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Restasis + eyelids
Greetings to all. I've made my first post in the 'introduction' section, so here is my first question (if this is floating somewhere within another thread, feel free to merge or move it).
Have any of you ever experienced the onset of a red RASH on the eyelid area, after using RESTASIS??
Long story as so many but here is a recap of my situation:
My 'dry eye' seemed to have passed the threshold on JAN 1. I had no idea my eyes were in bad condition, I was never warned, otherwise I would have been taking precautionary measures after my yearly eye exam. I was only told last year, 'you have dry eyes'. That didn't mean much to me. But it would have if I had known what could happen.
I'm a graphic designer, so I stare at the screen a lot. I've worn contacts about 20 years of my life and I am a non smoker. That said, whilst the smoking ban wasn't in affect, I had a hard time at bars/clubs. I am so relieved that Chicago finally put this into effect. I was a strict vegetarian pretty much my whole life, until a few years ago I started eating a bit of fish. My eyes had seemed dry for some time, but it seemed like one day they were dry and the next, they freaked out, the whites turned red.
My eyes appeared: Red within the whites, puffy, veiny, slight dryness. This was also a departure from my contacts which I love dearly.
I did purchase a great pair of blue glasses to deal with the sudden change since I could no longer wear my contacts.
I went to see an Optometrist who put me on Zylet. This cleared the red up immediately, but as soon as I got off Zylet, the red came back. I went to my Ophthalmologist at North Western, Dr. John Yang (http://www.ueseyecare.com) in Chicago who said I had 'dry eyes'. He told me to use Systane or Optive every few hours with my contacts and I'd be okay. Well this didn't work so I returned to the Optometrist and she told me to use Lotemax along with Restasis (without contacts). I cleared this new program with my eye Dr. at Northwestern.
I began doing the rice bag treatments that the Optometrist recommended along with purchasing Nordic Naturals Omega 3, 6, 9. I also purchased an eye nutrient supplement called Visual Eyes by Source Naturals.
When using the steroid drops, it always seemed to clear me up. Using the Lotemax and Restasis in conjunction seemed ok. I was told it would take some time for the Restasis to kick in. Well as time passed and I was into the 2nd and 3rd month, my eyes just seemed to get DRIER but the Optometrist said it took her 6 months before it kicked in. I thought I'd stick it out.
I tapered off the Lotemax and moved to using Alrex in conjunction with Restasis. By now I began to develop some changes with my left eyelid which was redness, inflammation, itching and scaling of skin. HORRIBLE!!!! My right eye seemed to be doing okay.
I ran out of Alrex and the Optometrist put me back on Lotemax. I was on it for a few weeks. Still dealing with puffiness, especially in the morning. Now my left lid was not changing. Returned to Opthalmologist and he quickly took me off the Lotemax saying I should not have been on it for weeks. He gave me Refresh preservative free eye drops that felt soothing.
At this point, I was beyond frustrated that no one could sort this problem out. I was also reading a lot on the internet (and trying to blink!) about 'dry eyes' and all the things that I could have - Ocular Rosacea, Blepharitis, etc. I was convinced I had Blepharitis.
I decided perhaps it be best to see another specialist that a friend referred to me – Dr. Adam Cohen (http://www.mweyecenter.com). Apparently Dr. Cohen has written a book on lacrimal glands, along with some other top eye Dr's in the industry and he performs lacrimal surgery.
Dr. Cohen examined my eyes did the Schirmer's test to check the dryness of my eyes. No one else had done that at this point. He basically told me to get off the Restasis because if it didn't work after 3 months it wasn't going to. I agreed and told him my eyes felt a lot drier after being on it and I'd rather not be on a med of this nature.
He told me not to buy anymore expensive eye drops to stick to this program: - inexpensive over the counter preservative free eye drops
(similiar to Refresh preservative free drops)
- Genteal lubricant eye gel morning/night
- Flax seed oil
- Omega 3,6,9 vitamins
- along with my heated towel to the eye that I've been doing
I've been doing these things and though I don't expect a miracle overnight, my eyes are doing better. My right eye is pretty much fine, but the left is still experiencing the puffiness, esp in the morning, as well as the red rash that hasn't seemed to clear. Dr. Yang at Northwestern was going to write me a prescription for Blephamide but I am hesitant to go on it as I prefer natural remedies.
I don't know if this condition would have gotten like this on its own as it is a progressive and chronic condition however, what I do know is that I NEVER had the red rash, etc on the lids. I feel like it was an after affect of Restasis or perhaps one of the steroid drops I was on.
I am seeing a dermatologist on Thursday so that he can look at my lid and if he agrees to the Blephamide, then I might give it a go.
I've been off Restasis for a few weeks now and my eyes are not nearly as dry as they were! I feel some relief there.
So after my long story, has anyone experienced any side effects from RESTASIS?? OR do we know what side effects there are?? Is this drug just too new?? I feel it is the culprit of this rash. Like I said, I had no red rash on my lid prior to using Restasis.
In the end, I believe Western medicine is OK to a certain degree, but all these steroids, topicals, medicines, etc have side effects that we don't know how our bodies will absorb or react to. I am trying to keep my symptoms calm by using a bit of Western meds and much more NATURAL remedies whenever I can, as in long run, this will only help my overall system.
Thanks for listening guys and let me know what you think about Restasis and the red/itchy/scaly lid issue.
Cheers!
Dlove
Have any of you ever experienced the onset of a red RASH on the eyelid area, after using RESTASIS??
Long story as so many but here is a recap of my situation:
My 'dry eye' seemed to have passed the threshold on JAN 1. I had no idea my eyes were in bad condition, I was never warned, otherwise I would have been taking precautionary measures after my yearly eye exam. I was only told last year, 'you have dry eyes'. That didn't mean much to me. But it would have if I had known what could happen.
I'm a graphic designer, so I stare at the screen a lot. I've worn contacts about 20 years of my life and I am a non smoker. That said, whilst the smoking ban wasn't in affect, I had a hard time at bars/clubs. I am so relieved that Chicago finally put this into effect. I was a strict vegetarian pretty much my whole life, until a few years ago I started eating a bit of fish. My eyes had seemed dry for some time, but it seemed like one day they were dry and the next, they freaked out, the whites turned red.
My eyes appeared: Red within the whites, puffy, veiny, slight dryness. This was also a departure from my contacts which I love dearly.
I did purchase a great pair of blue glasses to deal with the sudden change since I could no longer wear my contacts.I went to see an Optometrist who put me on Zylet. This cleared the red up immediately, but as soon as I got off Zylet, the red came back. I went to my Ophthalmologist at North Western, Dr. John Yang (http://www.ueseyecare.com) in Chicago who said I had 'dry eyes'. He told me to use Systane or Optive every few hours with my contacts and I'd be okay. Well this didn't work so I returned to the Optometrist and she told me to use Lotemax along with Restasis (without contacts). I cleared this new program with my eye Dr. at Northwestern.
I began doing the rice bag treatments that the Optometrist recommended along with purchasing Nordic Naturals Omega 3, 6, 9. I also purchased an eye nutrient supplement called Visual Eyes by Source Naturals.
When using the steroid drops, it always seemed to clear me up. Using the Lotemax and Restasis in conjunction seemed ok. I was told it would take some time for the Restasis to kick in. Well as time passed and I was into the 2nd and 3rd month, my eyes just seemed to get DRIER but the Optometrist said it took her 6 months before it kicked in. I thought I'd stick it out.
I tapered off the Lotemax and moved to using Alrex in conjunction with Restasis. By now I began to develop some changes with my left eyelid which was redness, inflammation, itching and scaling of skin. HORRIBLE!!!! My right eye seemed to be doing okay.
I ran out of Alrex and the Optometrist put me back on Lotemax. I was on it for a few weeks. Still dealing with puffiness, especially in the morning. Now my left lid was not changing. Returned to Opthalmologist and he quickly took me off the Lotemax saying I should not have been on it for weeks. He gave me Refresh preservative free eye drops that felt soothing.
At this point, I was beyond frustrated that no one could sort this problem out. I was also reading a lot on the internet (and trying to blink!) about 'dry eyes' and all the things that I could have - Ocular Rosacea, Blepharitis, etc. I was convinced I had Blepharitis.
I decided perhaps it be best to see another specialist that a friend referred to me – Dr. Adam Cohen (http://www.mweyecenter.com). Apparently Dr. Cohen has written a book on lacrimal glands, along with some other top eye Dr's in the industry and he performs lacrimal surgery.
Dr. Cohen examined my eyes did the Schirmer's test to check the dryness of my eyes. No one else had done that at this point. He basically told me to get off the Restasis because if it didn't work after 3 months it wasn't going to. I agreed and told him my eyes felt a lot drier after being on it and I'd rather not be on a med of this nature.
He told me not to buy anymore expensive eye drops to stick to this program: - inexpensive over the counter preservative free eye drops
(similiar to Refresh preservative free drops)
- Genteal lubricant eye gel morning/night
- Flax seed oil
- Omega 3,6,9 vitamins
- along with my heated towel to the eye that I've been doing
I've been doing these things and though I don't expect a miracle overnight, my eyes are doing better. My right eye is pretty much fine, but the left is still experiencing the puffiness, esp in the morning, as well as the red rash that hasn't seemed to clear. Dr. Yang at Northwestern was going to write me a prescription for Blephamide but I am hesitant to go on it as I prefer natural remedies.
I don't know if this condition would have gotten like this on its own as it is a progressive and chronic condition however, what I do know is that I NEVER had the red rash, etc on the lids. I feel like it was an after affect of Restasis or perhaps one of the steroid drops I was on.
I am seeing a dermatologist on Thursday so that he can look at my lid and if he agrees to the Blephamide, then I might give it a go.
I've been off Restasis for a few weeks now and my eyes are not nearly as dry as they were! I feel some relief there.
So after my long story, has anyone experienced any side effects from RESTASIS?? OR do we know what side effects there are?? Is this drug just too new?? I feel it is the culprit of this rash. Like I said, I had no red rash on my lid prior to using Restasis.
In the end, I believe Western medicine is OK to a certain degree, but all these steroids, topicals, medicines, etc have side effects that we don't know how our bodies will absorb or react to. I am trying to keep my symptoms calm by using a bit of Western meds and much more NATURAL remedies whenever I can, as in long run, this will only help my overall system.
Thanks for listening guys and let me know what you think about Restasis and the red/itchy/scaly lid issue.
Cheers!
Dlove
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