Generic Name: Xiidra for Dry Eye Disease (lifitegrast-ophthalmic)
"DO NOT USE THIS DRUG. I just contacted a personal injury law firm who is investigating it for a class action lawsuit. IN SEVEN DAYS I went from a minor dry eye problem to FULL vitreous detachment FROM THIS DRUG. I saw two different ophthalmologists JUST prior to this happening to me and had NO SIGN of vitreous detachment. It was DEFINITELY the drug. DO NOT PUT THIS GARBAGE INTO YOUR EYES."
"I tried Xiidra for dry eyes. My eyesight has gotten very noticeably worse in the month since I've started. I just read the reduction in eyesight acuity is a potential side effect. The metal taste in my mouth is tolerable. The slight stinginess upon application is fine. But making my eyesight worse! I'm done with this junk."
"I used this medication since 2017 when I was diagnosed with dry eye. It took 2 weeks to work and worked wonderfully for 2 years. However, back in September 2019, my tear ducts suddenly became inflamed, my eye was extremely red, irritated, gritty, and produced large amounts of mucus. My doctor thought it was allergies or an infection but it kept reoccurring. I finally stopped taking Xiidra and these symptoms decreased. After a couple of months, I decided to try Xiidra again because my eyes were dry and even after a few weeks, my tear ducts were inflamed, extremely red, irritated with a lot of mucus. This drug used to work, but decreased its effect over time and made my symptoms worse. I'm not surprised because this drug was not studied for long-term use. It's frustrating."
"I had horrible burning and blurriness. Then I saw the prescription receipt which included, after the drop was in the eye: 'Look downward, gently close your eyes, and PLACE ONE FINGER AT THE CORNER OF YOUR EYE (NEAR THE NOSE). APPLY GENTLE PRESSURE FOR 1 TO 2 MINUTES BEFORE OPENING YOUR EYES. THIS WILL PREVENT THE MEDICATION FROM DRAINING OUT...' I think it also prevented the drop from getting into the sensitive inner corner of my eye and stopped my eye from burning. The blurriness resolved quickly also. So glad I can use Xiidra again. I think it's really helping me."
"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."
"I have been using this medication for 2 years, with NO significant improvement whatsoever. It causes 'blurry' vision and 3 hours later the dryness returns. Get with it NOVARTIS you made enough money, now give us the 'REAL' medication. God forbid we would be cured, all we want is 10-12 hours of eye comfort. FDA are you listening?"
"I have been using Xiidra since Sep 2019 for dry eyes. Also being treated for glaucoma. Since using Xiidra, my eye pressure has increased, and now facing eye surgery to implant a stent to help reduce eye pressure. I have stopped Xiidra today and will contact my eye surgeon with my suspicion. Another person on this site also commented on a similar experience with increased eye pressure while using Xiidra. Thank goodness for the remarks from the other user."
"Horrible! Initially, I had the awful chemical taste in my mouth and burning/itching in my eyes. Food wasn't tasting the same, and I actually worried that I might have contracted Covid-19 (I didn't). Within 3 weeks of starting on the Xiidra sample box, I woke up to find that my eyes were running profusely. Within 24 hours, I developed an intense migraine behind my right eye. I had mucus in my eyes. The following morning, I woke to find a blocked salivary gland (swollen and painful) and sores in my mouth. I was put on a 7-day course of antibiotics even though blood work at Urgent Care showed no sign of infection. After more than 10 days, the gland is still blocked, and I'm seriously wondering if it's due to excessive mucus. Through my research, I've discovered that this KY company tested these drops on dogs. My heart breaks thinking of these innocent animals suffering like I did, and I am absolutely appalled."
"Follow up to my post on September 15th below. My experience with Xiidra month #4: Due to the sudden production of excessive mucus day and night that began in month #3 of Xiidra use, my Ophthalmologist recommended reducing Xiidra to once per day which I did. After a couple more weeks, I reduced Xiidra use to once every other day and it seemed to slow down the eye mucus production. This seems to be the right balance for me as my eyes now feel watery and comfortable but not full of blurring mucus and less prone to inflammation. It’s a relief to not have dry, gritty dry eyes and photophobia so I will continue to use Xiidra once every other day and see how it goes. I’ll update progress in another month or so. (Dr. mentioned other patients were experiencing excessive mucus production with Xiidra also)"
"I used this drug for a year because I was told it would help my dry eyes. I used it twice a day regularly. My eyes would burn and water for 30 minutes after each use. After 2 months, I gave up. Then I noticed that my T-shirts all had a common white spot, right where I would rub my sore eyes. They looked like I had spot bleached them. And this is what I was putting in my eyes twice a day! Unbelievable! Please do not use this product!"
"I've been using the Xiidra drops for a few months. I feel like my eyes are worse. In addition, my eyelids itch and feel sore, and I have continuing blepharitis. I am going to talk with my doctor about stopping."
"I tried Xiidra. My doctor's office had a sample pack. It did burn/sting to put it in. But worse than that, it sent me to the ER after 4 weeks of use. I became progressively tired and had trouble breathing and chest pain. It turns out, the stuff was dripping down my esophagus (you can taste the funky metal flavor when you swallow). And it made a sore spot in my stomach— the chest pain was actually my stomach. I stopped Xiidra and took Pepcid AC for 2 weeks, and all was better again. Except my dry eye dilemma continues... My side effect may be atypical but from what I have heard, it doesn't really work that great anyway. My new/current ophthalmologist doesn't believe in it."
"I immediately had problems with Xiidra, as my eyes would burn for a half hour after each drop. But two weeks after starting it, I woke up with blurred vision that would not go away. I couldn't drive or read. I am nearsighted, and the blurriness was terrible with and without my glasses. I could barely function in my own house. The scary part is that now it is the second day since I took them last, and I still have blurred vision. It is better than yesterday, but definitely not normal. This medication is dangerous and needs to be removed from the market."
"I paid $290, with a discount off the original price of $540, for one month of drops. Too expensive. Bad taste in my mouth about 20-30 minutes after using the drops. My eyesight gets blurry and I experience stinging pain. Both blurry vision and pain leave after 45-60 minutes, but the aftertaste continues and has also caused diarrhea. After reading all the side effects of dry eye medications, I will go back to my over-the-counter drops without preservatives. They are safer and considerably cheaper."
"I took Xiidra for severe dry eye and corneal scarring from Salzmann's nodular degeneration. After a few months of these drops, the scar on my left cornea doubled in size and now protrudes. I also experience photophobia, eyebrow muscle cramps, eye twitches, trouble breathing through and swelling on the bridge of my nose, a bag under my left eye, and floaters. Additionally, at 32 years old, I experienced a permanent reduction in the vision of my left eye, going from 20/20 to 20/60 in a span of 2.5 months. A year ago, I had perfect vision, no pain, dry eyes, scars, or Salzmann's. I used Xiidra (2x/day) in addition to preservative-free drops (every 15 minutes), and my eyes are worse. They have no moisture at all; I can’t even cry. Had I known Xiidra could cause sudden vision loss or increased corneal scar formation, I never would have tried it. This all happened so fast."
"I’ve been using Xiidra for 3 years for Dry Eye Disease caused by Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. It has helped tremendously. I use it along with an eye heat mask about every other day and Ocusoft Hypochlor twice daily. Note: I make a month's supply last 2 months by saving the unused amount for my second dose by storing it in the refrigerator. My ophthalmologist recommended this."
"Terrible, terrible medication. It took me a week or so to fully realize how rapid and terrible the side effects are as I take other strong medications. This causes almost immediate ear ringing, nausea, dizziness, a sense of feeling hyper, like you want to jump out of your skin. After a week, I have developed a large number of floaters in my right eye. Not sure if related, but given the extreme side effects, I find it hard not to connect it. It leaves a caustic trail down your throat that lasts for hours. And the burning in the eyes lasts for a long time. This is the first time I have ever left a drug review, but this stuff is horrible. Don’t use it!"
"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."
"I can't comment on the effectiveness of the medicine, as I didn't use it long enough to see. Besides the stinging and gross taste, which my eye specialist told me would be side effects... within 1 week of first using it, I started noticing that I had no eyelashes in the outer or inner corners of my eye (where the medicine would sit before it drained). After a few more days of thinking it was a coincidence... I had no eyelashes at all! Not to my surprise, after I stopped the medication, my eyelashes grew in."
"After using Xiidra for 6 months, dealing with the pain of application, I finally realized it was causing significant digestive issues, sore throat, and taste buds ruination. The final side effect was hair loss, coming out in 20-25 strands at a time in the 4th month. Stopped using them and had digestive relief within a few weeks, constant sore throat has improved, my hair is no longer falling out, but my taste buds, no improvement whatsoever. Initially helped dry eye 50%, which decreased even with eye plugs. Realized when I stopped using it how damaging these 'innocuous' eye drops have been to my system. I am so sorry I ever put this poison in my eyes - how could I have ever risked it?"
"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."
"These eye drops are extremely dangerous. Caused me to have a horrible sore throat, swollen lymph nodes on the sides of my neck, pain in my ears, and blurred vision. This will be one of those medications that they recall because of the damaging side effects. Not on the market long enough. This should have never been approved by the FDA. In spite of the money I paid for this overpriced drug, I threw it all away. Bad stuff."
"WARNING! Be very careful. First time use one tiny drop in one eye to see how it affects you. I had used it for 20 days, and it helped my dry eye, but after a week, I developed terrible side effects: sinus and ear infection, severe dizziness. I didn't make the connection until too late and ended up in the hospital after a severe dizzy spell. All tests were negative. Two months later, my dry eye came back, so I thought I could use it for just a couple of days. I tried one drop. I was up all night with burning, blurry eyes, using eye wash and artificial tears. Nothing helped. This morning, my eyes are so red and irritated. Praying they recover soon. Will never use again."
"After having Lasik surgery of which the surgeon should’ve never done it (“Oh, your eyes are just a little dry, but that shouldn’t be a problem.”), I was diagnosed with severe dry eye, which after the Lasik surgeon basically dumped me and referred me to an eye specialist, and they recommended Xiidra. I’ve found out it really doesn’t do what it says it’s supposed to do and dries out my eyes even more. I think that ophthalmologists recommend it because they get kickbacks from the pharmaceutical industry. If I could give the rating a zero, I would."
"Suffer from dry eye disease (DED), ocular rosacea, and meibomian gland dysfunction with continuous cycles of inflammation and photophobia. Try to keep up lid scrubs, hot compress Bruder Mask, steroid drops, and artificial tears. Had LipiFlow treatment and felt immediate relief, albeit short-lived. Tried lower lid punctal plugs with minimal effectiveness, then upper plugs, and they really helped. Started Xiidra 4 months ago and no longer experiencing dry eye or photophobia. Eyes comfortable, moist, and watery. Had the burning, blurred vision, and bad taste symptoms as others described, but short-lived. Noticed huge improvement initially. Then, a few weeks ago inflammation came back accompanied by thick discharge. Thought I had an eye infection but wasn't the case. Used steroid drops and inflammation subsided, but eye mucus discharge still going strong. Didn't know eyes could produce copious amounts of sticky, thick (snot-like) mucus! I go back to the specialist next week, and if she doesn't have an answer for me, I'm stopping Xiidra. Next?"
