Restasis

[ace]

Ive used Restasis for 6 months a couple of years ago and saw some improvement with my Dry Eye. Is there a limit on how long you can take Restasis or can you take it forever? I am thinking about trying it again but wasn't sure if I could.

Also, is there any really bad side effects that could occur? Redness and irritation doesn't effect me with Restasis, but wondering if there are any serious ones.

Thanks for any help!

[Rory]

I believe that Restatis was never approved in Europe because it was never proven to be effective. Literally a handful of people seeing improvement from 1000s.

The vehicle, Refresh Endura was then marketed and saw similar results. In my opinion, Restatis is not worth taking. No idea why it is offered as a treatment.

[Amy09]

I have to disagree that it is ineffective. I understand that a lot of people can't tolerate it because of the sensitive state of their eyes, but I think if you can handle it you should take it because it does improve your eyes with time. Also, everyone's eyes are different and I believe that different treatments work for different people.

Restasis is the only thing that has worked for my eyes and I have seen significant improvements with it. If it weren't for taking Restasis a year before graduating from high school I don't think I would have been able to handle college because of the state of my eyes. I have been taking restasis for almost four years now. a couple years ago I asked my opthalmologist, dr. pflugfelder, who is one of the top dry eye specialists in the country, if there is any reason i should stop taking it, and he basically said that i can keep taking it for forever. I think that if you feel that you had some improvements with it and it didn't bother your eyes then you should keep taking it. Ask your opthalmologist for his opinion of course, but that is just my two cents.

[Rory]

Just my opinion of course. But I believe that people put slight improvements down to Restatis...when in fact they are doing a number of things to improve their symptoms. Over time people with dry eyes understand how to avoid envioronmental factors...as well as doing various other things. ..which improve one's symptoms. So of course their symptoms will improve slightly.

Fact remains that Restatis was not approved in Europe because it couldnt prove its worth.

[Rebecca Petris]

Cyclosporine has had a role in dry eye treatment for many, many years. It is a limited role though and the clinical results alone cannot justify the mindless way Restasis is being prescribed to anyone and everyone with dry eye. It can help some people, and that's great. A cure-all it is not.