what are the longest lasting preservative free drops available?

[chimera]

hi, i would like some opinions on preservative free drops. I use refresh plus pf but I have to use it every hour(every 15-30 minutes if Im in a very cold/dry place!) there has to be something longer lasting out there. Ive tried other OTC drops, Soothe XP made me feel worse, Systane was ok but not as good as Refresh.

Id like to try the Dr. Hollys drops sold here(dwelle) but Im worred they might make me worse & I would have wasted more money. I have wasted so much money on drops that just make me feel worse! Is there ay way to get samples here ?

btw I am aqueaous deficient(no mgd) possible cause is thyroid disease & have been on Restasis for about 10 mnths now....

[alisonW]

Keep in mind everyone is different...

but the ones that last the longest on me are Oasis Plus & Systane Ultra (not the regular Systane). Refresh Celluvisc last long too but are thicker then the others so you may not want to use them during the day.

[PotatoCakes]

Ditto re: everyone is different. I've found that Systane Ultra (avail now at Costco) and Refresh Optiv are longer lasting than Refresh Plus. I don't care for the feel of TheraTears but have had luck when I layer them with other eye drops. I also like Celluvisc although haven't purchased them in a while.

When you put eye drops in, are you closing your eyes for at least 2 minutes afterwards? I wasn't doing this until I went to one of my current specialists and he told me I needed to. It's made a huge impact with how long my drops last. Sometimes they still don't last but they def. last longer under normal conditions when I close my eyes than when I don't. Also, if you don't have plugs, I learned from my new specialist, apply a bit of pressure (gentle!) when you're closing your eyes to prevent the tears from draining into the ducts. To some degree, there's not a lot you can do because drops evaporate on your eye surface but closing your eyes and preventing the drops from draining immediately can help.

[PRK]

I’ve recently been using GenTeal Gel for my left eye and that seems to last the longest for me…...not really a drop though. Also have you looked into punctal plugs? Since those would probably help the drops last a lot longer.

[chimera]

sorry I havent forgotten about this thread, Ive been dealing with some sudden non-eye health issues these last few days.

Potatocakes I do close my eyes after i insert drops but not for 2 whole minutes, Ill try that, thnxs.

PRK I tried plugs (the white cap ones) but had to remove them as they were too small & kept irritating my eyes. I need to go back to my doc in july & talk about the smart plugs she had told me about. But it seems i have huge tear ducts b/c they used the largest size of the other plugs & they didt fit. Dont know if smart plugs will be big enough either.

anyone had luck with the Dwelle drops or Freshkote?

[LaDiva]

Hi Chimera- I don't have this drop thing figured out, but will tell you that when I started using Systane Ointment at night and then used Systane Balance during the day, I needed fewer drops. It must depend on the nature of our eye issues. I haven't been able to figure out for sure if Balance is preservative free. Good luck. It certainly can be frustrating.

[PotatoCakes]

LaDiva -

Here's the website: http://www.systane.com/Systane-Balan...Eye-Drops.aspx

The inactive ingredient list is: Boric acid, dimyristoyl phosphatidylglycerol, edetate disodium, hydroxypropyl guar, mineral oil, polyoxyl 40 stearate, POLYQUAD® (polyquaternium-1) 0.001% preservative, sorbitan tristearate, sorbitol and purified water. May contain hydrochloric acid and/or sodium hydroxide to adjust pH.

I don't know anything about Polyquad (maybe someone else here does?). I'm guessing it's not BAK, which I'm not well-versed on but I know is bad. There are some preservatives out there that are more ok than others (Genteal Gel contains one like that). Some people can tolerate some preservatives and others can't. This looks like an interesting eye drop. It's made for people with MGD.

I notice it contains mineral oil. Do you think it contains very much based on your experience with it? I don't tolerate mineral oil well but if this doesn't have much in it, I'd like to try it.

[LaDiva]

Thanks PotatoCakes! I have trouble with mineral oil too, but not with Balance. Like Alison said, everyone is different. I have not enough oil or tears. Oh how I wish someone would make real tears in a tube. Must check on Polyquad. Sounds like athletic shoewear!