This month's attempts to feel better: Restasis

[Martush]

Hello everyone,

After trying all the over-the-counter drops, ointments and supplements, I resorted to starting Restasis.
I started it last night...
Trying to be positive... Always the optimist... (even though after 2 years of suffering from Dry Eye, it is, as many of us know, difficult to keep oneself in high spirits...).
I'm 25 and I wonder if the Restasis works better for younger or older people?
I still take omega 3s and eat manuka honey (not sure if it helps, but it's delicious :-) ).
Winter heating is killing me, so I really hope the Restasis will kick in soon.
I wish all of you to have a great and pain-free weekend (as much as possible)....

Martush

[Jan Baker]

Have you tried getting a humidifier for the winter months? I am using one regularly and my symptoms are under control, although I had an exam last Friday and the doc said my left eye was clearly dry when he examined me, and that I must use compresses and drops even if I don't feel uncomfortable. So I'll do that but am glad the humidifier is at least ******g the symptoms!!! Something else--you can get a humidity meter at Amazon for twelve bucks, and it appears to be quite accurate. So you know when it's humid enough that you don't need the mister going. This cuts down on work, as you have to up-keep a humidifier.

Personally I kind of like sleeping in what amounts to an active rain forest. At first I thought perhaps the bed clothes would mildew, or that the little feeling of dampness would feel chilly, but not.

[Martush]

Thanks, Jan

Thanks for the advice!
Which humidifier are you using?
I will definitely check out the humidity thermometer on Amazon, it's a great idea!

What else are you doing that works for you?

[rooneyandfergie]

Hey Martush,

great to see you posting in the dry eye triumph section. Just to share with you my Restasis experience. I couldnt really tell if it worked for me. But certainly it didnt work well enough i was still experiencing a lot of pain in air-conditioned environments and my workplace. It takes at least 3 months to work so u gotta be patient. For immediate relief, you may have to use short course of steroids.

Something else you can do is to get moisture chamber glasses which i am currently in the process of doing. It will help protect your eyes regardless of the surrounding humidity.

I am currently using 0.5% cyclosporine. 10X the concentration of Restasis. using it 4 times a day. seems to have helped somewhat in terms of less twitching of eyelids and a bit more comfort. however i am hesitant to commit myself to saying it is working as i need more time to access it. I felt better initially with Restasis as well but it turned out to be not as effective later on. However higher conc cyclosporine has helped quite a few people.

Omega 3 oils could help as well as it strengthens the lipid layer which helps the tears stay longer in the eye instead of evaporating quickly in dry environments.

Your optimism never fails to impress me LOL. Perhaps you should spread some of it to me. Hopefully Restasis will make your eyes more comfortable.

[spmcc]

Re: omega 3s

I was told to take omega 3s with the highest DHA component.

[Rebecca Petris]

Jackolso,

I have moved your posts to the open forum as I do not feel they are appropriate in this Triumphs thread.

[Jan Baker]

Maybe humidity has some problems

Hi! I came back to post a note to my earlier post. Humidity might be causing me another problem, I'm not sure. I have been shorter of breath lately and the only thing that has changed for me, besides the passage of several months, is that I've added so much humidity to my house. Sunday I walked the three blocks down to church from the train briskly and by the time I got to the foot of the steps I was completely out of breath and my legs were numb. Then, going back, I had the same problem-by the time I got up on the train platform, a man asked me if I were alright. So then I remembered that I'd been having the problem rather often recently. My level of exercise is the same, moderate. So I'm wondering if the humidity has affected my lungs somehow.

To the gentleman who asked me what kind of humidifier I use, I just have the tear shaped portable one from Amazon (it's the easiest to clean). Whole house is not an option to me. I bought a humidity measure from Amazon for twelve dollars. The portable ones are harder to control than whole house ones, I imagine.

All I'm saying is that it might be possible to over-do a good thing, so be careful.

[Jan Baker]

Thanks for the advice!
Which humidifier are you using?
I will definitely check out the humidity thermometer on Amazon, it's a great idea!

What else are you doing that works for you?

Martush, I got lost in the posts and am late answering your query here. I got the Cool Mist at Amazon and am putting the link below (not that I am saying you should buy it at Amazon, but just for the info and a base price). I have two humidifiers and am only recommending this one. It is much easier to clean than the red steam-breathing dragon I also got. The dragon is cheerful and cute, but you can't see the slime buildup on the red as clearly and surely as you can see and remove it on the white background of the other, tear-drop shaped one. Both of them work well, although the dragon one doesn't send out the mist as far as the other.

But see my other post for a warning! I'm not sure if the humidifying can't be overdone! For some reason my breathing seems worse. Now, I'm older and these things can happen. The best thing for me to do would be to keep the humidifier at around forty to fifty percent, which is what a couple of places seem to recommend (for allergy sufferers, not dry eye sites). I also got a meter to measure indoor humidity from Amazon, just search for it while you're looking at the Cool Mist. It only cost 12 bucks and tells me what the actual humidity is rather than me guessing.

Good luck, sweetheart. I know you want relief. You're so young to suffer this. But a fourteen year old at my church, come to think, was squinching up his eyes the other day, and his mother told me that his pediatrician had mentioned that he thought he had a blocked tear duct. She hadn't done anything! It had been a year! I made sure she bought drops for him, that he got an appointment with a decent dry eye specialist in the suburbs where they live, and I gave him my twelve dollar aviator goggles that I got here to use until he sees the doctor, at least. Guess it doesn't strike only the old!

So do you have any goggles? For me, they can relieve my symptoms pretty quick!

Here's the Cool Mist link:http://www.amazon.com/Crane-Gallon-C...0526712&sr=8-1

[Martush]

Hey everyone

Well, I've been on Restasis for 2 weeks now.
Gosh, sad to say that I have been feeling very nauseos and have major headaches and flu-like symptoms (except for the fever).
I can't say that it is caused by the Restasis, and I hope it is simply a stomach virus or somethin.... But it is still a very strange coincidence.
Thank you so much for your encouraging posts~
I wish I was able to write a more optimistic post today. Eyes are really bad and head's spinning badly

I don't use goggles, doctor hasn;t suggested using them yet.

Sorry if I posted this thread in the wrong subject, my mistake !!

I got a humidifier a few days ago, but it doesn't work! It did measure the humidity in the room which was 40%... is that good or bad?

My grandmother called me all excited telling me about a new medication called Con Fide... have you heard about it? Should we be excited?

Have a beautiful day everyone, hope for better news for everyone of us soon!

[Jan Baker]

Gosh, Martush!

About the humidity level, my eye doctor said he kept his whole house at 35% but that was only because his humidifier ran constantly at the 40% he preferred, whereas at 35% it cycled off sometimes, which made him feel more comfortable. Which just goes to show that all talk is not particularly rational. I read an allergy website that said 40% was good for people with allergies--theirs shouldn't get very high because it makes their allergies worse. Perhaps someone here has some good data. Your eye doctor may not have recommended goggles because he just didn't think of it. My doctor never did, but when I showed him my Wiley X sunglasses, he certainly wanted to know where I had found them in Chicago! You should really do yourself a favor and get the 12 dollar ones in the Dry Eye Store, or the cuter 20 dollar Onion ones.

Honey, what kind of humidifier did you get? My dragon shaped humidifier doesn't 'seat' well and at first I thought it was broken too. But when I fooled with it for a while, it finally snapped into place and then worked. What kind did you get? Maybe someone will know how to make it work.

[jads]

Hi Martush, can certainly understand the frustration you are going through.

Best of luck. In my view, if Restasis does not provide any relief within 3-4 weeks I would be inclined to stop using it. It may make your situation worse unfortunately. I certainly found trial and error with gels, tears etc did not help me much at all.

Have you found a good eye specialist to help you?

[djeanwithdryeyes]

Just a thought - Have you tried FreshKote? You must get a prescription from your doctor and it is much cheaper than Restasis.

TAKE CARE! DJ

[riverstoneannie]

Goggles

Don't wait for your eye doctor to suggest goggles. My lids were litterally sticking to my eyeballs and my doc NEVER MENTIONED IT. I was very desperate and felt like this was taking over my life. I work in a hospital for 12 hr shifts and the air is de humidified. The dryness and pain can be all consuming. I surfed the web and found the dry eye shop. I ordered the night time moisture chambers and some goggles to wear to work. The Tranquileyes, my goggles which I replaced with some nifty sports goggles from my local optical shop, eyelid scrubs and drops are making this totally liveable while I wait for the restasis to begin working. Now I can go to work and focus on my critically ill patients instead of my critically dry eyes.
You have to just do what works. If it doesn't require a prescription, go for it, because most eye docs don't actually know what it is like to live with this. When you go to your next visit and say, "this has taken over my life, I am doing X Y & Z to get by, what else can I do?" chances are they will pay more attention and work harder to get you more comfortable. Your doctor will never be more invested in solving your dry eye than you are. That is my experience anyway.

[rooneyandfergie]

You have to just do what works. If it doesn't require a prescription, go for it, because most eye docs don't actually know what it is like to live with this. When you go to your next visit and say, "this has taken over my life, I am doing X Y & Z to get by, what else can I do?" chances are they will pay more attention and work harder to get you more comfortable. Your doctor will never be more invested in solving your dry eye than you are. That is my experience anyway.

Agreed. Totally.