I am wondering if anyone uses Restasis. And, if you do does
it work for you? It is very expensive , so if something else
works better I want to know.
Thanks All...
Luv, justme
When I was dx'ed with dry eye my doctor gave me two types of OTC drops. Refresh Tears. One for Mild to Moderate and the other for Moderate to severe. Ones just thicker than the other. They help me. He said we'd start with the OTC drops and see how it progresses.
If you've never tried the OTC drops there's lots of them on the market. Not knowing how the prescription ones work I really can't say if they're the same. It's worth a try though...unless your doctor thinks yours is so severe that you need the prescription ones right now.
Good Luck.
Hi Justme,
I have used Restasis. It worked fine. I say worked, because I don't need it anymore. My eye doc said to put one drop in each eye twice a day. He said to open one of the little plastic ampules, put in the drops, then tuck the ampule in a baggie in the fridge for the next dose. They last twice as long that way. (I also put the baggie in a small glass so that I knew that the ampule was pointed upright and so that one of my kids didn't actually knock it over in the fridge.) After using it for about 6 months, I stopped because my eyes never seemed to get dry anymore. I talked to my eye doc about it and he told me that frequently, after 6-8 months of using the Restasis, patients don't need to use the drops anymore because they start producing tears and adequate moisture again on their own. That was a year and a half ago. Knock on wood.
The only thing my arthritis doc said to use was an eye moisturizer, but he said to be sure that it 1. did not have a preservative in it and 2. came in very small bottles or small ampules for individual dosing. He said that if you buy a big bottle, you run more of a risk of eye infection from contaminated eye drops. I got a bunch of little sample bottles from my eye doc. When they didn't really do enough, (I'd wake up with painfully dry eyes during the night.), I gave the Restasis a try.
I hope you find some relief.
Pam