My dry eye treatment isn’t working

My dry eyes were resolved with cyclosporine eye drops; artificial tears, eye mask, Occusoft had minimal effect over a year or two. If one's dry eye is due to inflammation, then corticosteriod drops are an option. I apply them 2x day, rotate my eyes, then rinse off any extra. It took about a month for me, no side effect other than short time minor burning feeling. Dr. said it can take as much a 6 mo for some.

@kayabbott interesting about the steroid drops. I did use some for about 2 weeks but then I got very high pressure in my eyes, so I am guessing that is not a great treatment for me. I wonder if there are different strengths or if I could take them for a short time. I’ll put that on my list of things to ask about.

@ashleyharris728 It might depend on the type of steroid. I took some in one eye years ago and it increased eye pressure, but my numbers are stable with cyclosporine. I've only been on it 3 mo, and after eyeballing the drops around in my eyes I try to dab/rinse off any extra. https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/cyclosporine-ophthalmic-route/description/drg-20063370 This site lists potential drug interactions with this and/or other meds https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/cyclosporine-ophthalmic-route/description/drg-20063370

Cyclosporine is not a corticosteroid, it is an immunosuppresant. That means that it works by suppressing your body's immune system from irritating your eye surface, hopefully increasing tear and eye gland production. I put one preservative-free eye drop in each eye every 12 hours, minor short-term burning but no other problems. If inflammation was an emotion, then my immune system would always be angry at some body part, so cyclosporine works for me.