Air flight transportation of Autologous Serum - any experience or advice?

[farmgirl]

It does, thanks as I often travel with my drops and my carrier is like a 6 pack insulated bag with lots of ice packs. It is quite large and cumbersome so something that fits in my purse sounds like a much better alternative.

[konadog15]

I use a Yeti type water bottle full of ice with my autologous tears in a ziplock inside. The ice stays frozen for 2 days even in very warm climates. I have a small 12 oz bottle which fits in my purse. I tried the insulin carrier with the ice pack from Amazon and found it only stayed frozen for about 6 hours at 70 degrees. Definitely not good enough. Hope this helps

[nori2015]

Everyone who was on serum from Alicante, how are you doing now?

[Simbo]

Hi! If you don't mind me asking how did you get in at Vissum Centre? I went two weeks ago and I am now on my 2nd week using. I must say I feel more comfortable though it's not a cure! I'd like to stay on them though it's it's a difficult place to get to for me. I think I read on here that someone gets blood drops sent to them and wondered if it was you? Thank you 😊

[nadz]

Good news the E-PRP drops from Vissum in Alicante need to stay cold not frozen before being transported back home then once home stored in the freezer. That makes things a lot easier. Thanks for everyones help. Booked into Vissum in 2 weeks time. Just hope the NHS Blood Service can sort out the Autologous serum before we need to go back to Spain.

[Faith1989]

I did stop Restasis for two months from December to February. I only went back on it because I had lid inflammation that wouldn't go down.. And Restasis always helps that. (I know it's not meant for this purpose but for me it helps my lids) during the time I was off it, I barely had any redness. Now that I have been back on it for four months, my eyes are constantly red again. However! When I was off it, my eyes hurt more..like the tears I produced burned. So it's a tough trade off. I really am unsure what to do. My specialist said "during the three to six month part is when the side effects go away" I am at month 4 in June. The redness really bothers me, I am just so self conscious now.

[PotatoCakes]

Ugh, I forgot, yes, I'm on Restasis twice a day. For a while I used compounded stuff because I became sensitive to the mineral oil but that seems to have subsided since I've had such success with serum and now, while not super comfortable, the Restasis doesn't cause the redness and irritation it did. It's still not a favorite but I'm afraid to stop because what if I were to actually become worse? I stopped years ago after improvement and ended up getting worse and I often wonder if I had just stayed on the Restasis permanently, instead of thinking I was well, would I be in the state I am in now? Of course, that's conjecture and it's not really healthy to "what if" since I can't go back but it does play into my reluctance to stop the Restasis.

You might consider trying compounded cyclosporine to see if that is better for you. Keep in mind, you'll need to plan ahead to use all of your drops before you put in your sclerals. Restasis, 15 minutes or so, serum, 15 minutes or so... that way you won't un-do the medication when you add your next step. I can't remember how long my doctor told me to wait but I try to give myself a 1/2 hour to be safe (I think it was 15 minutes and I've always added to it).

My first scleral fitting, my doctor had me wear them around for a couple of hours and the next day, we tried nearly 8 hours. The goal is to be able to wear them long term, even though I don't use them that way. If you find they are uncomfortable, call your doctor immediately. It is my understanding that there's some sort of warranty or something that should enable you to exchange / replace them in a certain time period. Don't quote me on that, and of course, it would depend on the maker (mine are Boston) but you'll want to communicate with your doctor as much as possible so that you can get the right fit if the fit you have isn't correct. They aren't like wearing cashmere gloves but they should be comfortable enough that you are good wearing them 8 hours at a time, with drops, if necessary.

[Faith1989]

I also use serum drops and Restasis, as well as Alrex in my "bad" eye when needed. Do you use Restasis? I want to stop because it has increased my redness but every time I try I get a rebound effect.. It's painful. Has the sclerals increased your redness or decreased? I am pretty nervous about them.. The fit seemed good at my first appointment but only had them in for like five minutes. I am SO happy for you..to be able to go out at night and actually be comfortable? That is a dream come true. I hope this happens for me. Sorry about all the questions! I am just curious...

[PotatoCakes]

@Faith1989 - I use a combination of things. I have serum drops that I use when I'm home and then use OTC, preservative-free drops like Refresh Plus, on the go for my daily life. I don't use the sclerals daily because they are a lot of work and glasses are so much easier than dealing with the contacts, plus, I can't use the serum drops when I have the sclerals in, and I like to use them as much as possible. I use the sclerals for skiing or nights out when I am likely to wear makeup (rarely) or be in an air conditioned environment. When I'm in a situation where there is a/c or lots of air movement, my sclerals are a Godsend. Before I had them, I'd go to events and spend the entire time wanting to cry because I could barely open my eyes due to dryness and I was going through boxes of drops. Recently, I went to an event where the a/c was on the entire time and while I still had to use drops (I don't produce enough so I get film on my lenses without drops), I was so comfortable, I felt like crying out of happiness. After wearing them, my eyes are pretty sore and I baby them with lots of serum drops and am careful to keep my eyes closed the full 2 minutes after application (I often cheat if I'm not in a bad way) but the ability to go out and do things comfortably again has been truly awesome.

[Faith1989]

Potato cakes, are you just using serum and sclerals? How are the sclerals working out?? I get mine in a week or so, I just ordered them.

[nadz]

Thanks PotatoCakes - some useful tips there - this is the first time we will actually be getting any form of autologous serum so all the info everyone has kindly supplied means we are better prepared for transporting back the first batch and for future use.

[PotatoCakes]

I've taken my serum drops and my Scleral Lense bag (which includes cleaner, rubbing alcohol, saline, etc) on planes throughout Europe and the U.S., including some particularly picky airports and never had a problem. Just to be safe, I carry a printout copy of the TSA rules on medical liquids and since getting my scleral lenses, I do now have a doctor's note. The most trouble I've had is that they want to see inside my containers and wipe the outside of the containers (cooler, or bag) with some wipe that supposedly detects chemicals or something. Before I go through security, I alert them to the fact that I have medical supplies; sometimes that's enough that they don't care to investigate further, other times, they want to see what's inside. Generally, when they see the size of my serum bottles, they don't care and the stuff that goes with my scleral lenses is all pretty standard, so that doesn't bother them at all.

Also, on a particularly long trip, I noticed that the container I keep my serum drops in was no longer cold enough and I asked for ice from the airline staff, which they were very nice about giving to me. I carry two large ziploc bags just in case, and that way if I need ice, I'm prepared. Also, once I asked the staff at an airline lounge to place my drops in the fridge. One of the women wasn't terribly nice about it but the one behind the bar, doing all of the work, was very kind and put my drops in the fridge.

[nadz]

Many thanks Saag and Farmgirl - we've made an appointment to go to Vissum in Alicante in June so this is all very valuable info

[farmgirl]

Sorry Saag, I was reading too fast...F/G

I have transported mine many times like Saag except I have never had a copy of the prescription.

Just to clarify, I don't bring a copy of the prescription, but since I get them via a pharmacy, the box of serum drop vials has a prescription label on it just like any other rx med - there is an auxiliary label on the package indicating that the contents should be stored frozen.