Autologous serum in 50% saline...what the heck is happening here?

[No tears in ATL]

Ok, need some help from people who have had autologous serum. Did the saline solution that it is mixed with burn your eyes at all? Two drops in and my eyes are pretty red.

By the way, I can't handle regular saline. Get bloodshot almost immediately. Must be that hyper-osmolarity phenomenon. I was hoping, though, that the serum would be much more dilute and not cause redness.

What the heck now? Am I allergic to salt or something??

This is all getting ridiculous. I am so ticked off that $150 is down the drain if these things do nothing but cause irritation, like everything else I have put in my eyes over the past year.

[vivian3090]

This makes me nervous! I wasn't able to start my serum drops yet cuz I'm in the process of moving, I plan on starting,them tomorrow. :/

[farmgirl]

Maybe if you can't tolerate the saline take them back and ask to have them remade with some other carrier. If you take them back right away they might not even charge you the full price, maybe only the lab fees for pulling the blood....it's worth a try. Get them to make just a small batch until you find something you can tolerate.

[No tears in ATL]

This makes me nervous! I wasn't able to start my serum drops yet cuz I'm in the process of moving, I plan on starting,them tomorrow. :/

Sorry--didn't mean to cause alarm. Maybe it is because my eyes were dry already since it was the end of the day. Still a bit burny, though, although nothing like Restasis or some of the over the counter drops. I will try a couple more days and see how this works out...

[vivian3090]

I started today. Although they didn't burn, I haven't noticed anything. My left eye is still getting inflamed. And they still feel like they are drying out. am I not going to get immediate results? I guess I'll Cal my doctor tomorrow and see what he says about it. In worried if this does work, what next? flarex was only thing that helped and now I can't use it anymore so I'm really upset.

[indrep]

vivian, autologous drops are an attempt to reverse the osmolarity of the ocular surface. They are not necessarily for comfort. It takes about 60-90 days for the osmolarity to change and then the healing process of cells takes another 60-90 days. Any nerve issues can take longer.

[Guest]

Yes, Indrep is correct about the serum drops not being for comfort so much as for healing. I look at mine as medicine, rather than as an artificial tear substitute. Also, it might be hard for you to tell if they are doing anything since it sounds like you are simultaneously going off the Flarex... you eyes may get worse due to stopping the steroid drop, but for all anyone knows they might have gotten even worse if you weren't on the serum, know what I mean?

[vivian3090]

Yes, Indrep is correct about the serum drops not being for comfort so much as for healing. I look at mine as medicine, rather than as an artificial tear substitute. Also, it might be hard for you to tell if they are doing anything since it sounds like you are simultaneously going off the Flarex... you eyes may get worse due to stopping the steroid drop, but for all anyone knows they might have gotten even worse if you weren't on the serum, know what I mean?

Yeah I see what you mean, It's just hard when you THINK they are getting better and then you look in the mirror and you see they are inflamed/bloodshot. I hope that it's b/c I am going through withdrawals from Flarex, and that once that is "over" per say, that the serum drops will start helping more. I just want this discomfort and anxiety to go away. :/

[Cali]

This is didn't know - "It takes about 60-90 days for the osmolarity to change and then the healing process of cells takes another 60-90 days. Any nerve issues can take longer."

My doctor is new to autologous serum drops. She told me they are not a long term solution. However, it appears that maybe a least 180 days use is needed. And nerve issues? Can autologous drops help to heal nerve issues from LASIK?

[PotatoCakes]

I consider my serum drops a long term solution. Not a solution in that they will heal the cause of my dry eye but a solution in that they make my eyes feel better and heal the surface damage caused by my lack of tear production. I don't know if they can help with nerve issues, particularly since I have not had Lasik but, if anything can help at this point, the serum drops are more likely to than other products available as they do have healing properties.

When I was first prescribed serum drops, my doctor basically told me I'd be on them for the rest of my life. That thought horrified me at the time but with the relief they give me, it doesn't bother me at all. Diabetics test and take insulin, HIV patients take a variety of drug cocktails, heart patients have their thing, I have serum drops. Hopefully, some day, there will be a cure for what ails me but in the meantime, if I have to live the rest of my life with serum drops, it's worth it because they definitely impact my quality of life for the better.

[farmgirl]

Ditto, I'm with you potatocakes...F/G

[vivian3090]

I just wanted to post a mini update. it's been about a week and a half since starting serum drops.I can't say I have noticed a diiference. But I am just hoping it IS working, and that I am still going through withdrawals from the FLAREX.

For a few days my eye dryness was HORRIBLE. but I think it was b/c my psychiatrist had me try CYMBALTA. I didn't take it last night and today my eyes feel nothing like they did the past few days.

I am still needing to put drops in at least every15 mins.(such a hassle) and my boyfriend ordered some foam lined saftey goggles for me to try.

Also I am trying to keep hydrated by drinking A TON OF water.and I was advised to cut out caffeine as much as possible. I was also advised to drink lots of Cranberry Juice,eat nuts, fish, etc. Anti-Oxidant items. And keep up with fish oil,etc.

I will honestly say I am losing hope with this.I feel like I am going to miss out on my entire life. :/

[No tears in ATL]

Hang in there, Vivian. I'm not sure about any extreme withdrawals from steroids, since I can't even tolerate a regular dose (twice daily is all I can handle now), BUT my eyes would get red after I quit them, especially if they contained BAC. Lotemax was the worst of all. Eventually things seemed to get somewhat back to normal.

The foam glasses are a good idea. I use them as soon as I step in the door after work and I leave them on until bedtime. And, I'm ordering a set of (gasp!) foam sport sunglasses that I am going to put clear lenses in so I can do computer work. That's when I suffer the most. The frames almost look like regular glasses (from about 3 feet away) and they are a brown color.

Ten days into serum drops and I'm not sure I can tell a difference either. Maybe the changes are so small and incremental, slowly over time, that we're really not supposed to notice? The drops do feel better than regular eyedrops though, and are soothing when getting the burning sensation.

Best of luck.

[eyemech]

A professional opinion

When I read these posts from patients who seem to be at the "edge" it really worries me. I am an eye care provider and I often wonder what the point of recommending the very same things over and over to patients who seem to get no relief.

"I will honestly say I am losing hope with this.I feel like I am going to miss out on my entire life. :/"

There are so many things that I never seem to see discussed here that I just wonder sometimes who you folks go to as providers.
For instance, I seldom see a reference to Lacriserts. Oh I know..those didn't work for this patient or that patient...so, they just don't seem to be mentioned. I seldom see reference to simple bandage contact lenses...oh I know, that didn't work for Sally or Suzy...so, its seems to seldom be discussed.

PROSE gets some attention, but it costs a fortune(upwards of 10K) and even those who use it have problems after a while. Can you say 24mm Hard contact lens without kind of swallowing hard? I see an occasional mention of hormone drops...they really really work.

I am personally experimenting with a new product for my patients...ProKera...its an amniotic membrane which promotes healing. I mentioned it directly to the administrator, but I still do not see any discussion.

Periodically I post, but seldom do I see my posts appear. Like some of you who feel like giving up, I occasionally feel like giving up on this site.
Because I am not a dry eye sufferer and so I cannot speak from personal experience. Instead I can tell you the experience of hundreds of patients. I do try to help patients and I try to offer suggestions on this forum because some of you seem to be in such pain that I want to offer a professional opinion.

I realize the rules for self promotion on this site, but I feel there is a lack of professional input because of those rules.
If this post does not appear..and it may very well never get posted because it always says..."your post will be reviewed by a moderator" and it never appears..I am going to quit watching this site. Few of you will miss that fact as I have not seen my suggestions appear.

BTW...I have personally never seen serum work. What I feel is really at work is a very expensive drop that patients actually use because it took a pint of their blood and $150. So, they actually use it.

I hope this actually appears because all I see are the same suggestions over and over again.

[vivian3090]

Hang in there, Vivian. I'm not sure about any extreme withdrawals from steroids, since I can't even tolerate a regular dose (twice daily is all I can handle now), BUT my eyes would get red after I quit them, especially if they contained BAC. Lotemax was the worst of all. Eventually things seemed to get somewhat back to normal.

The foam glasses are a good idea. I use them as soon as I step in the door after work and I leave them on until bedtime. And, I'm ordering a set of (gasp!) foam sport sunglasses that I am going to put clear lenses in so I can do computer work. That's when I suffer the most. The frames almost look like regular glasses (from about 3 feet away) and they are a brown color.

Ten days into serum drops and I'm not sure I can tell a difference either. Maybe the changes are so small and incremental, slowly over time, that we're really not supposed to notice? The drops do feel better than regular eyedrops though, and are soothing when getting the burning sensation.

Best of luck.

Read my most recent post I started "the im confused about my condition"...I really truly am!!