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Medical Forum / General / Vision / February 2005Restasis treatment for dry eyes
I saw a commericial on TV for this medication. My eyes are severely dry, and about 5 years ago I had permanent plugs inserted in my lower lids. I also use a salve nightly as well as a humidifier. Lately my eyes have become unbearable and it is making computer work and all reading extremely uncomfortable. Even with the nighttime salve, my eyes hurt. So, I called my OD and asked him about Restasis. He said it is a good drug and gave me a prescription to try it. I would like to know what experience others out there have with this medication. Has it helped patients? How long does it take to help? Thanks. Marianne Hi Marianne, I also have very dry eyes. I tried Restasis and it didn't help me. In fact, it seemed to irritate my eyes. Others have reported success with Restasis, so it's worth trying. Have you considered having your upper puncta plugged? You mentioned having the lowers permanently plugged, but not the uppers. I had the lowers plugged first with little or no relief. Once the uppers were plugged too, my eyes felt much better. This is something you may want to consider. Best wishes. >I saw a commericial on TV for this medication. My eyes are severely dry, >and about 5 years ago I had permanent plugs inserted in my lower lids. I [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Marianne > I saw a commericial on TV for this medication. My eyes are severely > dry, and about 5 years ago I had permanent plugs inserted in my lower [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > to know what experience others out there have with this medication. > Has it helped patients? How long does it take to help? Thanks. Take a look at: http://www.agingeye.net/mainnews/Restasis.pdf Restasis can take several months to produce results, but it seems to produce results in only a minority (~15%) of cases. It uses an ophthalmic preparation of cyclosporine--an immune suppresant drug given to organ transplant patients. Also, note that "Increased tear production was not seen in patients currently taking topical anti-inflammatory drugs or using punctal plugs." I have never been given a definitive answer to why this is, but it's possible that the simple fact is that Restasis was never /tested/ with punctal plug patients. It is primarily effective in people whose dry eye condition is caused by an underlying autoimmune disorder (e.g., Rheumatoid Arthritis, Reiter's Syndrome, or Sjogren's Syndrome). If you don't have one of these conditions (usually diagnosed by a rheumatologist), then Restasis is unlikely to help you. Also, do a search on this forum for "dry eye." Much useful info has already been exchanged. Lastly, take a look at the Sjogren's Syndrome forum. Sjogren's patients have /terribly/ dry eyes. You can see their thoughts and experiences on many potential treatments. It can be found at: http://p073.ezboard.com/fsjsworldforumsfrm16 Best of luck! Neil I would echo what Neil said. In the majority of cases my patients have not seen a benefit with Restasis but a few have. Give it a try and maybe you will be one of the lucky ones. Be prepared-- it is expensive! ========== >> I saw a commericial on TV for this medication. My eyes are severely >> dry, and about 5 years ago I had permanent plugs inserted in my lower [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > > Neil This is my 4th day on the drop and is it possible it could be helping so soon? Even if I do not go with how my eyes feel (to avoid a possible placebo judgement), my eyes are not producing all the typical gunk on the contact lenses that they so frequently make on a typical day. As for feel, they still feel very dry, but this is the first day I have not had to remove my lenses because of the thick gunk. Marianne >I would echo what Neil said. > In the majority of cases my patients have not seen a benefit with Restasis [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] >> >> Neil > This is my 4th day on the drop and is it possible it could be helping > so soon? Even if I do not go with how my eyes feel (to avoid a [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > first day I have not had to remove my lenses because of the thick > gunk. What you're experiencing is more likely just the pleasant effect of additional moisture in your eyes. This would reduce the irritation caused by your contact lenses and slow the accumulation of 'gunk' just by the rinsing effect of the drops. It doesn't /seem/ likely that the cyclosporine would have taken hold by now. In other words, it sounds like you're off to a good start. It may even get better! Good luck! Neil Thanks for your reply Neil. I considered that maybe it was merely the extra moisture from the drops, but I use the drops about 5AM and do not insert my contacts until around 8:30AM, after my long swim. Also, prior to using Restasis, I was using rewetting contact lens solution to prevent the gunk as it formed, but that would only provide relief for about 10 minutes before the gunk would reappear. Often I would completely remove the lenses, wash them and rewet them and still relief would only last minutes. This is why I today was such a different experience...no contact rewetting, no removal to wash and reinsert. They were good the entire time I wore them. Maybe it is as simple as some change in the weather and coincidence that I just started the drops. Marianne >> This is my 4th day on the drop and is it possible it could be helping >> so soon? Even if I do not go with how my eyes feel (to avoid a [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Neil |
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