Lifitegrast ophthalmic for Dry Eye Disease User Reviews (Page 3)

• lio...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 30, 2021

"This product is absolutely awful! It needs to be recalled. Complete waste of $70 for copay, but insurance insisted I try this first. After reading the reviews of how dangerous it is, I’m glad I only tried it for a few days randomly because I didn’t have the time to dedicate to two hours of blurred vision every time I applied the drops; forget driving to work, so I didn’t even use it in the morning. Also, it burned my eyes, feeling like I had applied lemon juice. $70 down the toilet. Rating = 0."

• Ten...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 24, 2020

"After giving Xiidra 3 separate tries, I am throwing in the towel. Seems at about day 8 or 9, my throat is absolutely raw. My ears were full like I had a bad sinus infection. Last night was the icing on the cake. So much mucus and swollen throat, it scared me so that I called my family doctor and got an antibiotic. Back to the preservative-free OTC drops. Ugh."

• Sle...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 27, 2019

"Anyone else having a feeling of nerves in my mouth and tongue - voice getting hoarse and swallowing changes - the area around my eyes gets hard and moving my eyes makes my nervous system go crazy! Constant drip down back of my throat, ears plugging..."

• 843...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 30, 2019

"I just started Xiidra due to insurance not paying for Restasis. I am having some minor side effects (sinusitis, taste in mouth, blurring, crusty), but I assume these will go away in time. I simply cannot get that hard plastic dropper to work. It is awful. I cannot believe you would create such a difficult mechanism for elderly folks. I have a tremor and arthritis, so tilting my head, etc. simply doesn't work. Whatever happened to regular eye drop containers?"

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

"Too early to comment on the medicine, but the delivery system is poor. The individual vials don’t easily release the solution and contain so little solution that on occasion I’ve had to use two vials to get enough to do my eyes one time. So far, I’m on the free sample provided by the doctor. The stuff is way too expensive. If the insurance doesn’t get resolved, I’m back to regular eye drops."

• Con...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 12, 2019

"I tried Xiidra at the suggestion of my eye doctor for my chronic dry eyes. I had been using Restasis for a few years, and my eyes sometimes felt really dry still, so we decided to try Xiidra. Well, I have stopped using it and have gone back to Restasis. Xiidra burned my eyes so much I had to put cold compresses on my eyes to get them to feel better. The Xiidra made my eyes so red and made my throat feel scratchy. No more Xiidra for me, ever."

• Bob...
• January 10, 2019

"The doctor gave my wife this medicine, and she went to get it through Medicare, twice a day, 4 drops x 30 days at $550 per month. The price works out to $836,000 a gallon. I don’t know of anything that costs that much, that’s 4 times the cost of 9 lbs of gold. Water is about 8.7 lbs per gallon."

• Tee...
• November 15, 2019

"HORRIBLE!!! I was on Xiidra a couple of years ago and left my job in Nov 2018, got all my scripts filled prior to. Xiidra used to be okay, just causing me to tear excessively. I stopped using it in about March/April 2019, then with the colder air starting in September/October, dry eyes started again, so I opened up a package that was not expired. My eyes felt as if they had glass in them, they turned extremely red, and my lids swelled right before me! I thought it was maybe because they were approaching expiration, so I have new insurance now and got three new boxes today... SAME horrible reactions! Also, allergies started in bad, they were fine prior to the drops. Non-stop sneezing and now a stuffy nose."

• Lal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 20, 2018

"After a routine eye exam in Oct 2016, I was told I had 20/20 perfect long-distance vision and only needed glasses to read small print. My doctor prescribed Xiidra for my dry eye. After taking it for only 4 days, I had permanent blurriness. I immediately went back to my doctor, who tested me and confirmed my long-distance vision had been compromised in those 4 days. After endless tests revealing damage to my cones and macula, and a year and a half later, my vision has not improved, and I need glasses at all times. Long-term consequences are unknown. I am seeing a lawyer about this."

• Bub...
• July 19, 2019

"Just started these drops one week ago, and they're causing problems already. They burn like heck when instilled, cause a disgusting lasting bad taste in the mouth, sore tongue, sinus pressure, and pain behind the eyes. Took final and LAST dose yesterday."

• Lyr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 3, 2019

"My doctor said Xiidra would burn a bit, and honestly, the burning isn't too bad. What is bad, though, is it leaks to your throat and you taste the awful metal taste, and it's as if so much mucus is balled up in your throat - I had issues breathing and gagging when I took it, which I didn't expect for eye drops. I had symptoms like another person described too that feel like heart attack symptoms but are actually extreme acid reflux from this: I have major heart problems, so I know some key differences to look out for, but absolutely not a comparison to want to worry about daily for eye drops! The eye drops don't really even work that well, honestly, they barely work better than OTC regular eye drops. Seems like they go through my eye as they should, and the nasolacrimal gland gets dumped (into throat), so they're triggering some glands and such to work just... the wrong ones, or my body just doesn't want to make tears even if it has no problem opening tear ducts or different glands that hold the tears."

• Dry...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 1, 2024

"I used this for 4 years and have sought out the second and third opinions of 2 other ophthalmologists. Both of them confirmed this was doing nothing. The second one said I needed to use something with more science backing it and the third was shocked when I said I had been using this for years. She said my eyes looked like I have never used any dry eye medications. She also said that this drug appeared to be doing nothing as I still had a lot of inflammation and minimal tears. She gave me Tyrvaya, and I finally quit Xiidra. During the time I used Xiidra, I experienced frequent severe sinus pain and headaches, which led to TMJ flares and other issues. It burned and caused blurry vision and eye watering every single time I used it. I also experienced tear duct infections 3 times. All of these side effects were dismissed by the original specialist I saw despite it affecting my job and causing other medical problems. I was told by him it couldn't be from Xiidra. Time to find a new doc."

• Nic...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 4, 2018

"I took Xiidra for nearly three months. I seemed to have constant low-grade irritation/pain near the inside corner of my eyes while taking these drops. Eventually, I got what my doctor thinks is a tear duct infection, where my left eye was bloodshot, painful, and swollen for about a week. The pain/pressure was so bad that I had to take 800 mg Ibuprofen 4-5 times a day and would wake up in the middle of the night. I've never once had something like this before taking these drops. I'm sure this isn't a common issue (not trying to scare anyone away), but this, along with the lack of improvement of my dry eye, caused me to stop taking these."

• Kat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 24, 2019

"Been on Xiidra for 4 months. Has not worked at all. Am now being fitted for scleral lenses. The Xiidra burns a lot and I end up with very blurry sight, but it would have been worth it if it had helped."

• Nan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 20, 2019

"After cataract surgery, my eye doctor said I had dry eyes, although the only indication was that my vision wasn’t as clear as I’d like. So he prescribed Xiidra. The first month or so, I just put drops in once a day, and then after my next visit, the dose was changed to twice a day, plus over-the-counter drops during the day. It caused a bad taste, but that I could handle, so I continued using the Xiidra. The taste got to be more metallic tasting, and my mouth began to feel raw inside. I happened to have an oral surgeon appointment and mentioned it to him. When checking my tooth, he told me I had sores all over in my mouth. I checked with my pharmacist to see if she had heard of this side effect, she hadn’t. My mouth is so sore, and even after trying a special “magic mouthwash,” which seemed to work at first, I think I need to stop the Xiidra drops!"

• Max...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 8, 2019

"I have had dry eye for several years, my eyes feel bruised and are very painful. I've used Restasis and Xiidra, both burn and can cause excessive watering. I found the workaround for this: 20 minutes after I place the Xiidra in my eyes, I use Refresh Mega in the vial, I flood each eye with about four drops, and then 15 minutes later do it again. I have no excessive watering, redness, or bad taste."

• Sue...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 8, 2019

"Xiidra is the worst experience EVER. They make you go through a separate customer service company. Then have you join some 'ask iiris' thing. After 17 phone calls to 'ask iiris' or Xiidra marketing, 4 trips to the pharmacy, and two calls to my optometrist, I’ll finish after the sample. The medicine burns your eyes, and my vision seems worse than before."

• Bir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 28, 2019

"Fabulous. Worked within days. Burning is negligible. A little blurriness after putting in drops. I read on the label - if you press the sides of your nose after putting in drops, the stuff will NOT drip back into your throat and you will NOT have a bad taste. The only drag is the price."

• blo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 28, 2018

"I have been on Xiidra for two months. I have chronic dry eye due to hypothyroidism. I use Xiidra twice daily (morning and night). The initial sensation of the stinging is strong and painful and is accompanied by itching. Then I have a lovely white discharge from each eye. After the morning dose, my vision is severely compromised due to blurriness that extends an hour or longer after administering the morning drop, as well as continued dry eye symptoms throughout the day. After having used Xiidra for a few weeks, I noticed horrible puffy eyes. I have not used the Xiidra in a few days, and already the puffiness has greatly subsided. I will opt for over-the-counter drops as opposed to Xiidra, which didn't do anything but cause my eyes to swell. Hope this helps others experiencing similar symptoms/side effects."

• Evi...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 10, 2018

"Horrible drug. I used it for nine months with all the problems it caused other users. I now may have melanoma in my left eye nevi. I will find out for sure about the cancer in two months. Since this is rare, I am thinking it may be due to using Xiidra. It seems to have a lot of terrible side effects. Doctors should stop suggesting it for their patients."

• Jes...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 17, 2019

"I actually noticed a positive difference almost immediately and some relief from dry eye, but after only two weeks of taking it, I also developed pressure and pain in my ears and a level of nasal congestion that I’ve only ever had with a severe cold, and I do not have a cold. My ENT said that he sees this sometimes in patients who take Xiidra. I am discontinuing use. I just wish I could get my $500 back."

• Ckd...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 19, 2019

"Within a day or two of starting Xiidra, I lost my appetite because of the absolutely horrid taste in the back of my throat 24/7. It makes me nauseated and causes heartburn. It makes my eyes feel so much better, though. However, after two weeks, I just can't live with the side effects anymore. I'm quitting! Have a feeling it will take a while for my stomach to get back to normal."

• sjg...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 21, 2018

"I took Xiidra last year for dry eyes. It never really helped. Then I developed horrendous reflux and throat issues. Thought those tiny drops wouldn't do that but stopped anyway. It took 6 months for reflux to get under control. Have not had reflux in months. I restarted Xiidra about 2 weeks ago, and now I am hoarse again and today have horrible reflux. I can say that Xiidra now is definitely the cause."

• Kel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 30, 2019

"Horrible! Xiidra causes itching around the eye, and the burning of the eye is ridiculous! If it eats my skin raw around my eye, what is it doing to my eye itself? It’s amazing how companies can put out such awful drugs. I should just mix something up myself and sell it!"

• Gig...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 22, 2019

"I have extreme dry eyes, and my doctor recommended this. I've used them for 4 months. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to stop. I had slight stinging in my eyes and a metallic taste. Now they are giving me migraines, so bad I was vomiting. They worked for the dryness, but I can't live with the migraines. I'm so disappointed."