Restasis® in LASIK Patients
Chicago, Illinois
We recommend the use of Restasis® for the use in all refractive laser surgery patients. Essentially everyone who has LASIK laser vision correction will have dry eyes for at least the first three to four months. Studies have shown that individuals taking Restasis® obtain better vision after LASIK than those that do not. We believe that the reason for this improved postoperative vision is the better treatment of dry eye disease. Not everyone who has dryness postoperatively has a sensation of dryness. Some notice blurriness of their vision that is improved with blinking a few times. Others complain of glare at night again improved with blinking or the instillation of lubricating tear drops. Restasis® increases the eye’s natural tear production reducing the need for the instillation of tear drops.
The active ingredient in Restasis® is cyclosporine which is in a class of medications called immunomodulators. The dose is much smaller than that when used systemically. Restasis® should not be used in those with a known allergy to cyclosporine.
Most people have burning which lasts for a few minutes after instillation. This burning can be reduced by placing tear drops in the eyes 15 minutes before instilling Restasis®. Common side effects include burning, itching, stinging, redness, pain of the eyes, overflow of tears, red eyes, eye discharge, blurred vision, or a foreign body sensation.
Restasis® should be instilled twice a day and should be started as soon as possible before LASIK or PRK. It takes about a month for Restasis® to take effect and if stopped for a few days, takes another month to start working. So you should not stop taking your drops unless you speak with your LASIK surgeon first.
We understand that Restasis is a very expensive drug and not everyone has a prescription plan to pay for the medication. We commonly have discount coupons and we are happy to give these to our patients if available. If Restasis® is not in your budget and you do not have a prescription plan, most people will do well with just the frequent use of lubricating tear drops. One way to reduce the cost of Restasis® is to use each vial until it is gone. The label on the prescription usually says to put a drop in each eye and to throw the vial away, but we have found that if the vial is kept clean and is recapped then most people can get three to four days worth of drops out of each vial. This way, much less Restasis® is used than your pharmacist would expect. It is best if you separate all drops by 5-10 minutes so that one drop does not wash out the other.
Two Locations:
Doctors for Visual Freedom Laser Center
875 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1550
Chicago, IL 60611 | Doctors for Visual Freedom Laser Center
2010 S Arlington Heights Rd, Suite 121
Arlington Heights, IL 60005 |
