Brimonidine / brinzolamide ophthalmic and Fatigue: What Users Say

• Rud...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 28, 2018

For Glaucoma, Open Angle "SIMBRINZA is effective in a significant reduction to normal ocular pressure. But side effects are terrible. I have lost night vision outside and inside my home. I cannot drive at night because the glare from oncoming vehicles is blinding. I am very sensitive to sunlight. I have blurred vision and loss of acuity. I have muscle pain in my legs and arms. I have a dry mouth. Other side effects include low energy, head pain, eye itching, dizziness, eye comfort, and loss of appetite."

• Cup...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 19, 2020

For Intraocular Hypertension "Simbrinza lowered my eye pressure, but I noticed at times I have fallen asleep due to low energy levels. I gained a lot of weight in my mid-section, including my breasts. Mid-section weight gain is listed as a side effect."

• Geo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 26, 2020

For Glaucoma, Open Angle "After one month's use, have decided to stop these eye drops. I wake up with a dry mouth during the night, causing regular sleep interruption. Therefore, I am already fatigued upon waking, but following the morning drop application, I feel even more tired and lethargic! The dry mouth continues during the day, and I do not leave the house without a bottle of water. My appetite has increased, and I have had rapid weight gain."

• Sch...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 10, 2019

For Glaucoma, Open Angle "My eye pressures were higher than my ophthalmologist liked, so he prescribed Simbrinza, 1 drop in each eye am & pm. The first time I used the drop was in the evening. After a few minutes, my knees felt weak & I felt a bit lightheaded. The next morning after using Simbrinza, I felt fatigued & lightheaded. BP dropped to 94/51 & pulse was 50. I called my ophthalmologist & he said to discontinue the Simbrinza & go back to the drop that I had been previously using. Had very swift side effects after only using this drop twice."

• Chu...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 20, 2020

For Intraocular Hypertension "This is an addendum to the review I wrote on 12/15/19: The feeling of fatigue and drowsiness after applying Simbrinza is consistent and may even have gotten a bit more intense. I also discovered that this drug drops my blood pressure by 20-30 points systolic and 5-10 points diastolic for about 2-3 hours after applying the drops. Not a big problem for me, as my 'normal' blood pressure is a little on the high side. If you normally have low blood pressure, be aware of this."

• MWM...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 21, 2019

For Glaucoma, Open Angle "Medication works well in reducing pressures and doesn't have some of the side effects of other drops (skin darkening, eye color change, etc.). Sometimes it makes my eyes burn a little, sometimes a little red. The most troublesome side effect is that 2-3 hours after I instill the drops, I start to feel super fatigued. Vitals when this happens-HR 60-64, O2 sats 100, and B/P is in the low 90s over high 50s. After an hour, I will start to feel more alert and like myself-when I check my BP, it's back to 100s over 70s and then gets back in the 110s over 70s where I like it. I also take Lisinopril and was taking 40 mg/day. I've decreased that to 20 mg/day, split dose, and am staggering it every 6 hours with the Simbrinza drops, which I also use twice daily. Things seem to be stable with this approach. I tried dropping the Lisinopril altogether, but my BP was creeping up to the 130s / 90s. Luckily, this normal tension glaucoma was caught early, and I don't seem to have any peripheral vision changes yet."

• Ann...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 13, 2021

For Glaucoma, Open Angle "Terrible side effects with this drug. I couldn't figure out why I have overwhelming fatigue every day until I read it's one of the side effects. My eyes are so red and watery people think I've been crying all the time, and it looks horrendous. Plus, it's now difficult to drive at night due to the blurriness and halos around lights. I wake up every morning with crusty eyes. I'm going to have to get off this drug as it's made it difficult to function normally. On top of all this, it's barely lowered my eye pressure at all."

• Chu...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 15, 2019

For Intraocular Hypertension "Intraocular pressure went from mid-20s down to 14 after about 10 days of using Simbrinza. The only side effects I've noticed are blurring of vision for about 10-15 minutes after use, dry mouth, and a slight bitter taste in the back of my mouth for 1-3 hours after use, and maybe feeling a little fatigued. Overall, it works well to reduce eye pressure, and side effects have been fairly minimal for me."