse. Has anyone had restasis make
Their eyes worse? I am not sure if i should stop though because my eyes have red veins and have been dry for so long I don't want them getting worse! Any thoughts?

[Faith1989]

I just read this post and it sounds exactly like me. When I first started using Restasis I felt pretty bad, and my eyes got pretty red to. Being a girl, this is obviously bothersome. I am now on week 5 or 6 lol i dont remember but my eyes are slowly getting used to them and they are not as red anymore. I used to be anti-restasis to but you will get more comfortable with it eventually. Now I should tell u that I am also using Lotemax twice daily with them for now for the next month. (I am being monitored and my pressures havent gone up) If you are not using Lotemax you should ask ur doctor because without it, I could definately not handle it in the beginning. The way I see it is, I have so much inflammation that if eventually the Restasis will prevent it, its worth the pain in the beginning. I also stopped restasis in week 4 for about ten days to see if restasis was making me worse, at first I felt way better not putting them in, but by about day 7, my flare ups got worse, so I went back to my doctor and he told me to please stick it out for three months. Redness is a side effect of restasis so i think its normal to at first experience it...if it doesnt get better by week 6-8 I would stop... I hope this post made u feel at least a little more comfortable that ur not alone

[Katewest]

I stopped for two days this week and did feel better. BUT, after reading your response, I think I will keep trying. Thanks! Whats your diagnosis and how long have you had DES?

[Faith1989]

I have had this problem for about a year, and have gone into remission once for a few months. At this point i was only using Lotemax twice daily for a month, then switched to restasis (this was my first attempt). I gave up on it the first time due to lash loss. (I am not sure why my lashes were falling out, i blamed restasis lol and stopped). This was a big mistake. All my inflammation came back with a vengance and I haven't been able to get back to where I was yet. My diagnoses is blepharitis and dry eye. I have also been using 100 mg of doxy everyday, lid scrubs twice a day and warm compress for ten minutes at bed time. When I was on restasis before, I didnt notice a difference for 8 weeks...when ur eyes are killing u with side effects this seems real long lol. I am going to give it at LEAST three more months and listen to my doctor. I wish i could try IPL but I dont think u can get treatments in Canada. I am going to Ottawa to see anther doctor for a second opinion sometime in the next few months. Anyway, I will never stop my anti-inflammatories ever again because I learned the hard way... I am no doctor but i really think u need to give the restasis more time

[Katewest]

Thanks for the info....I am going to keep with the restasis for a while. I had 2 ipls so far and dont see a difference yet, but as i said maybe its the restasis side effects. I am going to do 4 ipls in all and see if there is a difference. I also am looking into hormone drops. Since I have been diagnosed with ocular rosacea I am on a non-iflamatory diet. I don't really know if its helping yet though. My dry eye started about 5 years ago and just slowly got worse since I never got a good diagnosis. I was doing allergy shot or nothing for about 3-4 years and come to find out I was not allergic to anything! ERRRR I am currently on Oracea 40 mg daily, lid scrubs, cool eye patch, restates 2X a day, and omega 3s. My doc said no warm compresses since my MGD is caused my ocular rosacea. who knows!?!

[bakunin]

I stopped using Retsasis yesterday, after a 7 week trial. In the last week (the 6th week on restasis) my symptoms were worse all the week, without any changes in enviroment, nutrition or daily life. They use to tell Restasis start making effects between the 4th and 6th week. Well, for me the effect I think was making my eyes worse. I felt my eyes more inflammed, and more photophobic than it is been usual in the last 7 months, in the 6th week on restasis.
I'm better today (without Restasis).

[Faith1989]

I know how you feel. I am like month 3 on restasis and I am worse... I am still using it b/c I see a new doc next week and I want him to see how my eyes are while using it. For some reason I keep telling myself "if I give it more time" but I guess the ppl who keep using it to month 6 aren't getting worse. My redness is at an all time high using it, and the photophobia is intense. I want to try serum and plugs. Did you notice the mornings are worse using restasis too?? Are you using anything else??

[bakunin]

I know how you feel. I am like month 3 on restasis and I am worse... I am still using it b/c I see a new doc next week and I want him to see how my eyes are while using it. For some reason I keep telling myself "if I give it more time" but I guess the ppl who keep using it to month 6 aren't getting worse. My redness is at an all time high using it, and the photophobia is intense. I want to try serum and plugs. Did you notice the mornings are worse using restasis too?? Are you using anything else??

Hi Faith1989,

I'm not using anything else. I mean, only warm compresses.

I felt my eyes worse in the mornin after I dropped restasis. But at evening and at night was worse.

In the first month I felt only a stinging after dropping restasis, a stinging that could last some hours. But my eyes were not worse as a whole.

[Faith1989]

Kate/Bakunin, are ur eyes still doing better without the restasis? I REALLY want to quit it, but I have been on it so many months now that I dont know how they will be without it!

[Katewest]

No I'm doing pretty crapy right now but I don't think it has to do with restasis. I stopped it about two months ago and was only on it for a month. It made my eyes redder and itchy all through the day. Right now I'm going to get upper plugs and ordered some Meg's. I hoping in march to go to Boston for prose lenses. My tear film must be getting worse because not only wind but AIR hurts my eyes now. Ugh!

[Faith1989]

I hear you.. I am not doing to well either. My eyes will be fine until I leave my apartment and go pretty much anywhere! I am hoping also for plugs or cautery and serum at my appointment next week.. Depending on what the specialist says I MAY stay on restasis but I doubt it..my eyes have also got more red ... At least there are more things we can both try .. something has to work ..right?! lol

[Katewest]

Yeah, I am way too young to give up. Why cautery? Just try plugs first right? Do you have at least the lowers? I think part of our issue might be stress. I have ocular roseascea and that is a trigger. But anti- anxiet meds make dry eye worse! I'm praying my Meg's get here soon and the upper plugs help. But honestly, I think prose lenses might be my best bet.

[bakunin]

Kate/Bakunin, are ur eyes still doing better without the restasis? I REALLY want to quit it, but I have been on it so many months now that I dont know how they will be without it!

I'm fine without restasis. By 'fine' I'm mean more or less bad as usual before the 6th week on restasis. I think I did the right thing quitting it.

[DCRdryeye]

I had been on restasis for 5 months and quit because it was doing nothing but making my eyes go red and sting. But then discovered I felt drier without it, so I'm back on it. And recently a dry eye doc gave me a non-preserved form of prednisolone eye drops and oral doxycycline which has given me some much needed relief.

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[MeibomianGlandman]

I have learned that castor oil which is one of the main ingredients in restasis is photo toxic to the eye, which means yes your eye will become inflamed, that is why they put cyclosporine in the eye drops, to prevent this inflammation, because its a immune suppressant. Interestingly enough however though is the fact that castor oil despite its inflaming properties, is an essential oil, or just OIL if you will, which helps to lubricate the eye. If My opinion were present at the time those chemists decided to cook up this eye drop I would have chosen to study if another oil like coconut oil or jojoba oil would have been less inflaming. However due to what the investors decided to invest in, this is our only option for now. I hope to further increase the push in the eye care industry to move to study these what we call essential oils, to see which ones are toxic to the eye and which ones are not. However, these studies have not been done yet, If there is a research institute in your area, Make sure to mention this to them that more studies need to be done on the subject. However most studies are financially backed by investors who want to see a profit, let us hope in the future that medical progress is valued over financial gain.