Dexamethasone Drops

[Lfarls]

I just got the preservative free dexamethasone drops from leiters in cali. I started using them yesterday, brought down the inflammation and I'm not as dry as I usually would be this morning. However being that it is a steroid my doc only wants me on it for a month. I figure that if i continue to use it everyday for a month I'll build a tolerance. This happened with every other steriod I've used, lotemax, alrex, zylet, fml..they work at first then its like I build a tolerance and it stops working. My question is has anyone gotten long term relief with using a steroid for a short period like dexamethasone? My doc says dexamethasone is better than lotemax and all the other stuff just wondering if anyone else has tried it and got some relief.

[Guest]

For me, steroid drops provide relief while I'm using them, but after I stop, I got back to "normal".

However, years before LASIK, I had a bad case of allergic conjunctivitis that itched and burned like crazy - my doc at the time prescribed a steroid drop for a week, and it fixed me - totally cured that awful flare up and made me good as new....

I would think it just depends on the situation and the person... ie. for some situations/people it will bring them long term relief, for others, not so much.

Just curious, but did your doc say why he prefers dexamethasone over lotemax and the others?

[neve]

What helped me was Alrex and it was used VERY sparingly, once or sometimes twice a day for about a little over two weeks. Steroids can have some devestating side effects, tho I AM AWARE THAT SOMETIS NOTHING else feels as it will do. OFTEN, i used a cool clotH on my eyes and honestly, it worked better than the steroids, THO the effectS were not hours long. I was told by my oiptom. (that is now my ex- optometrist as I am goING to a corneal specialist) thaT aLREX WAS THE SAFEST STEROIDal DROP BUT STILL YOU NEEDED TO EXERCISE CAUTION. i AM COMPLETELY OFF OF IT, THO stILL have pain on a daily basuis. Do not want cataracts etc as side effect.

wishing you the best and just as an aside, did not ever feel negative side effects due to ALREX BUT THAT'S ME.

[y-gwair]

Be very careful using steroids, I'm fairly certain that using dexamethasone drops triggered my severe, painful facial rosacea, and possibly worsened my ocular rosacea.

[Lfarls]

SAAG- My doc says he prefers the dexamethasone because it is preservative free. I also tried lotemax before with no help so he thought it might be beneficial to try it.
NEVE- I tried the alrex and it did help for a while, I guess I feel I have to use it more because my lids are chronically inflamed 24-7, they getter better at times but it never completly goes back to normal.
Y-GWAIR- Yeah my doc says I can only be on them for a month and then no more steroids, I'm not sure if it makes my rosacea worse because my eyelids are always red so I can't really tell.

[y-gwair]

Y-GWAIR- Yeah my doc says I can only be on them for a month and then no more steroids, I'm not sure if it makes my rosacea worse because my eyelids are always red so I can't really tell.

The red patches of veins are noticeably less red and glands producing more oil since starting ciclosporin 0.2% ointment/clonidine tablets for flushing, far more obvious improvment than I had using steroid drops.

[sazy123]

I just got dexamethasone drops from leiters. I have the research study, i found online. It says the low dose may be able to be used 'longer term', but im going back to my doc to ask. Today my eyes feel noticeably better (only first day of using them)- so im not sure i can attribute it to these drops yet. the study says, 65% got moderate to complete resolution of dry eye symptoms, and 22% got mild to moderate improvement, and 13% got no improvement.

No other steroid that i tried has helped so far. I have very inflamed inner eyelids. I will post the study, my doc gave it to me because he said im very informed on dry eye!

[littlemermaid]

Sazy, Yes, please post the study. We're using it very low dose now with good results only 2 drops per week. Obviously I'm not thrilled about using steroid for years. Can't manage without it though, even to 1 drop per week. It's fascinating this very low dose works for rosacea though, really interesting. We've had meibom pretty much since we started after a very short blast of topical azithromycin (Azyter).

Have you tried low dose cyclosporine with an aqueous base instead of oils?

Moorfields talk about hypersensitivity - is this you, do you think? Certainly LM is better just on frequent normal saline without tear substitute eyedrops. This isn't for everyone but seems good if it's an immunology and sensitivity problem.

If we stop the rosacea skin from flaring, she's good on this minimum regime, using normal saline 6/day, and the tearing starts to improve well. Then it's about healing the eye surface, I guess. If the skin flares, we need a more viscous eyedrop to see us through and increase steroid.

The principle is, I think, to taper off to minimum intervention and chemicals to attempt to normalise things and allow recovery, once there's a spiral of improvement. Then it's maintenance.

Like the sound of your new doc - still in Pennsylvania?

[sazy123]

I like how you think, you sound like a doc lol.

My eyes dont feel any worse if my skin looks worse. My eyes are bad no matter what- unless im sick or have a other symptoms like a congested throat. Im exploring perfume allergy/senstivity right now--- but it seems impossible to avoid, when everyone around you wears it and sprays stuff at work or leaves it lingering in the bathroom. So I do my best to avoid- but it seems impossible!! how do you deal with this with your daughter? i read that you were avoiding perfumes. With type 5 allergans- you can have an exposure and a reaction can last 3 weeks!!!

I still think i have ocular rosacea, due to inflammed inner eyelids but havent found that anything so far helps this inflammation. Cant tell yet if these drops will.

My doc here is decent, better than most, but he said ive really tried mostly everything. Sigh.

[littlemermaid]

Hi Sazy, I've been following your treatment posts since 2009 so thanks so much for that, you're an inspiration Happy you're seeing docs in the US but very sorry about the husband thing. Swings and roundabouts, eh.

We sound very similar. This hypersensitivity/allergy type IV, or whatever rosacea is, problems show as acne rosacea, so some reactions show as flareups like a barometer on the face, poor kid - chemicals, foods, hormonal, viruses, bacteria. MaryVA61 and SAAG and Spmcc and Rebecca's and others' experiences are so useful on finding triggers (I hadn't realised eg formaldehyde or nickel or gluten could be causing this skin/eye inflammation). For our mgd, eliminating triggers is the best help on keeping the glands clear now she's pretty well controlled as above with occasional unidentified flareups. Seems pretty obvious the extremely low-dose steroid in chronic use keeps the immune reaction stable, but, of course, could be turn out to be a long-term disaster, cataracts etc.

In terms of a cure, this is where we're at - we're just not quite there yet with the inflammation pathways and the immunology, are we - I'm following derms eg Richard Gallo, Frank Powell and eyes Christophe Baudouin on Google Scholar Alert to see how they're getting on with that. LOL, seeing too many docs. Take it slow and look after yourself carefully.

[blessings]

Noticed you used dexamthasone drops from Leiters. I am currrently using them. Did you get improvement from using steroid drops. How long did you use them, and did they help with MGD?

I just got the preservative free dexamethasone drops from leiters in cali. I started using them yesterday, brought down the inflammation and I'm not as dry as I usually would be this morning. However being that it is a steroid my doc only wants me on it for a month. I figure that if i continue to use it everyday for a month I'll build a tolerance. This happened with every other steriod I've used, lotemax, alrex, zylet, fml..they work at first then its like I build a tolerance and it stops working. My question is has anyone gotten long term relief with using a steroid for a short period like dexamethasone? My doc says dexamethasone is better than lotemax and all the other stuff just wondering if anyone else has tried it and got some relief.

[Nikki]

Not sure how low the dose of dexamethasone you're using... but, I'd be VERY cautious when using it. It has one of the worst profiles in terms of incidence of glaucoma, cataract.

[littlemermaid]

Nikki, This is a worry. Would you post up some refs for us so we can think about steroid side effects? I've always felt happier on FML in terms of unnecessary absorption and retention when the inflammation is just basically around the conjunctiva but we can't get it preservative-free in UK as far as I know.

[Guest]

Nikki, This is a worry. Would you post up some refs for us so we can think about steroid side effects?

I second this - would love to get my hands on something like that!

[blessings]

The dose is 0.01% I started Dec. 8th with 3 drops per day. After 7 days I reduced to 2 drops per day. Inflammation is gone and eyes feel better, but concerned about staying on the drop long term. I do not have rosaccea or any obvious lid irritation. I do have MGD. The steroids, preservative-free, are suppose to reduce inflammation and help the meibum to secrete. My glands have keratin debree and block. Have not tried azacite or doxy. Trying to prevent atrophy of the glands. Any suggestions would be helpful. I have a pre-existing cataract and do not want any worsening of the cataract or glaucoma.

Not sure how low the dose of dexamethasone you're using... but, I'd be VERY cautious when using it. It has one of the worst profiles in terms of incidence of glaucoma, cataract.