Newbie...need recommendation, PLEASE!

[CatB]

OK, I am really new here and will try to give you a brief overview of my condition in the hopes that someone can make a recommendation for me. I used to wear contacts (from the age of 12 to 36). My eyes were always sensitive and I was thrilled to ditch the contacts about 7 years ago when I got Lasik. Now, I think I always had dry eye, and it is a bit worse since having Lasik. I got tested years ago and it was determined that I produce enough tears but that they evaoporate very, very quicky. I got plugs put in and have had them for several years.

My dr. put me on Retasis (been on it for about 8 months) and I swear my eyes are worse. She also put me on Lotomax for a while, my eyes got better, but then she took me off of it, since she told me it is supposed to be a short-term thing. Now, I am on the Restasis, and just doing Allergen Refresj drops. Needless to say, my eyes feel horrible and I walk around looking stoned all the time (I have always had excessive redness, and it gets worse in certain conditions, like being in fluorescnet lighting, in a mall...is this odd?).

So, I am thinking of stopping the Restasis (I honestly believe it is doing nothing or even making my eyes worse). Based on this info, is there anything you all could recommend, esp. with the excessive redness I have? That is almost more disturbing than the feeling of dryness, which I can almost live with! It is embarrassing to go anywhere and have people staring at my red, bloodshot eyes!

I appreciate any help or feedback you can provide. I wish I had more time to research this all on my own but I work full-time and care for 3 year old twins! Please HELP!

Cass

[Terri]

If you're using regular Refresh drops in a bottle, it's very likely you've developed sensitivity to the preservative they contain. I did. The sensitivity turns your eyes red and makes you feel like you need to put more drops in a few minutes after you've used them.

I highly recommend giving Dwelle a try. My dry eye went from basket case--instilling preservative-free drugstore drops every 20 minutes--to normal in four months, and Dwelle was a big part of my healing routine. I no longer use drops on a regular basis because Dwelle helped heal the ocular surface damage caused by DES, and I now form normal tears that adhere well to the surface of my eye.

I used Restasis for nine months, but I discontinued it after I started following the routine that healed my eye. I thought it helped a little for a while, but I didn't need it after I addressed the cause of my DES. I also worried about the castor oil that Restasis contains, since there is evidence it causes cytotoxicity (cell death).

[CatB]

If you're using regular Refresh drops in a bottle, it's very likely you've developed sensitivity to the preservative they contain. I did. The sensitivity turns your eyes red and makes you feel like you need to put more drops in a few minutes after you've used them.

I highly recommend giving Dwelle a try. My dry eye went from basket case--instilling preservative-free drugstore drops every 20 minutes--to normal in four months, and Dwelle was a big part of my healing routine. I no longer use drops on a regular basis because Dwelle helped heal the ocular surface damage caused by DES, and I now form normal tears that adhere well to the surface of my eye.

I used Restasis for nine months, but I discontinued it after I started following the routine that healed my eye. I thought it helped a little for a while, but I didn't need it after I addressed the cause of my DES. I also worried about the castor oil that Restasis contains, since there is evidence it causes cytotoxicity (cell death).

Thanks so much for the post. First, I am actaully using the Refresh Plus, individual vials. Probably should have been more specific. Are those OK?

Also, do you have the DE where your tears evaoporate too quickly? That is what I have. Do you think the Dwelle would help me for that?

Also, is the Dwelle a scrip or OTC? And where can I buy it to give it a shot?

Thanks so much

Cass

[nahzee]

Thanks so much for the post. First, I am actaully using the Refresh Plus, individual vials. Probably should have been more specific. Are those OK?

Also, do you have the DE where your tears evaoporate too quickly? That is what I have. Do you think the Dwelle would help me for that?

Also, is the Dwelle a scrip or OTC? And where can I buy it to give it a shot?

Thanks so much

Cass

Dwelle is otc.

I have been using eye drops for several years now, especially refresh endura and refresh celluvisc (in pf vials)

If it's any 'scale' of how dry my eyes are, I used refresh about 30 times a day, sometimes more, and still felt bone dry. If I went below that, I would be in severe pain, so it wasn't a matter of overusing the drops- I just don't have the quality tears to go without them. I wear sealed sunglasses or goggles all the time, except while sleeping.

I decided to try the raved about drops and ordered a combo pack.

The first day, I tried dakrina. It hurt. Alot. Yes, the pain went away, but in terms of initial pain it was way too much discomfort.

I went back to my own drops.

The second day, I tried nutratear- 0 relief. None. My eyes were dry again before I could cap the bottle. Completely 100% unhelpful.

I didn't feel too hopeful when I uncapped dwelle, figuring it would be as hopeless as the last two drops. I was wrong. It did sting, but it wasn't particularly bad and went away- and never stung again after the first application. Not much of a miracle, right? Wrong. My first day, counting four application attempts with nutratear, my drop count was 17. Bear in mind that my usual drop count is 28-32. The second day, using dwelle only, 14.

I'm clearly very new to using it, but as you can see, it has prompted drastic results in terms of keeping my eyes moist longer- well beyond what I could have hoped for.

My suggestion? Head over to

http://www.dryeyeshop.com/

and order the combo pack- find the one or two that work for you. Heck, even if they don't, anyone with dry eye has gone to far more drastic measures than spending 30$ to try and find relief- it's not much wasted. If it does continue to work for me, though, I'm a complete convert.

[CatB]

Dwelle is otc.

I have been using eye drops for several years now, especially refresh endura and refresh celluvisc (in pf vials)

If it's any 'scale' of how dry my eyes are, I used refresh about 30 times a day, sometimes more, and still felt bone dry. If I went below that, I would be in severe pain, so it wasn't a matter of overusing the drops- I just don't have the quality tears to go without them. I wear sealed sunglasses or goggles all the time, except while sleeping.

I decided to try the raved about drops and ordered a combo pack.

The first day, I tried dakrina. It hurt. Alot. Yes, the pain went away, but in terms of initial pain it was way too much discomfort.

I went back to my own drops.

The second day, I tried nutratear- 0 relief. None. My eyes were dry again before I could cap the bottle. Completely 100% unhelpful.

I didn't feel too hopeful when I uncapped dwelle, figuring it would be as hopeless as the last two drops. I was wrong. It did sting, but it wasn't particularly bad and went away- and never stung again after the first application. Not much of a miracle, right? Wrong. My first day, counting four application attempts with nutratear, my drop count was 17. Bear in mind that my usual drop count is 28-32. The second day, using dwelle only, 14.

I'm clearly very new to using it, but as you can see, it has prompted drastic results in terms of keeping my eyes moist longer- well beyond what I could have hoped for.

My suggestion? Head over to

http://www.dryeyeshop.com/

and order the combo pack- find the one or two that work for you. Heck, even if they don't, anyone with dry eye has gone to far more drastic measures than spending 30$ to try and find relief- it's not much wasted. If it does continue to work for me, though, I'm a complete convert.

Thanks so much for the post. Is there any reason I should not just order the Dwelle alone, since so many people rave about it, as opposed to getting the combo pack?

Also, how do these drops differ from the regualr artificial tears that are on the market?

Thanks so much for the help

[Terri]

CatB: Dwelle and Dakrina are different from any other drops on the market in two ways: 1) they last far, far longer, as Nahzee noted; and 2) they actually heal the damage on the surface of your eyes, which drugstore drops won't do. It's your choice whether to buy just Dwelle or a combo pack, but I like Nahzee's suggestion about buying a combo pack. It's not expensive to pick up all three, and you can try them out to see which ones work for you and under what conditions.

I used Dwelle in the evening before bed, and Dakrina in the morning or on severely bad eye days. Once my eyes healed, I started using NutraTear instead of Dakrina during the day. I am now so much better, that I only use NutraTear, if needed, during the day. And this is remarkable to me because I was using drugstore drops every 10 - 20 minutes just a few months ago.