I have been suffering from keratitis for several months now. It is an offshoot of rheumatoid arthritis and means my eyes are super dry all the time. It feels like being in non-stop onion-peeling mode combined with a sense that ash has been thrown in my eyes.
I constant need to put in special drops and gels even to begin to feel even a little comfortable.
I've also been taking a very pricey form of eyedrop called Restasis twice a day, which is supposed to heal the condition albeit slowly. And over four months, at a creeping pace, it was getting more manageable.
But now I've suddenly had a relapse. All the disturbance and misery of barely being able to keep my eyes open for long has suddenly returned.
I'm aware my next step would be to have punctual plugs put into the eyes' drainage ducts, but I am very resitant to having this procedure.
I would so much welcome advice or feedback from anyone who knows this conditon and has suggestions.
Hi Light, I don't suffer from RA but do have other autoimmune conditions. Restasis is an anti inflammatory drug. Do they not suggest using an ocular lubricant too?
What country are you in? Have you looked at the NRAS website?
I suffer from very dry eyes and use Lacrilube and Liquifilm.
Hello Mrs Mop. Sorry to take so long to reply. For some reason I was never sent a notification...
I'm in India, but Restasis is a US eye drop designed to activate the tear ducts, and I've been taking it for about six months now 2x a day.
But, yes, I do also take ocular lubricants – one called Lacrigel, which, as it states, is a gel (rather messy!) and the other is an Allergan eyedrop called Optive.
Both these help me to feel more comfortable, but are not acting on the overall condition. And on some days the burning and bitty feeling is so bad I have to use the drops every 20 minutes!
But I haven't checked the NRAS website (I don't even now what it is) but will do so now, for sure.
How often do you use Lacrilube and Liquifilm? Are they made by Optrex or Allergan, by chance?
I am allergic to the preservatives so have always had a hard time to find anything that works without making things worse...
Thanks for your concern...
Hi Light, my eye drops are made by Allergan and they sound similar to the ones you have been given. Lacrilube is a gel and I use it at night when I go to bed. The Liquifilm sounds like Optive. Yesterday, I was using it a lot. My eyes seem to get worse if I am tired.
I am allergic to the preservatives too and Ophthalmologists prefer to prescribe preservative free drops, especially in the long term.
https://patient.info/medicine/Carmellose-sodium-eye-drops.htm
I have just been checking and your eye drops are above, mine are below, and it you click on the link below, near the bottom of the page [Polyvinyl Alcohol] you will see a link to Liquifilm
https://patient.info/medicine/Polyvinyl-alcohol-eye-drops.htm
I have just been looking at Lacrigel and it appears to have Hypromellose in it. Now, I am allergic to that. That doesn't mean to say that you are but the gel type that I use, Lacrilube, doesn't have much in it at all, unlike the Lacrigel. It appears to be called Refresh in other countries.