Improvement at last

[wantsim]

Hey y'all I have been having predominantly good days, with only 1 - 2 dry eye days since 4/9/10. I am so happy that the burning has went away and I don't think of my eyes around the clock. like I used to.

Here's what I am currently taking:

1. Lovaza fish oil capsules (4 daily) prescription only
2. Restatis 2x daily
3. Genteal gel at bedtime
4. Permanent punctal plugs x 4

I've been keeping a daily record of what I am doing and no bad dry eye days since april ! So I waited a while to see if this would last and so far for the past 2 months I have been happy.

Lovaza is a fish oil capsule that is available by prescription only. It's a combination of DHA and EPA. Each capsule is 1 gram and so I take 4 pills (4 grams) a day and have found that after a month of this that I have noticed fewer evaporative menthol effect. I used to use rice sock 2x daily but have not had to since being on Lovaza for 1 month. It's a high dose fish oil. Each capsule is EPA 465mg / DHA 375mg. So taking 4 capsules equates to EPA 1860 / DHA 1500.

I've been on Restasis 2x daily for 9 months. It never really seemed to work in the first 3 months taking it and it did cause burning in my eye. Now when I use it it does cause burning only for about 10 minutes then dissipates. April was 7 months into using restasis.

Genteal gel at bedtime was much better for my eyes I found that using greasy ointment which I would wake up with my eyes feeling dry and sticky. At least with genteal gel I would wake up with normal feeling eyes.

Permanent punctal plugs were placed 6 months ago. They didn't really seem to help very much at first. Now they certainly do.

I honestly think inflammation played a big part with my eyes, especially the burning stinging sensation in my eyes. Doxycycline, Azasite, Lotemax, FML drops didn't seem to help much. Flax seed oil didn't seem to help much either. I was grinding up whole flax seeds and adding the equivalent of 3 grams to my yogurt daily. Rice sock 2x daily did help a little. The fish oil capsules seem to have helped a great deal with the omega 3 fatty acids. I did read that omega 3's act in an anti-inflammatory nature so I think this is the main thing now that has helped me.

A little background on me. I had LASIK march 2009. I developed burning dry eye pain 3 months afterwards. It became constant burning, constant stinging, and yes I was very depressed for a while. I tried many many things and none really seemed to do much. :-( I am a healthcare provider and fortunately have an optometrist colleague who I refer to frequently who has been more than helpful.

I think I will write more later on my past experiences with the various modalities. Perhaps share some ideas on why some things helped and others didn't?

Best of eye health to all of us

[thomps1]

Encouraging

I just posted a new thread introducing myself.....had lasik in April 2010 and am having terrible dry symptoms. Same as you, all 4 plugs, taking Restasis, on a steroid drop for now.

Have been told by my surgeon that this will pass, might take me a little longer, but it will pass and in fact have started hearing from others in my community who have friends etc that took a long time to heal.

So I'm optimistic that what I'm feeling right now won't be permanent, but its not fun going through it

[wantsim]

It certainly takes patience and perserverance. Have you tried Dwelle drops? I found that it improves wettability of your eye. It seems to coat your eyeball and makes tears stick better.

Also it helps to keep your restasis refrigerated to help minimize the burning sensation and also a cold drop feels better than a room temp drop. And if your lasik surgeon only does lasik and nothing else (such as a lasik center), I would go to a different eye doctor to be treated for the dry eye. There's more objectivity I think

[Sammy B.]

Wantsim,

Thank you for your post and congratulations!

I am also post-LASIK and while I do relatively well with just my lowers plugged, my doctor whom I trust (not my LASIK doctor) has recommended I now start Restasis.

Did the Restasis burn all day for you? I have found that it burns...all....day. But if that might pass and the eventual effects are worth it, I may just give it a try.

Could you also speak to how much you think the Restasis helped? Did it help 30% or 50% or even more?

Thank you!
Rose

[wantsim]

oh gosh yes the restasis caused burning all day long when I first used it. It lasted about 3 months then it started only burning for a few minutes to an hour after using it. Now it only burns for a few minutes then no more. In retrospect the restasis did not seem to help at all in the first few months. I did hear that it could take up to 6 months to really start working.

I would say the restasis helps about 25% or so. There was a slow gradual difference. I noticed a difference around 5 months. I have been keeping an eye log of what I have been using and how my eyes have been feeling....sort of like a diary...and it's been improving ever since the 5 month mark.

Have you tried Lacriserts? I got a week long sample and although it helped a little bit, they tended to make my vision hazy towards the end of the day.

I really think though that in my case inflammation played a big role. My eyes would feel burning, dry, parched. The predominant feeling though was burning. Even when I put drops in my eye the burning feeling was still major. Dwelle did help some though. But I think the main reason why I am continuing with the Restasis is I'm trying to control any inflammation present and to avoid any exacerbations. Hope for the best!

[Sammy B.]

Wantsim,

Thanks a lot for the details.

I have tried Lacrisert but gave up after a week or so as they tended to become a gooey mess by the end of the day. They also would get lodged above my eye during the night and getting them out drove me nuts. Don't get me wrong, they are good, but not really worth it in my case.

Interesting that the burning lasted that long for you (three whole months). I may just give it a go now (I assumed that burning all day meant it wasn't for me but your story changes my perspective).

THANK YOU AGAIN!
Rose

[wantsim]

just an update. I stopped the Restasis 2x a day. I was getting a resurgence of burning dry eye and thought that the Restasis may have been exacerbating it.

It's been 1 month without Restasis. Since then I have experiened no burning dry eye.

I am really starting to doubt whether the Restasis helped as much as I thought it did.

Since day 1 my dry eye has been causing mostly burning eye pain. The restasis causes burning as a side effect so I'm not sure if the continued burning was due to dry eye or as a side effect of the restasis.

the best way to see if it works is probably trial and error unfortunately

[fundryeyes]

Restasis compliance

I have been on Restasis for three months and it only causes mild burning. I did call the manufacturer when I first tried it due to extreme burning and eye redness. What they told me makes sense. A dry eye is an inflamed eye and will not tolerate stuff being dropped into it, initially. She suggested putting in Bion tears or others 15 minutes before and after or use Restasis once a day until you can tolerate it better, then ramp up.
A healing eye surface can take a lot more abuse, and this is what I experienced.
Dr Latkany's ( spelling?) book indicates Restasis could resolve a lot more patients problems if they stuck to it long term. But many people drop out because of the side effects.
I also believe that even more could be resolved if we took a greater dose. Eye drops are an inefficient way of getting medicine to their target, especially when your punctum are draining the drops as you put them in.
Thats probably why we need at least six months of treatment to notice a difference.

[wantsim]

hi sammy,

I am no longer on restasis. I do think that it helped just a little. I think it's worth trying at least for a 3 month basis. It does cause burning as a side effect. why don't you try permanent punctal plugs? Don't do intracannalicular plugs. I have found that has helped me the most. Each time I yawn my eyes become flooded with tears. I would do both lower lids first then progress to both upper lids.

I stopped restasis because I don't feel that it was helping anymore.

hope this helps!