curious as to those who use 50% serum or higher? how much does it help

[jenny2008]

how much does the 50% or higher concentration of serum help vs. 20% as far as dryness and inflammation??

i am very interested as i am currently trying 20%... also .. does it cost quite a bit more and how many vials of blood are
drawn in comparison to 20%?

I am looking for literature to support that concentrations over 20% are more effective but cant find any.. the DEWS report slightly
mentions both concentrations but barely touches upon the dif among the two..

if anyone can help.. much appreciated..
jenny

[PotatoCakes]

I've never been on anything less than 50%. I'm now on 75%. They pull the same number of vials (10) from me but I get fewer bottles of drops (approx 8-9, down from sometimes as high as 14). The number of bottles of eyedrops comes from how much serum they can get out of each vial of blood. The more hydrated I am, the more serum. It's one of the reasons I went up in percentage; see http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...ighlight=serum

I don't know if 50% helps more than 20%, particularly since my doctor originally told me to use my serum drops at least 1x / hour so I'd be using them more than the 6x prescribed for many anyway. I haven't seen a difference between 50 and 75 that I'm aware of and my doctor hasn't said anything. The drops definitely have helped the surface of my eyes. I still have very dry days (in fact, I've had a few lately and am pretty uncomfortable) but the serum drops are more about healing than moisturizing.

[jenny2008]

thanks again PotatoCakes! i haveonly tried 20%..i wonder why they put u on 50% right away?
i know with the 20 % they are def more soothing then other drops-i use about 8x a day....

[jenny2008]

with 20% should i still be drinking as much water as possible??? i think i do anyway as i ahve sjogrens and who knows cause i am so dry wiht that how much it will help??? i was never told to drink a ton of water??? tx

[PotatoCakes]

I don't think the percentage level should affect how much water you drink. You should drink enough water to be healthy, in general. As far as the drops, being well-hydrated will make the draw less painful and increase the amount of serum in your blood, which should lead to a higher number of eye drop bottles; neither are bad things.

I'm not sure why my doctor put me on 50%. There can be some issues, although rare, with going higher than 50% but the protein deposits that can occur are reversible by discontinuing the higher percentage so for me, there was no reason not to try 75% since I was getting so many bottles out of my draws.

[Gerri55455]

Jenny, hi. I'm interested in hearing what your experience has been with the 20%. I began this two weeks ago and I was hoping for something stronger ... So I'm kind of disappointed, a little. Also, if you have found a place where they make 50% serum eyedrops in the Midwest, please share. Thanks. ~Gerri