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The first in a series of threads on my trip to the Boston Foundation For Sight (hereafter BFS). I know that when someone on the board tries something new to help their dry eye, I really want to know specifics about their treatment, and will try to provide that as I go along.
First a bit of background: I decided to pursue a BFS trip after reading Lucy's positive review of her experience there, and of the scleral lenses which she was fitted for. Bad grammar, but hey, it's Friday night. Lucy is (and I mean this in a the best possible way) a tough, honest customer, with worse eye problems than me (or, probably, you) and if she likes a treatment, I'm thinking it must be pretty good. (Remember that kid Mikey, who didn't like any food, but loved Life cereal? Analogy: Lucy = Mikey, BFS = Life cereal. Get it?)
Also, I realized that I was sending lots of my own beleaguered patients (I'm a cancer specialist) away to Boston, NYC, DC, Houston for experimental treatments that they could not get anywhere else, and our military insurance, TRICARE, was approving and paying for every penny. Turns out that this is because our clinic's incredible social worker, Mrs. J.P., knows how to work the system in each patient's favor. So, I got Mrs J.P. to start working the system for me. I told her what i wanted to do (go to BFS, get the scleral lenses) and she looked into it, and told me that she could easily arrange it so that, polar opposite of Lucy, it would not cost me "one red cent." Nice to have a good person on your side (though it really shouldn't have to be that way).
So, I contacted BFS on the number on their website, and was quickly routed to Bill Rosenthal, who was incredibly friendly and encouraging as he heard my basic story. Before he was certain that Boston Sclerals could help me, he wanted a narrative from my opthalmologist, who is an outstanding and caring Army CPT named Gary Fillmore. Dr. Fillmore wrote the narrative which summed up my story (lasik 2003, dry eyes a few months later, and ever since), and I faxed it to Bill, who e-mailed me the next day and said I sounded like a good candidate. We then proceeded to set up the visit. After a few stops-and-starts because of my insane work hours and my inability to leave for more than a day or two, we finally got a good workable date: for BFS to fit you with scleral lenses, it takes a full week, and my week was set as 8/28 - 9/1.
Costs are as follows:
BFS visit and scleral lenses: about $8000
Sheraton Needham for 6 nights: $600 ($99 per night)
Flight: the Army paid $400 each way, but you could may do better or worse depending on where you are coming from
Rental Car: Ford Focus from Budget with military discount = $105 plus fees = $140
With gas, food, etc added in, your looking at around 10 grand, which is a lot of wampum, especially if you are forking it out yourself. But it is important to remember that these doctors are not in in for the money. BFS is a non-profit organization, not a commercial enterprise trying to turn a buck. A large number of patients are subsidized, and the cost of materials and the machines to make the lenses is substantial.
So I leave in two days, have my appt in three. Here's what I am curious about: Do these lenses hurt? It seems like the edges would bump against your lids and cause some discomfort. Maybe they stay put enough to prevent this, or maybe you get used to it. I will know soon enough, but if one of the veterans wants to respond, I'd love to hear it.
Also: do they need to be re-wetted (grammar again) during the day? Rebecca stated that she had no pain when taking them out, but do BFS lens wearers get dry during the night like the rest of us? And can I still use my restasis? All questions I'll get answered soom, but if anyone of you veterans wants to jump in, go right ahead.
Erik, out for now. More to come...
First a bit of background: I decided to pursue a BFS trip after reading Lucy's positive review of her experience there, and of the scleral lenses which she was fitted for. Bad grammar, but hey, it's Friday night. Lucy is (and I mean this in a the best possible way) a tough, honest customer, with worse eye problems than me (or, probably, you) and if she likes a treatment, I'm thinking it must be pretty good. (Remember that kid Mikey, who didn't like any food, but loved Life cereal? Analogy: Lucy = Mikey, BFS = Life cereal. Get it?)
Also, I realized that I was sending lots of my own beleaguered patients (I'm a cancer specialist) away to Boston, NYC, DC, Houston for experimental treatments that they could not get anywhere else, and our military insurance, TRICARE, was approving and paying for every penny. Turns out that this is because our clinic's incredible social worker, Mrs. J.P., knows how to work the system in each patient's favor. So, I got Mrs J.P. to start working the system for me. I told her what i wanted to do (go to BFS, get the scleral lenses) and she looked into it, and told me that she could easily arrange it so that, polar opposite of Lucy, it would not cost me "one red cent." Nice to have a good person on your side (though it really shouldn't have to be that way).
So, I contacted BFS on the number on their website, and was quickly routed to Bill Rosenthal, who was incredibly friendly and encouraging as he heard my basic story. Before he was certain that Boston Sclerals could help me, he wanted a narrative from my opthalmologist, who is an outstanding and caring Army CPT named Gary Fillmore. Dr. Fillmore wrote the narrative which summed up my story (lasik 2003, dry eyes a few months later, and ever since), and I faxed it to Bill, who e-mailed me the next day and said I sounded like a good candidate. We then proceeded to set up the visit. After a few stops-and-starts because of my insane work hours and my inability to leave for more than a day or two, we finally got a good workable date: for BFS to fit you with scleral lenses, it takes a full week, and my week was set as 8/28 - 9/1.
Costs are as follows:
BFS visit and scleral lenses: about $8000
Sheraton Needham for 6 nights: $600 ($99 per night)
Flight: the Army paid $400 each way, but you could may do better or worse depending on where you are coming from
Rental Car: Ford Focus from Budget with military discount = $105 plus fees = $140
With gas, food, etc added in, your looking at around 10 grand, which is a lot of wampum, especially if you are forking it out yourself. But it is important to remember that these doctors are not in in for the money. BFS is a non-profit organization, not a commercial enterprise trying to turn a buck. A large number of patients are subsidized, and the cost of materials and the machines to make the lenses is substantial.
So I leave in two days, have my appt in three. Here's what I am curious about: Do these lenses hurt? It seems like the edges would bump against your lids and cause some discomfort. Maybe they stay put enough to prevent this, or maybe you get used to it. I will know soon enough, but if one of the veterans wants to respond, I'd love to hear it.
Also: do they need to be re-wetted (grammar again) during the day? Rebecca stated that she had no pain when taking them out, but do BFS lens wearers get dry during the night like the rest of us? And can I still use my restasis? All questions I'll get answered soom, but if anyone of you veterans wants to jump in, go right ahead.
Erik, out for now. More to come...
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