Has AzaSite helped you?

[wetEyes]

I'm interested in your experiences with AzaSite.

[sighthound]

I tried it twice. I have oc rosacea, bleph, mgd. Azasite did nothing for me. Really disappointed after reading all the hype about it. It stings bad for about 1/2 hr, but then the sting goes away.

[magoo]

I just gave up on it two days ago after using it for two months. My eyes feel better now that I have stopped using Azasite. I am so very disappointed.

This was also my second try with it.

[Gretchen]

Azasite murdered my eyes. I couldn't wait for the 3 week "trial period" to be over. Yuk.

[LouisvilleLady]

Azasite

It's been a long time since I used it, but when the oil glands in my eyelids became "clogged" again (after having been through a course of doxy. the first time), my doctor prescribed it for a month, and it helped - along with the compresses/lid massages. It definitely stung, though!

[wetEyes]

For those of you who can't tolerate AzaSite, you might want to try Azyter from French company Théa Pharma. It is also an azythromycin eye drop, but a different formulation.

You should be able to get it through a so-called "international pharmacy".

[painless]

I've been on it chronically. It makes a significant difference in redness and symptoms. It's not enough on its own (I also do Restasis, doxycycline, warm compresses, omega-3), but whenever I have tried to stop using it, my redness and symptoms return to pre-Azasite levels.

This particular combo of treatments I'm on keeps my symptoms usually bearable (but by no means gone or even acceptable). Redness is still a big obstacle, but Azasite is the only treatment that has helped my redness at all.

I have my first IPL appointment this Friday, which I hope will be a more effective and less cumbersome solution. I really dislike taking 3 prescription medications for my eyes.

[Margaret]

I've taken it for four days. The first day it acted like a miracle drug for me. For the first time in weeks I didn't feel like I had something in my eye and the burning went away. On day three and a half, the inflamation came back. So, yest it worked, but only for a very short time!

[riverstoneannie]

It gave me emergency relief during a particularly bad flare and I think that it does give mild to moderate relief when I do use it. I should probably be more consistent but Azasite has the most frustrating stupidest applicator I can imagine. for such an expensive drop the applicator certainly is difficult to use and does waste a lot of the product. The ease of use/ frustration/ effectivenes/expense matrix just does not make it entirely worth it for me. If the company could make a better applicator it would be totally worth it.

[yuckyIsand]

It gave me emergency relief during a particularly bad flare and I think that it does give mild to moderate relief when I do use it. I should probably be more consistent but Azasite has the most frustrating stupidest applicator I can imagine. for such an expensive drop the applicator certainly is difficult to use and does waste a lot of the product. The ease of use/ frustration/ effectivenes/expense matrix just does not make it entirely worth it for me. If the company could make a better applicator it would be totally worth it.

I hear you 100% about the stupid applicator, annie!

The 3rd opthamologist i tried finally prescribed Azasite this past Monday for my blepharitis. OMG I couldn't believe it! Almost instantaneous results!
If these results I feel remain true, in a week or so I plan to call the offices of FORMER opthamologists #1 & #2 in order to politely tell them how much time & money I wasted there...and that these doctors really ought to prescribe Azasite for bleph cases like mine instead of wasting people's $$ on stuff like Tobradex & Neomyc-polym-dexamet (useless!).

My name "YuckyIsand" is taken literally by those who see me all the time, plucking crusties out of the inner creases of my eyes with Kleenexes. Hopefully (knock on wood) the beginning of the end of those awful days has already begun!

I surely wont take Azasite for granted even after almost 3 years of nearly constant eye-related suffering. I'll refrigerate it. I'll store it on its side to help ensure proper drop size. I wont abuse the label directions & risk developing some type of tolerance. I'll continue to wear googles in front of the computer & outdoors especially when it's cold or unseasonal. I've got Tranquileyes to wear at night along with my CPAP machine (man am I rigged, or what?). And of course I'll keep up good eye hygiene with min 1x / day tea tree oil shampoo scrubs & warm flaxseed-lavender compresses when time allows.

[magoo]

FYI Azasite storage

This is from FDA information about Azasite:

Storage and Handling:
Store unopened bottle under refrigeration at 2°C to 8°C
(36°F to 46°F).
Once the bottle is opened, store at 2°C to 25°C
(36°F to 77°F) for up to 14 days. Discard after the 14 days.

Apparently, once opened, Azasite should not be refrigerated.

[magoo]

Azasite burned so much I had to stop putting it in my eyes after getting through using for a month with negative results. The doctor then had me rub it into the lash line and as long as I made sure not to get it into my eyes that did not irritate or burn but also, I had no good results from it.

[socratese]

azasite to me was a very expensive moistening drop- i can see how it helps people with bacteria problem but i believe i have an underlying autoimmune issue

[GinaJ]

It helped with the belph sores but not with the pain or dryness. Actually after the pain became more severe though I don't think it was from that med just the condition. To help with the burning if I recall they said to keep it in fridge.

[yuckyIsand]

Azasite burned so much I had to stop putting it in my eyes after getting through using for a month with negative results. The doctor then had me rub it into the lash line and as long as I made sure not to get it into my eyes that did not irritate or burn but also, I had no good results from it.

Progress report! I had to go to a "Plan B"!

6 days after start of Azasite everything had been going incredibly well, then all of a sudden WHAM I had really, really bad burning sensations develop both when I put a drop in and when I would shower or rinse my eyes off. It was Super Bowl Sunday when this happened! I called the opth that next day & told the nurse about it. The doc's instructions from that point forward (paraphrased):
Keep using Azasite per perscription 1 'mini' drops just B4 bedtime, but stop applying directly into eyeballs. Instead, prior to use of Azasite, thoroughly cleanse lacrimal gland to dislodge clogging materials. Using a forefinger, carefully tug downward just below gland. Carefully apply 1 drop Azasite directly onto gland. After allowing azasite to penetrate gland for up to 10 seconds, use another sterilized finger to spread the medicine around the circumference of the meibomian glands. Repeat procedure with opposite eye.

So after 3 full days of plan B..............all is well.......(knock on wood)........so far!