Brimonidine / brinzolamide ophthalmic and Red Eyes: What Users Say

• Pro...
• January 1, 2021

For Glaucoma, Open Angle "The first night that I used Simbrinza, I could hardly walk after about 30 minutes and shuffled off to bed. I use it in the morning at 8:45 am and quite often have to lay down around 9:20 am to have a sleep, which can sometimes last for two hours! I've only had the bad taste in my mouth a couple of times, but I do now struggle with dry mouth, and I must take a bottle of water with me whenever I go out. My eyes are always bloodshot now and often also very red around the eye socket. I've only just learned about the drop in blood pressure from remarks on here, so I will get checked by the doctor next week. Not looking forward to an increase in my girth as it is already much thicker than it should be! I think my long-distance sight is slightly worse but had to tell as I don't do much driving these days - and I certainly don't drive at night if I can help it."

• Bar...
• January 5, 2020

For Glaucoma, Open Angle "Hope that all comments are not only what pharma wants to see. Simbrinza is the worst eye drop since I’m taking it for glaucoma. My life changed drastically, red eyes like a tomato, people asking if I smoke marijuana, imagine, and this constant pain like sand in my eyes, dry mouth, and coughing. I'm going to see my doc in March only, I only hope for different drops."

• 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."

• Bar...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 5, 2020

For Glaucoma, Open Angle "My life is bad since I’m taking those drops, red eyes, pain like I got sand in my eyes. In March, I’m going to see my doc. If I’m going to be blind, it’s better than this suffering. If there is no other alternative, I’m talking about Simbrinza drops."

• Mik...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 23, 2022

For Intraocular Hypertension "Swollen, itchy, and red lower eyelids. Crust has formed on upper and lower eyelids on the outside of the lids. Very tired all of the time. It did lower my eye pressures significantly. I use it twice each day."

• Hon...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 25, 2020

"This drug Simbrinza makes my vision very cloudy. Other side effects are I could not sleep, my eyes red, always tired, make me angry, and I feel like losing my vision."