Autologous serum drops

[Alexandra]

Hello everybody

I started Autologous serum drops 8 days ago and I already feel a difference. Maybe I am just having a few good days but I feel better. Just had my period and this is always the week when my eyes are the worst.

First my Doc didnt want to give me the drops and told me that they were an option for worser cases. But I told him how much my dry eyes interfere my life and I also told him that I would pay them from my own money if insurance wouldnt pay and now I got them from the University Hospital of Zurich.
The lady who draw my blood is an angel!
I asked her about the risks of infection because I was very scared from what I had read in this forum. She told me that she has already filled more that 5'000 bottles of Autologous serum drops in her life and never she had a patient suffering from an infection after using the Autologous serum drops.
She told me she has her own old-fashioned way to make the Drops and there is an investigation going on now, because they want to find out, why her Autologous serum drops are never "infected".

She told me to never use the first drop that comes out of the bottle. That way you clean the part where the serum comes out. The second drop you drop in your eye. Do not use the bottle for more than 3 days. and once you have the bottle opened, keep it in the fridge. The other bottles have to be kept in ice-fridge before using them.

Also: She once had a patient who had used artifical tears for about 20 years. This guy had (I this that's what she said) a layer of calcium over his eyes. They first wanted to operate it away. But then he used Autologous serum drops for about 1 year and he didnt have to get operated and hes eyes improved a lot..! So be careful using artifical tears ....

Take Care!

[TARYN]

autologous serum drops

Hi Alexandra,
Would you know if the drops are 100% blood serum or is it diluted with saline? How many times a day do you use them?

[Alexandra]

hi.
I dont know how many per cent they are, but I will ask the doc next time I see her.
and: the doc, who prescribed me the drops told me to use them 4 times a day, but the doc at the hospital told me to use them whenever I want to 10 times a day. thats what I am doing now. I use them minimum 5 times a day, maximum 10 times... whatever feels right every day....

[kakinda]

Hi, Great to hear that you are doing better. Here in France, the bottles are kept 7 days (rather than 3) in the fridge but i guess this further inscreases the safety profile of the drop (plus growth factors are fragile molecules which loose their properties rather quickly). So the fresher the better... and safer.
could you just describe your improvements and remind us of your DE type (for instance if you have MGD, did it improve, reduce morning irritations/secretions)?
take care
K

[Toril]

When I tried autologous serum drops here in Norway,...I got bottles that could be used for 1 month when keeping them in the fridge...! At least that's what they told me.... Strange people are told different from country to country...


Toril

[Alexandra]

okay:

I can keep them in the fridge 3 days once opened
and in the freezer up to one month.

I think the less in the fridge the better! I can only use 1 bottle 3 days anyway, cause the doc doesnt put so much serum in a bottle.....

[Alexandra]

hi Kakinda.

Sorry, didnt see your message!
I dont know what I have. One Doc told me MGD one told me aqueaus deficient.
Mostly in the afternoon I get quite red eyes and they start to hurt. Not in the morning.
In spring and summer it gets quite bad because of my allergy.
Since I use the Serum drops my eyes feel a lot better and LOOK better.
And I hope this will stay. I am really scared that I am just having a few good days, but I am optimistic.

Take care

[kakinda]

Hi Alexandra,
so now you know that either one of them is wrong or both are right and wrong! That's helpful!
If you said it start in the afternoon (and amlmost nothing in the morning), then it would seem aqueous but then most of us suffer from a combination of the 2.
Then again, with a few tests, you may know a little more... did they ever tried expressing your "mgd" glands? TBUT time?
We're living the prehistoric ages of DE, no doubt!
Something in autologuos drops seems to work... well there's an interesting lead for pharmas .. but then again... or
Take care
K

[Alexandra]

Hi Kakinda

Thanks for your reply.
Well, I start to ask myself if it's important to know what the problem is with my eyes.... My eyes are red and start to hurt in the afternoon.
I can try whatever medicine there is and there will be on the market. I tried hot compresses etc. My Doc told me that my tearfilm spreads nicely over my eyes so he says that they lipid layer isnt the problem. But who knows?
And I dont care anymore ;-) I just hope for Novartis to bring out a good drug that will help me and I am thankful for the Autologous Serum drops.
I have started to see my dry eyes from an other perspective since my mother has developed a glaucoma. We are not only in stone edge when it comes to DES. You should here the stories of my mom on Docs and glaucoma...

I am CONVINCED there there will be a medicine for dry eyes in 5 to 10 years that will work!

Take care!!!!!

[Alexandra]

and jep, I guess that the future research will go in the direction of developing drugs with cloned natural eye layer proteins and stuff. Lacritin looks very interesting. They are probably looking for a private equity company(did I spell it right?) at the moment.

[kakinda]

5 to 10 years, let's hope so! (will my eyes last that long?)
In the meanwhile, it would be great to hear about the several medecines that could improve our DE state sooner.
I believe you have close ties with Novartis, have you tried asking them about the evolution of rebamipide in Europe?
I was wondering if you could provide me a contact of someone who could eventually answer some questions on Xolair in severe ocular allergies for Keratos (by the way, our areas of interest are mainly DE, ocular allergies and growth factors). I have some contacts in France but... they get their info from Basel i believe.
In case you can help us with this, could you please send me a private message.
Take care
K

[Alexandra]

hey kakinda

god, you sound depressing. do you think theres so little hope for rebamipide and ecabet?

Happy new year!

Alexandra

[Alexandra]

Hi Alexandra,
Would you know if the drops are 100% blood serum or is it diluted with saline? How many times a day do you use them?

Hi Taryn

I saw my Doctor today and I ask her how many percent my autologous serum drops are. She said 100%. --> no saline!!!

Take care!

[TARYN]

autologous serum drops

Thanks Alexandra,

How are you doing? Is the serum still helping?

Taryn

[syclone]

I was told that an opened bottle must be thrown away after 24h. Unopened ones will last about 1 month in freezer, but the temeprature to be as low as -20 degrees celsius. It`s diluted with some amount of saline as it says BSS (i dont recall what those letters actually mean) in the prescription.

I`m not so keen on taking an infection, so 24h is pretty much the maximum time I`ll use one bottle.

They took only 40ml blood and made roughly 25 bottles for me.