A restasis break?

[Meike]

It's been a long time since I was here, as my eyes have improved a lot in the past 1,5 years (since starting on restasis). I'm considering taking a restasis break for a few months, to see how my eyes will do without. I'm a little bit scared that my eyes will get worse and am not looking forward to fall back to pre-restasis times. But now I'm pregnant (a bit over 2 months) and I have the feeling that my tear production increases due to hormonal changes, which is a very welcomed side-effect, and I thought that this could be the right time to experiment with a break from restasis. Does this sound like a good idea? Any experiences?

[Faith1989]

how long were you using restasis before an obvious improvement happened? if you no longer have to use artificial tears, in my OPINION i would stick with it. Did your doctor say it was still okay to use while pregnant? Restasis takes a long time to work, I just would think about it before i would have to "start over" with it

just my opinion....

[rppnj]

It's been a long time since I was here, as my eyes have improved a lot in the past 1,5 years (since starting on restasis). I'm considering taking a restasis break for a few months, to see how my eyes will do without. I'm a little bit scared that my eyes will get worse and am not looking forward to fall back to pre-restasis times. But now I'm pregnant (a bit over 2 months) and I have the feeling that my tear production increases due to hormonal changes, which is a very welcomed side-effect, and I thought that this could be the right time to experiment with a break from restasis. Does this sound like a good idea? Any experiences?

Hi Meike,
First of all, congratulations on your new baby. I'm also happy to hear that Restasis is working well for you. I've been back on Restasis for several months now and it seems to be helping. My eyes are much better now (when I stay at home), however, they are still sensitive whenever I leave the house. I'm hoping that this will change over time. How long before Restasis made a significant improvement to your eyes. Of course, everyone's different, but any good news is always welcome.
Kindest regards,
rppnj

[Meike]

Faith1989 and Rppnj, thanks for your replies.

It took at least 3 months before restasis had an effect, and I guess I experienced its full effect after about 4-5 months. It has made my life much more comfortable, but the improvement is relative. I use restasis 2x daily, but still need about 6 x artificial tears during day time, + extra gels at night (once before I fall asleep, and once in the middle of the night when I wake up with dry eyes). This is much less though than before I started on restasis. I also still need goggle-like glasses outside and in the car, but I have gotten used to that. So restasis has definitely not solved the problem, but since using it, the discomfort is largely gone and the pain has totally disappeared. I don't think much about my eyes now, they don't disturb all my daily activities as they used to. That's a LARGE improvement. And yeah, it's a really good question whether I want to take the risk of quitting restasis now...

I hope that this 1,5 year on restasis has a somewhat longer-term effect when I quit (are there experiences??). I would not have considered taking a break from restasis yet if I wasn't pregnant; from a medical point of view that's probably a bit irrational (such extremely small concentrations of cyclosporine that might get into your body), but I feel like I want to abandon all risks. My doctors don't see any problem with using restasis during pregnancy though (I've asked my ophthalmologist and two rheumatologists - all of them said it was ok to use it). I haven't made my decision yet. It's a tough one, since I'm so happy with the improvement in my eyes....

[Faith1989]

I'm happy for you, getting better is all we can hope for! What was your diagnoses? Did you have any mgd? Did the restasis help with that? Did you have any redness? If so, is it better now?!

Thanks congrats also on the new baby!

[littlemermaid]

Meike ~ that is very good news I would talk about your thoughts with the prescribing eye doc, and family doc, and possibly obstetrician, to get current medical opinion on this. If they don't know, they must research it. If you want to research this yourself, keywords might be 'cyclosporine teratogenic' (can be spelt ciclosporin or variations).

I would close the puncta (tear duct) anyway, with a finger after putting drops in, like this http://www.dryeyesmedical.com/filead...ndscape_OL.pdf (from http://www.dryeyesmedical.com/)

[Meike]

Thanks, littlemermaid. The research that I have seen tells me that it should be safe, but at the same time there is a lack of research on pregnancy risks in humans, which is why the producer officially advises not to use it during pregnancy unless needed. It's a good idea to discuss this once again with my doctors. In the meantime, I am careful when applying and close my tear ducts with my fingertip, as you advice.

Faith1989, my diagnoses are MGD and conjunctivitis sicca, caused by Sjögren's syndrome in my case. Not sure if the restasis helped with the MGD, since that was treated with an antibiotic ointment before I started with restasis (3 x 2 weeks over half a year - worked well for me).

[littlemermaid]

Meike ~ So happy for you; we remember this baby is what you were planning and hoping for. Wish you all the very best

[Meike]

Wonderful, thanks! :-)