Lifitegrast ophthalmic and Headaches: What Users Say

• emp...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 9, 2020

For Dry Eye Disease "New to Xiidra. My eyes are very dry, and I get blurred vision, so my eye doctor told me to try Xiidra. After the first use, my head was throbbing in pain. I still used it a few more days and then went off to see if the headache went away. It did. I also get sinus pressure and a thick throat feeling. I don’t think I can handle the side effects. Also, very expensive. It’s sad that people who have this going on have to pay so much money."

• Dry...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 1, 2021

For Dry Eye Disease "Horrible side effects! I used Xiidra for 1 1/2 weeks. About 3 to 5 days later, I started getting this horrible pain in my eye socket, especially around the inner part of my eyes. The pain is so intense that I have had to take ibuprofen to help with the pain. I have had headaches and what seems to be sinusitis. I dealt with the horrible bitter taste, hoping I would get relief from the dryness, but now pain that will not subside. Making an appointment to see my doctor. Called the company after I paid almost $55.00, and they will not reimburse even after advising I would send product and receipt back. CVS will also not take it back. BEWARE! If you want to try, ask your ophthalmologist for a sample. Pain, constant tearing of eyes, headache, blurry vision... Reported to FDA. Ended up going to the ER. My eyes were swollen shut. The pain was so intense around my eyes that my prescribed Percocet did nothing to relieve the pain. Will live with dry eye any day over this experience."

• Not...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 26, 2019

For Dry Eye Disease "Been using Xiidra for a year now, hoping I could tolerate contacts - no improvement - and 3 months ago, started having a rash in my mouth. Saw dentist, who didn't notice anything, but my whole mouth felt rough and dry. Mouth extremely dry at night. Really bad taste from the drops, whether or not I press down on ducts on either side of the nose. Also, developed terrible headaches and, 10 days ago, horrible digestive problems with pain and diarrhea. Stopping the drops now."

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

For Dry Eye Disease "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."

• Jjy...
• October 16, 2016

"I have been using this medication for the past seven days. I have felt nauseous for most of that time, plus a constant headache, plus my eyes are red all day. I think I will go back to my over-the-counter eye drops."

• Pat...
• December 12, 2016

"I started using this about two weeks ago, then about a week ago, started getting bad headaches... mostly at night. Now they are continuing during the day! I am going to STOP using them. At first, I was noticing a pressure in my head, then the headaches began! I was so hoping this would be my answer, as Restasis didn't work for me! But I cannot deal with the headaches! Not worth continuing the drug to have to deal with severe headaches!"

• KS ...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 19, 2016

"I'm appreciative of an option other than Restasis. However, the bitter taste, chronic headache, tightness in chest, and cough are very frustrating. It's almost like I have asthma. Would love thoughts on this. I'm now having to use cough medicine to go to sleep."

• Mim...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 3, 2021

For Dry Eye Disease "I am very unhappy with Xiidra for these reasons: 1. The silver package is impossible to open, and I must use scissors. 2. For a senior citizen, the vial is very difficult to open, and squeeze to obtain the drop. Often, after removing the plastic top, there is barely any solution to administer, not even enough for 1 eye. I have thrown away many vials in order to administer sufficient solution. 3. After using Xiidra for over 2 months, in addition to the headache, I have an extremely clogged nose, or else a very runny nose. 4. The product burns upon administration and causes very itchy eyes lasting all day. I need to supplement with OTC eye drops. I do not recommend this product. Restasis is a considerably better product and far more effective."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 13, 2017

"I only used this medication twice. I understand that you usually need to use medication for an extended amount of time to get the full results of it, but I am not able to function with the effects of just two days. I can handle the bad taste. Yes, it is bad, but that can be dealt with. However, after using it, I immediately began to feel dizzy and lightheaded. There was a pressure in my head, and I felt nauseous. Every time I turned my head, I would feel very disoriented and lightheaded again. I am physically tough and can handle pain and discomfort, but there is no way I can function and work with these conditions. The more reviews I read, the more I realize there seems to be way too many dangers than advantages to this medication."

• cfa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 2, 2019

For Dry Eye Disease "I used this for 2 weeks as prescribed. I got the burning and bad taste, however, the worst for me was the headache every time I used it. I did not notice a difference in my dry eye either. I would not recommend this."

• Pat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 8, 2019

For Dry Eye Disease "Last night, for the first time, I used a drop of Xiidra in each eye, and around midnight, I was having a severe headache and a bit of dizziness. I was very ill feeling this morning and took medication to relieve it and really took a long time to start to feel near normal. It had to be the Xiidra since even with occasional migraines, nothing I have taken has ever made me feel this sick."

• Sid...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 24, 2022

For Dry Eye Disease "Within 24 hours of starting these drops, I got headaches, nausea, dizziness, sinus pressure, eye/eye socket pain (especially the corners). I have not used them in 4 days and am still plagued with debilitating headaches (and I have NEVER had headaches before). My eyes still feel dry, but while I was using them, my right eye was so excessively tearing that it was almost as if I was crying all day long. Now the last 3 days, I have been getting these white chunks draining down the back of my throat that taste like the Xiidra drops even though it’s been 4 days without them. I’ve also still had nausea and now diarrhea for 3 days. The only thing that has changed is the eye drops. Sad. Sad. Sad. How can an eye drop cause all of this? :("

• Abb...
• May 28, 2017

"Sjögren's disease causes extremely dry eyes. Restasis didn't help. Xiidra made my eyeballs hurt, and my headaches and sinusitis got much worse. The initial burning is very bad. After 6 days, the metallic taste and nausea became worse. My eyesight and dryness were showing no signs of improving, so I stopped using Xiidra after 8 days. Would never recommend it."

• Ari...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 2, 2017

"I had been on Restasis for a couple of years with no noticeable improvement. I was also trying different types of punctal plugs, Allrex steroid drops, too. No help. My insurance changed this year, so I had to find a new ophthalmologist. He suggested Xiidra. I've taken it for about a week, and it may be helping. He suggested I put a drop of Refresh Optive gel drops in before the Xiidra to help with burning. That helped a lot. Hardly any burning. The first time I took it without the OTC drops, it was so painful. Eyes hurt, and I got a bad headache around my brows. I wouldn't have been able to continue. I will keep trying the Xiidra. I've also ordered PRN fish oil capsules that were recommended. They can be bought on the web."

• Yep...
• February 24, 2017

"I've been on this about two months now. It's been a lifesaver. I'm almost a normal person again. Some thoughts: For me, the burning, stickiness, and occasional headaches went away after a while. The bitter throat taste is still there. And in the interest of full disclosure, some days it seems to give me some sinusitis. Another downside is that I can now stare at screens for way too long, so my arthritis in hands and wrists is coming back. (I can even play video games again.) I had straightforward MGD/waxy oils. To the best of my knowledge, I have no complicating factors like Sjögren's, other immune issues, etc. I've never had eye surgery. I also don't think I have the demodex problem some people do (none of the symptoms of that)."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 19, 2017

"I've been on this product for a little over 2 weeks, and so far, I'm pleased with what it's doing for me. In the first 3 days, I did have some excessive watering, but that has since subsided. The amount of dryness/discomfort I normally feel has improved considerably, and I no longer have general eye pain due to the dryness. I still get a tiny bit of discomfort after staring at the computer screen for hours on end, but even that's improved somewhat. As for side effects, I did have mild headaches for the first few days of using Xiidra, but they have since subsided. Also, there is a bitter aftertaste that was quite strong when I first began using the drops. Even that has improved significantly to where it's noticeable but hardly intolerable."

• Lar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 10, 2018

For Dry Eye Disease "Restasis became too expensive, so I tried Xiidra. After just a few days, less than 1 week, I began to have headaches and felt tired and sick. My eyes dripped sticky tears constantly, and I felt like I had a very bad sinus infection. The bridge of my nose, at the corner of each eye, was very tender, slightly swollen, and itchy. It has taken 4 days to start to feel better and for symptoms to subside. Going back to Restasis and pay the higher price."

• Ess...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 13, 2022

For Dry Eye Disease "My dry eyes are so bad I've attempted twice now to tolerate this medication in search of relief. For me, it causes most all the side effects already mentioned here, but mainly excruciating headaches not relieved by my usual go-to analgesic, acetaminophen. This second go-round, the determining factor prompting me to totally discontinue the drug is a severe case of sinusitis along with the most intense headache thus far. Huge fail, Novartis. Pull this stuff."

• Let...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 30, 2017

"I am using Xiidra for dry eye to prep my eyes for Lasik. At first, it burned, but only when my eyes are dry. The aftertaste is terrible for about 10-15 minutes, but I understand that only some people have this symptom. I also have nausea, sinusitis, and sometimes headaches. It has improved my eye dryness enough for surgery. The side effects are a downer."

• Tri...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 24, 2022

For Dry Eye Disease "I used these drops twice a day for two weeks and had to stop. Something in the formula kept my eyes burning and watering for hours after I used them. I also kept a headache behind my eyes and had sinusitis symptoms. I was miserable! I will not use these drops again and do not recommend them to anyone."

• Nan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 28, 2021

For Dry Eye Disease "I was prescribed this due to dry eyes. Tried the first time for a few days and had severe headaches and sinus pressure. I was not sure if it was the medication, so I stopped it and tried again after a few weeks. The same problems recurred but more side effects. Along with migraines and sinus pressure, I also developed blisters on my tongue, metallic taste, dry, itchy eyes. My eyes also look swollen in the inner corners. After reading all the other reports, I am going to d/c this medication and go back to drops."

• Jul...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 24, 2022

For Dry Eye Disease "I have dry eye due to Lasik, and I was hoping that it would improve some minor vision problems that I was starting to experience. I was having trouble seeing some things far away and found that short-acting rewetting drops helped somewhat, but all the Xiidra did was make my vision worse (blurry). Driving at night was awful, as it seemed to make lights appear super intense combined with the blurriness. My eyes even felt as though they would burn and ache, so I would have to take ibuprofen before my entire head would ache. The taste was awful, but the eye doctor did warn me about that side effect. I'll just continue with OTC drops rather than use Xiidra. My eye doctor was sure I would be happy with it, but it did not work for me."

• Par...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 13, 2017

"I have been on Restasis since it became available years ago. It made life tolerable, and I didn't need any additional drops. Now my lousy insurance company (Anthem) will only allow Xiidra, which has not worked, and my eye condition is back to where it was 12 years ago. In addition, Xiidra causes burning for a long time and gives me headaches. I don't know how long I can tolerate this or how long before it is supposed to start working. I am almost to the point of buying the effective Restasis without insurance coverage."

• Sky...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 11, 2017

"Bad taste but improves over time. Severe headache but again... improved with continual use. Then right eye started excessive tearing and running down my face. Stopped med for two days and got better, then restarted. Two more weeks, then right eye started excessive tearing again... and face broke out in rash... looks like new onset rosacea, so made appointment with dermatologist and eye doc. Never had any issues before starting this med. Really worried now... should have waited before starting a brand new med before it had been out long enough. I am a pharmacist and know better."

• San...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 3, 2018

For Dry Eye Disease "I have tried Xiidra for 1 week after a long period of getting preauthorization approval required by my insurance (Medicare and BCBS). I stopped it today to see if symptoms would go away. Although my eyes could handle the drops (sting) and dry eye improved, the taste remained a long time, and I feared I was ingesting the drops because I had a loss of appetite and nausea and was headachy. I will report to my doctors next week."