<p>Restasis is not an antibiotic. It is a drug that helps combat inflammation -it is a immunosupressant - although it is not a steroid. It is cyclosporine - it sounds like an abx but it is not.
I wake up about every hour to put Systane eyedrops in my eyes. ALl of this began just about the time of my extreme hot flashes. I have been avoiding going to the doc, but I think I am going to have to see if restasis will work for me.
Where does one find the cleaning pads for blepharitis?</p>
<h1>theorymom, I use OcuSoft eyelid scrubs. I get them at CVS. Here’s what the packaging looks like:</h1>
<p>[Patient</a> Catalog - Lid Scrub Eyelid Cleanser](<a href=“http://www.ocusoft.com/PatientCat/lidscrub.htm]Patient”>http://www.ocusoft.com/PatientCat/lidscrub.htm)</p>
<p>Updating my situation, two months later.</p>
<p>My symptoms have come back with a vengeance, despite my being religious about the fish oil. My mouth is incredibly dry when I wake up in the morning (usually very early because it bothers me.) I sometimes have trouble eating or talking. My dentist gave me samples of Biotene products, but I don’t think they’re helping me. I’ve been using the toothpaste for a couple of weeks, and the mouthwash occasionally. There is also a gel, but this doesn’t help at all, and I hate putting a sweet-tasking substance in my mouth. I am even finding that sugarless gum doesn’t help much these days. </p>
<p>I am going to make an appointment with a rheumatologist. My internist does not believe that I have Sjogren’s, based on the negative blood tests, but I am becoming more and more convinced that I do have it. </p>
<p>I tried the SootheXP; my optometrist gave me a sample. It did not help at all, and felt awful. I noticed that the bottle was past its expiration date - maybe that is the reason?</p>
<p>One thing that does help with the dry eyes is hot compresses. I do this at night and sometimes in the morning as well. </p>
<p>I am worried about the lack of saliva leading to dental problems. Replacing the saliva with gels, Aquaphor (which relieves the nighttime symptoms for me), or other substances is not going to help with this, right? Constantly drinking water won’t help, either, and it seems to me that it will wash away any saliva that I have.</p>
<p>I think that white wine is contributing to the dry mouth. I’ve been drinking more than usual during the holidays. (I am not talking about major imbibing; usually I have a glass of wine or two over the weekend, and none during the week. Lately it’s been more like 4-5 glasses a week.) I’m going to stop drinking it altogether and see whether that helps.</p>
<p>I tend to have dry eyes (have the eye drops) and dry mouth (get fatigued talking) and once I figured out I’m lactose intolerant, the eye symptoms healed. (So did the belly ache and gas.) When I’m bad, like at Xmas parties (oy - brie!) the dry eye comes right back.</p>
<p>I finally paid attention to one of those Restasis commercials…during the commercial they scroll a warning that Restasis doesn’t produce tears in those who are taking steroid drops. SO, all this time (a couple of years now) my opth. has prescribed BOTH Restasis and steroid drops, wiht the goal of getting off the steroid drops once the benefits of Restasis kick in, which I presume will be NEVER if the commercial is correct.</p>
<p>Ask the MD about Graves Disease and ask to have your thyroid checked. It is why I have dreadfully dry eyes.</p>
<p>I’ve been using Restasis for several years and have not seen any improvement in my dry eyes. I have an appointment with my ophthalmologist in another week. I’ll find out what’s new in the world of dry eyes . . . Not much, I fear.</p>
<p>Have you had a tear duct blocked? An opthamalogist can stick a little plastic pole into the duct to keep the tears you produce in your eye. They can actually block both ducts but most people need only the one in the corner done. It’s not uncommon for menopausal women - and for some Asian women - to develop problems generating tears, but it also can happen to men. Like me. </p>
<p>As for dry mouth, there can be many causes, from reactions to sodium in your diet to too much caffeine to unknown. Some people recommend chewing gum and/or sucking on hard candy because that stimulates saliva production generally.</p>
<p>Reviving this old thread. I finally saw a rheumatologist this past week, and I now have a diagnosis of Sjogren’s, on the basis of symptoms and family history. Blood work was ordered but results aren’t available yet. In any case, the doctor said that 1/3 of SS patients do not have the factors in their blood.</p>
<p>I’ve been on Restasis for dry eyes for a year. I did think it was helping, but my tear test results got much worse. I’ve stopped wearing gas-permeable contacts, and have gone back to glasses. I may try soft contacts to wear sometimes.</p>
<p>I’ve just started Evoxac today.</p>
<p>IMO, Evoxac is useless. Let me know what you think.</p>
<p>I also think the Restasis is useless. I’ve stopped using that; I just use Refresh tears numerous times throughout the day.</p>
<p>Evoxac works for me. In fact, I drool like a dog some nights. TMI, but true.</p>
<p>My D’s got severely dry eyes – one of the (several) opthalmologists she’s seen asked that she get someone to check her when she’s sleeping and see if her eyes might be open a little bit. If so, there is a special gel that you can squeeze on before bedtime to help keep the eyes moister. </p>
<p>On the mouth front: Be meticulous about oral hygiene, and consider shifting to a 3x a year dental schedule even though insurance only pays for two. Avoiding dental problems is much tougher with dry mouth. I really like the Biotene products because they’re very, very gentle on irritated tissues. I also like “Oasis Mouth Moisturizing Spray” – it is more mint than sweet. If you’re having eroded areas on the tongue or inside your mouth, your dentist (or doc) can prescribe viscous lidocaine – cheap and it really helps. Salt and alcohol are tough when you’ve got dry mouth. </p>
<p>You might want to consider attending a Lupus Foundation meeting in your area. SS is one of the diseases they include, and they often have topnotch doctors who specialize in some specific autoimmune disorders in to speak.</p>