I have in the past few years developed dry eyes. I also suffer from post nasal drip and seasonal allergies. The thing is that in the winter it is pretty much bearable, but once spring hits it is awful. My optometrist told me to use refesh drops, without preservatives, as often as needed, but they don't always help. Also, it seems that as soon as I go to bed it feels like someone poured sand into my eyes, they are so gritty. I also notice that I have this sort of pulling annoying pain, not really painful but more like weight, on top of my eyes.

I know that this is a common problem and I am sure that there must be someone out there who can help me with it. I also want to mention that with my risk factors for acute glaucome attack, I get very worried about any eye pain and I would like to be able to deal with this so that I am not always thinking that an attack is coming on.

Hoping for some help and peace of mind....Jackey

I don't know much about Glaucoma, but I can offer some suggestions for the dry eyes. If you don't like the refresh plus, try using some other preservative free tears like Bion Tears or Thera Tears or Tears Naturale Free. If it gets really bad at bedtime, you can use a preservative free tears ointment like Tears Naturale PM Lubricant Eye Ointment. If your dryness is caused by allergies, have you tried an allergy drop? You can also use a cold wet washcloth on your eyes at bedtime (or at any time during the day) to help alleviate the discomfort. If you have seasonal allergies, have you tried taking something like Claritin or Clarinex or Allegra?

HAS anyone tried restasis for treatment of dry eye syndrome .I have upper and lower punctal plugs .I am 40 years old and seemed to come down with horrible disease called dry eye seemingly overnight last april 2002. I have tryed everything imaginable to relieve my pain. I have also seen several ophthamoligists with little to no relief, anyone have any suggestions?

I am using Restasis. I cannot tell yet whether or not it is helping. My ophthalmologist says it can sometimes take up to 3 months to notice a difference. I have been using it since it came out in the beginning of April. I have had all 4 tear ducts cauterized. That is what has helped me the most. Plugs were alright, but they irritated me sometimes and they CONSTANTLY fell out. I never had one plug for more than 2 weeks. Plus, my dr said that even with plugs, some tears can still seep out because there are spaces btw the plugs and the ducts. Before cauterization, I didn't have a single tear in my eyes. But now I have enough, it's just the quality that is very poor. My ophthalmologist says that he does not see much of a difference in the quality of my tear film, but to give it time. I also use steroid drops, which are my savior. But steroids are not for everyone and can have some bad side effects, so we are being extremely cautious. I also use Refresh Endura, which is supposed to help with the tear film quality as well. As for the Restasis, I have to give it some more time before I can judge it.

I am currently using restasis and have all four punctal plugs but it says on the package information that it does not help people with punctal plugs or using antinflammatory am I wasting my time taking this medication and can anyone tell me what helps them to be able to be in the sun the heat from the sun hurts my eyes and dry them up quickly even with wind proof sunglasses hopefully they will come up with some cure for this terrible eye condition

I've got the same dilemma. I have all 4 ducts closed, and I am using steroid eyedrops (anti-inflammatory) as well as the Restasis. So, is restasis actually going to help me? I asked my dr this and he spoke with Dr. O'Brien about my current condition and gave him all of the drops that I am on. (if you read my earlier posts, Dr. O'Brien is a world renowned dry eye specialist that I was sent to in Maryland. If ANYBODY knows about this, it's him.) Dr. O'Brien said to keep using everything including the steroids, and that sometimes it can take up to 3 months for Restasis to start working. I'm approaching the 2 month mark.

Hi all,

This has been great reading all of your posts. I've only known one other person with dry eyes. I've had my lower ducts successfully plugged for two years and use TheraTears and Refresh--mostly because they leave the least residue, and all of you know what I mean by that!

Recently I had the upper ducts plugged but they came out. But I must say, it was a glorious two weeks when they were in because my eyes were drenched in tears every day. Curiously I still had dry eyes at night but not nearly as bad.

My doctor just put me on Restasis a week ago so I won't know if they work for a few months as well. I hope they work because these dry eyes interfer with everything in my life.

Good luck to everyone.
Kathy

Originally posted by cherokee:
I am currently using restasis and have all four punctal plugs but it says on the package information that it does not help people with punctal plugs or using antinflammatory am I wasting my time taking this medication and can anyone tell me what helps them to be able to be in the sun the heat from the sun hurts my eyes and dry them up quickly even with wind proof sunglasses hopefully they will come up with some cure for this terrible eye condition

Originally posted by cherokee:
I am currently using restasis and have all four punctal plugs but it says on the package information that it does not help people with punctal plugs or using antinflammatory am I wasting my time taking this medication and can anyone tell me what helps them to be able to be in the sun the heat from the sun hurts my eyes and dry them up quickly even with wind proof sunglasses hopefully they will come up with some cure for this terrible eye condition


REPLY:

Keep using Restasis. The remark about punctal plugs was printed ONLY because THEY DID NOT TEST IT IN PATIENTS WITH PUNCTAL PLUGS. That does not mean that it won't work if you're using punctal plugs only that they did not test it in patients with punctal plugs.

Try Restasis for your dry eyes. It is the ONLY thing out there that has helped me. I've had all ducts sealed and was using teats 6 times a day.

The only reason they print "results were not seen in patients currently using punctal plugs" is because they did not TEST it in patients using punctal plugs. That does not mean that it won't work if you use punctal plugs - only that legally they have to print that.

Hi I want to thank all the people who responded its a comfort knowing other people are going through similar problems i thought i was going crazy sometimes the pain gets unbearable


thanks jen

Purple, I noticed you said you are using steriod drops. How often do you have your pressure checked? I know you should have the pressure checked often but I'm not sure what that means. I'm on steriod drops also and they do help but I'm so afraid of them.

I usually have my pressure checked once every 2 weeks. (I'm usually there anyway!!) I feel that when you first start using a steroid, it is necessary to have the pressure checked after the first week, and then every 2-3 weeks or so, depending on the patient. If you are a "steroid responder", your pressure will probably shoot up immediately after starting the steroid drops. If you have your pressure checked often like I described, and you and your doctor are on top of the situation, then steroid drops are nothing to be afraid of. For me, steroids are the only things that even make a dent in my discomfort. I was using dexamethasone for a while, and it worked WONDERFULLY to help my dry eyes, but it made my pressure go up too much so we had to stop.

Originally posted by caleccia:
Try Restasis for your dry eyes. It is the ONLY thing out there that has helped me. I've had all ducts sealed and was using teats 6 times a day.

The only reason they print "results were not seen in patients currently using punctal plugs" is because they did not TEST it in patients using punctal plugs. That does not mean that it won't work if you use punctal plugs - only that legally they have to print that.


Yes, you are right. I asked my doctor about this, and he said that they meant for Restasis to be a first line of defense against dry eyes. They meant for it to be used BEFORE trying punctal plugs, steroids and other anti-inflammatory drops, etc... So they never tested it in patients who were using these things.