I recently had a Trabulectomy in one eye which after two months of complicati is finally doing ok. Meanwhile the other eye since May has developed a pretty bad intolerance to the brinzololamide or brimonidine and possibly tafluprost/timolol. The eye is red and eyelid puffy and intensely itchy !!!which is the worst part. It waxes and wanes but never clears up. I'm at the end of drop possibilities I think.
Has anyone experienced such a bad reaction to any drop they were using for some time beforehand without problems? If so did your doctor try to discover which drop was doing the damage? I did eliminate the brinzololamide with no improvement,so it's one or all of the others.I see the Dr next week. Any experiences with this ? Thanks!
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stephanie1977
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I also had several years of Simbrinza eye drops ( Brimonidine plus Brinzolamide) which gave me red, itchy eyelids, but not puffy or as bad as your symptoms.
The consultant always told me to let him know if it got worse or I could no longer tolerate the drops.
Eventually I had surgery in both eyes ,but had to change to a different medication for about 6 weeks before surgery, as he said the inflammation may otherwise effect the surgery. During these weeks my pressure increased but the side effects disappeared.
Perhaps you could either go to A&E at the hospital to ask if they could temporarily give you other drops, or phone your consultant's secretary and explain what has happened, they may slot you in earlier. There is the possibility that you may have an eye infection so well worth checking this out.
I had many side effects with drops or they were not effective.
Simbrinza is noted for side effects as it contains preservatives.
Many drops are now being produced preservative free....so you may be lucky to find one.
Exactly the same situation as mine. For the first 10 months on a brimonidine / timololol combo, I had no issues. Six months ago, I developed red, teary, dry eyes. My eye doctor has tried antihistamines, antibiotics and steroids to no effect. He added rhopressa which was much worse so I happily went back to the brimonidine. I guess I am willing to accept the side effects if it saves my vision.
Hi Stephanie. I've had terrible problems recently with eye irritation and drops. After researching I found out that its the BAK preservative that can be the culprit. The more exposure to BAK the worst the reactions. Google BAK eye issues and see if your drops contain this. Mine did.
What regime are you on now!? I'm trying to get an idea of the combo of preservative free drops I could possibly try. My brimonidine drops are preservative free, but they still cause a lot of itching and redness.
Hello. I'm using Trusopt and Lumigan for my left eye. The right is on trab recovery! I'm very nervous about what drops to use as my eyes are very sensitive. Just having too much trouble with my right atm so not concentrating on the left but will have to very soon as I can't bear to think of that one being trouble too. Struggling with positivity and keeping strong. I was on brimonidine and that made my eyes red and sore. Trusopt seems OK. Its all a bit of a nightmare isn't it.
I have had a lot of problems over the years with developing an intolerance to glaucoma drops. After 18 years of drops I can no longer tolerate any of them. Luckily my brilliant surgeon has been able to find a surgical solution for me and my pressures are now stable and in the region of 10-14 in both eyes. I am drop free now but have to manage my dry eye symptoms carefully to stay comfortable. I think dry eye for glaucoma patients is a really big problem which unfortunately some doctors do not take seriously. In my experience severe dry eye can ruin your quality of life and I don’t think anyone should have to just put up with the symptoms.
Thanks, what surgeries did you have and what do you use for dry eyes? Since I just had a Trabulectomy in one eye I think with this intolerance I am headed for a Trab in the other!
I've had rather a lot of surgery, not all of it successful, but I think my experience has been unusual for various reasons so I wouldn't want to alarm you. I had an unsuccessful trabeculectomy in 2018, followed by Baerveldt tube surgery in both eyes in 2020. I then had an aqueous shunt in my right eye in December 2020 but this didn't work so it had to be removed in June 2021. This was a bit of a low point. I then had the cataracts in both eyes removed in late 2021 and while I was having that done my surgeon did something called canaloplasty in my right eye which actually worked better than expected. I'd also had some cyclodiode laser treatment in my left eye when the aqueous shunt was put in my right eye and again this worked better than expected. My pressures are now stable and things are on an even keel at the moment. I am very grateful not to be using glaucoma eye drops anymore because they have caused me so many problems. I know many, many people use drops successfully for many years but those us who develop intolerance are in a really difficult position.
I’d echo everything that’s been said. After severe reactions I was taken off Brinzolamide and changed to preservative free drops. Game changer. Eyes 150% better. I do get occasional dry eye (I have dust and grass allergies too) so I use Thealoz, which is preservative free, as and when needed.
So Becalmed what preservative free drops are you currently taking and how often? I'm going to try to get a better regime for this one eye and put off doing a Trabulectomy as long as I can.
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Cosopt eye drops
Change in Eye Drops
Shortage of Brinzolamide eye drops
Preservative free eye drops 
