Restasis update and a question about Alphagan P

[aksloan]

Greeting All,

I last posted when I was 2 months into using Restasis and not having much success but now after 8 months I was tested again today. The Dr. said he was pleased to see a healthy tear layer on my eyes!! He asked me if I wanted to try to get off of Restasis or stay on them for another 3 months ... I opted, quite quickly, to stay on them for another three months.

Now for the Alphagan-P question ..... I have always had great vision in well lit rooms and bright sunshine but on dark dreary days or poorly lit rooms my vision decreased dramatically and it affected me for the rest of the day. It is the same kind of problem I had before when sitting in front of a computer all day until I purchased a pair of computer glasses. The Dr. said he thinks it is because of large pupils and I should try using Alphagan-P to see if that helps.

My question is has anyone else had a similar problem and has Alphagan-P helped? ... Also, and bad reactions from using Alphagan-P?

Thanks!

[Rebecca Petris]

Great to hear of your progress!

The Dr. said he thinks it is because of large pupils and I should try using Alphagan-P to see if that helps.

My question is has anyone else had a similar problem and has Alphagan-P helped? ... Also, and bad reactions from using Alphagan-P?

This suggestion is often made to people who have poor night vision following laser eye surgery (sometimes the result of a treatment area diameter that is smaller than the diameter their pupil reaches at night).

My advice: BE CAUTIOUS if you try this, use it sparingly, and be very observant of its effects in the following days. Alphagan has a known "rebound" effect. As far as I am aware it has not yet been established scientifically what frequency of Alphagan use would be safe in this regard. I know people who use it once or twice a week successfully and I know people who are not comfortable with using it that frequently.