theralife - does it really work?

[homes]

the reason im asking is because im slowly running out of options to treat my dry eye. the site claims that they're the only "real solution" to dry eye symptoms. obviously im skeptical since ive been disappointed many times over - has anyone tried it with any success?

[Cindy]

Hi Homes and welcome! I've never tried Theralife. I'm skeptical of any claims of being a solution to dry eye but I do believe that nutritional supplements can be of benefit.

As long as your doctor approves and you choose to give it a whirl...then go for it and let us know what your experience is. It can sometimes take awhile before you notice a benefit (or not) from using a nutritional supplement. I take several supplements already so am not quite ready to add another to the mix.

Please take some time (if you haven't already) to read the posts on Dry Eye Talk and also the main site www.dryeyezone.com for ideas and strategies for managing dry eye.

[homes]

thank you for welcoming me. i have educated myself quite thoroughly of the different dry eye treatments and strategies, i mean anyone who would come to this site is pretty much desperate for relief.

unfortunately everything that i have tried up to this point (flaxseed, eye drops, lid therapy) have done very little for me. my next step is serum drops which im getting prepared tomorrow.

the odd thing is that since last september my symptoms suddenly disappeared with 5 month of bliss!!! but alas, my dry eye came back a month ago with a bang! it has been in the worst condition that it's ever been and im getting very hopeless and depressed.

[Cindy]

i have educated myself quite thoroughly of the different dry eye treatments and strategies, i mean anyone who would come to this site is pretty much desperate for relief.

Yeah, I know. I was just hoping that you hadn't exhausted all of the usual stuff. Sorry if I seemed to be patronizing in any way.

my next step is serum drops which im getting prepared tomorrow.

I'd like to hear about it. I'm sure others would also.

my dry eye came back a month ago with a bang! it has been in the worst condition that it's ever been and im getting very hopeless and depressed.

I'm really sorry to hear that. I know what it's like to get a reprieve and then be, for whatever reason, sent back to dry eye misery. It's depressing, I agree, but I never lose hope. What do you do usually do when dry eye hits with a vengeance? My 'emergency measures' are to take a shower (my eyes never feel bad in the shower) and then rest with a warm or cold compress (whichever feels best) on my eyes. Or, if I can't take the time to get in the shower, I do an eye wash and warm compress.

[homes]

no no no that's not what i meant at all! you're not patronizing, on the contrary i much appreciate your compassion, truely. it's just that im going through a very rough time right now.

i will update you guys with the (hopefull progress) experience of serum drops. my doctor swears by it!

actually i've been experiencing dry eye since 2 years ago when i had my lasik done (*plays chers* "if i could turn back time"). as i mentioned in another thread my lasik surgeon told me my symptoms will go away, and they obviously didn't and got a whole lot worse. it has been the main reason why i couldnt pursue a masters degree abroad and had to come back to my home country.

anyway, over the course of a few months my dry eye gradually cleared up completely with occassional "flares" that lasted a few days, every once in 2 months or so. only now am i experiencing the full-fledged dry eye symptoms that i had right after surgery, so i don't know quite how to mentally prepare for this. it caught me totally off guard.

[markL]

I have tried that Theralife stuff and it didnt work at all for me. I was highly skeptical to start with. A look at there other products reveals that they do vitamin combinations for seemingly all the major ailments like backache, stuff a lot of people suffer from. It seems to me these guys are playing a simple numbers game, they make some outlandish claims, stick a few doctors names on there and if they sell this stuff to 0.5% of sufferers they all walk a way millionaires in a couple of years. done. Its a sad fact of life that people will profit from other peoples misery. It goes on all the time.

By the way i know how your feeling bro. I am 26. I got contact lenses six years ago which kicked it all off for me. wishing i could turn back time also. But hey lets look to the future. Let me know how those serum tears work.

[Rebecca Petris]

It seems to me these guys are playing a simple numbers game, they make some outlandish claims, stick a few doctors names on there and if they sell this stuff to 0.5% of sufferers they all walk a way millionaires in a couple of years. done. Its a sad fact of life that people will profit from other peoples misery. It goes on all the time.

I have to confess I would look at this a little differently. Making excessive claims for anything as a cure-all or "guaranteed" is, I agree, distasteful at best; dry eye patients should be circumspect and not rush to believe in any miracle cures.

However, there are so many of us dry eye patients and the causes and symptoms vary tremendously. I say, if someone can make something that actually WORKS for 0.5% of users, bring on the products please! Just having industries start paying attention to us is a step towards progress. I would further venture to say that the entire pharmaceutical and nutriceutical and nutritional supplement industries - not to mention your hosts here - are profiting from other people's misery, if that's defined as selling something that won't work for everybody....

But I digress! Welcome to Dry Eye Talk, glad to have you here, and hope you find it helpful.

[markL]

I wasnt suggesting that it would even work for the 0.5% who actually brought it. I suspect most would be one time customers. I probably shouldnt have said profit from other peoples misery, I should have said take advantage of peoples desperation.

If you at Dryeyezone profit from your activities its great, because you are providing a great service and genuine products. I am sure you will agree with me that there are those in the supplement industry, be it for hair loss/weight loss/dry eye? who are making money selling stuff that is useless.

It is probably wrong of me to class theralife in this way but that was just the impression i got from the website and having used their product. Suddenly having effective treatment for a number of leading ailments including backache, neckache, fatigue, wrist ache and dry eye is surely worthy of a nobel prize. I mean these guys are good. They are based in California. I can see them now driving round in their ferraris laughing. I totally agree with you that if something does work for some people its great. I am just expressing an opinion, please feel free to try the stuff. Its just a high dose of varous common vitamins plus a couple of herbal ingredients. I also agree that the more attention dry eye gets the better. Thanks for doing a great job.

[Rebecca Petris]

Sorry... didn't mean to sound like I was reading something between the lines that wasn't there. I knew you weren't talking about efficacy, just unwarranted claims. And I share the disgust for overhyped solutions without substance, there are certainly a lot of abuses going on in the supplement industry, and I don't personally place a great deal of faith in eye-specific supplements, which though convenient are sometimes simply a much more expensive version of basic supplements we can get in other forms.

I think some useful questions people can ask themselves before trying something new (be it OTC remedy, Rx remedy, supplement, whatever) are - not necessarily in this order! -

1) What does the evidence from the clinical studies (if any) say, and what kind of dry eye patients participated?

2) What does my eye doctor think about it - generally, and as relates to my individual condition?

3) What are patients (excluding paid endorsements) saying about it? (We're hoping to be helpful with this part by providing a lot of forums for patient experiences with all different types of treatments and products.)

[markL]

I totally agree with you. excellent advice.