If you take daily drops to treat glaucoma, you know exactly how disruptive they can be to your life. Certain drops require application up to three times a day! It can be a harsh reality for those facing permanent vision loss due to glaucoma.
However, you might be able to take your life back with a new medication that lasts up to 90 days, not nine hours. This cutting-edge treatment, called a bimatoprost implant, could change glaucoma patients’ lives forever, and it’s now available here at ilumin.
Challenges and Side Effects of Daily Glaucoma Drops
There are three common forms of daily glaucoma drops: Prostaglandin analogs, beta blockers, and alpha-adrenergic agonist drops. They require being taken up to three times per day, and all run the risk of side effects including prolonged eye redness, discoloration of they eyes and surrounding skin, lowering blood pressure, insomnia, impotence, decreased libido, dizziness, drowsiness, and even overgrowth of eyelashes that can grow inward and scratch your cornea.
What’s more, these drops lose efficacy with even a single missed dose. As most glaucoma patients know, inconsistency with drops can lead to noticeably uncomfortable fluctuations of intraocular eye pressure. It’s not uncommon for patients to have their lives severely disrupted by the constant need for these drops.
What Is a Bimatoprost Implant?
The implant, known as Durysta, is a tiny, biodegradable capsule that’s injected into the eye to release glaucoma medication slowly over several months, completely eliminating the need for daily drops. It utilizes prostaglandin analogs, one of the common medications that comes in drop form, on a time-released basis.
The implant is made from a polymer material similar to biodegradable sutures and fully approved by the FDA. Like sutures, the implant simply degrades on its own over time. The small tube-shaped implant is only about 1 mm in size and can be administered with a very fine needle (and no incisions), all in an outpatient procedure.
Benefits of Durysta
There’s no question that eliminating the need for multiple daily glaucoma drops is Durysta’s strongest benefit. However, this implant can actually be significantly more effective than traditional drops due to its steady administration of medication—and signs show that it may last even longer than 90 days.
Using topical drops, only a fraction of the medication actually reaches the intended part of the eye tissue needed to treat intraocular pressure. But the location of the Durysta implant slowly administers medication directly to the intended part of the eye, greatly increasing Durysta’s overall effectiveness compared to drops.
With this slow and steady release of medication, Durysta can also help relieve the ebbs and flows of eye pressure that you might experience taking drops at certain time intervals throughout your day. The medicine is consistently released in tiny amounts 24/7.
Is Durysta a Fit for You?
The bimatoprost implant is worth considering for patients with open-angle glaucoma or intraocular hypertension. Similarly, patients who have experienced positive results with topical bimatoprost drops may be a good fit for the implant. However, if you’ve experienced any underlying corneal endothelial issues, Durysta could pose risks as it is implanted into the eye itself.
Those who have undergone selective laser trabeculoplasty (cold laser procedure to relieve intraocular pressure through improved fluid flow) without seeing much improvement may have more luck with the bimatoprost implant as well.
Talk to Your Ophthalmologist About Durysta
If you’re tired of daily drops to treat glaucoma, we encourage you to reach out and learn more about bimatoprost implants! We can help you decide if you’re a good fit for Durysta to treat intraocular pressure in your eyes.
Schedule an appointment today to see if Durysta can eliminate daily drops for you. We now offer online payments!
