Last option, do Sclera Lenses help with severe dry eye

[bonedrye60]

Hello,+
All you poor souls out there suffering from chronic dryeye. I've suffered for 15+ yrs. In 1998 I had my puctal openings closed. For 8yrs I did great it was like having a new set of eyes. However 10 yrs it came back with a vengance. I live a hermits life, I haven't read a book in 10 yrs. I just sit in the house in a living hell with a warm compress on my eyes.
I don't have a life I don't know why my wife even stays with me. I've tried everthing fish oil flax seed oil olive oil Restasis for 1 !/2 yrs every eye drop made. Recently had the highly touted Lipiflow procedure twice no help at all, only $2500.00 poorer. So I'm asking the world is there anyone who has been prescribed Sclera Lenses for specifically dry eye syndrome that helped. I'm not talking about contact lens irritation problems, but for chronic dry eye. I'm at the end of my rope, any info would be greatly appreciated. God bless all you poor suffer's out there, it's hell.

[Katewest]

I think if its just the tears you are low on then they have a good chance of helping. But if your MG glands are messed up they may not. I went to Boston but because my glands were not producing and I possibly have corneal neuralgia they did not help me.

[bonedrye60]

Thank you for your input. My MG glands are only functioning about 10% in my left eye and about 30% in my right. I think I may be out of luck.
Thanks again

[MGD666]

Any input from users here who have severe MGD (along with some aqueous deficiency) that have been helped with scleral lenses?

[bonedrye60]

Kate, have you been able to find anything to help with your MGD?

Thanks

[DryInDenver]

Dr gemoules' LaserFit lens gave my life back after sclerals. I have lasik induced dry eye and the dryness is the only reason I flew to Dallas for the lens fitting. See the post started by l8gator. It has great info and convinced me to go there http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...t-Scleral-Lens

[MGD666]

That's great to hear that these have helped you so significantly. I'm curious - what are the approximate costs for the fitting process and the lenses themselves (when all is said and done) with Dr. Gemoules? I looked on the site but could not find pricing. I do realize costs will vary somewhat...

[DryInDenver]

Current pricing is $3500 for fitting AND lenses. Additional lenses are $250 each ($500/pair). (One pair of lenses can last for 5 years or more, maybe even 10).
He gets you a deal at a local hotel, comfort suites. My 5 night stay with taxes was<$400.
Flights from Denver ranged from$300-$400.
No car rental or transportation costs as the hotel has a free shuttle that goes to the airport, dr g's office, and anywhere in a 3 mile radius.

So all in it was about $4200.

Also, check with his office to see of they have any luck with insurance for mgd.




http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...t-Scleral-Lens

[MGD666]

Thanks for the price breakdown DInD. Not as bad as I thought. Can you purchase extra lenses through him in the future via mail order? And, forgive me if I did not read back through your posts, but what kind of solution do you use when putting them in (Unisol?) - and which drops were you then advised to use throughout the day to keep the uncovered areas of the eyes lubricated? Finally, do you use the Clear Care™ system for storage overnight?

[DryInDenver]

I too was pleasantly suprised by the costs. It was less than half of what I figured I'd end up paying all in for lenses. Personally, I think he'll have to raise the price at some point because of the time involved to craft each lens - especially if he is able to grow to more locations than Dallas.

Yes, you can purchase extra lenses via mail order. I will be doing so when I order my back up pair.

I use Unisol 4. It's a preservative free saline. I've seen others on this forum writing about success with similar preservative free saline used in slcerals.

I use the same drops as I used before, Refresh Plus, and plan to experiment with others to see if one is better than the other. (I used to be a systane ultra guy when I first came down with this, but for some reason those started to feel grainy for me - I tried them again with the slerals and they help but make my vision a little blury for a minute or two).

Yes, I use the clear care system for storage overnight.

[L8rgator]

I have purchased spares from him through the mail. They arrive in like 1 or 2 days. Same great fit as the original.

For over the lens I think Dr. Gemoules recommends Blink for contacts because while it has a preservative, the preservate is very mild. I think the other option was Refresh preservative free (don't quote me on that)? I've been using mostly theratears preservative free or preservative free in the eye. And I'll use the Blink sometimes. Later in the day the Refresh drops sometimes caused clouding, so might be an allergy issue for me (I'm allergic to sulfa, latex, adhesives, hair mousse, etc etc so wouldn't be surprising). Or I'll just grab a vial of cheap Addipak sterile saline and use it like drops when I'm at home (since it doesn't reclose, and I have to leave it on a table next to me). Unisol 4 works as drops also.

I just made an impromtu video of my lens routine, and the products I'm currently using:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxs3cu3Ws0Y .

My eye problem is due to an injury, so I know nothing about glands and things like that. But if you are unsure whether a scleral would apply to your situation, you can write to Dr G. He is excellent about answering questions, and will give you a straight and honest answer - and he'll tell you his concerns (he did have some for my situation). I asked a MILLION questions before I went, and he must have been exhausted with me - but never showed it! I'm STILL emailing questions (this time about possibility changing to a corrective lens, which I probably should have chosen in the first place instead of a clear lens) and he is still answering them - usually the same day.

I didn't see where you are from, but if you have a local fitter in your area it might be worth it just to visit them. I went to the U of Illinois and tried out both a test PROSE lens, and a Jupiter lens. The doctor had me walk around with unfitted sample lenses for hours, just to see what they were like. Although I didn't end up going there for my final lens, it was certainly worth the trip. I knew that was the solution I needed. Then it was just a matter of finding the best fitter, and a time to be fitted. I was surprised to find various fitters in different places - but it definitely took some digging to unearth them. Dr. G's process of custom fitting lenses, great communication, and prices aren't duplicated anywhere else though - so for me the choice was easy. Nerve-wracking and exciting, but easy!

[MGD666]

Great info - thank you both. I will indeed start looking for a fitter in my area. These may be the only thing that end up helping my condition in a long-term sense. I take it then that neither of you chose the corrective rx-type lenses? I would definitely need them to be prescription (near-sighted), so I imagine that the cost would go up (but hopefully not significantly).

[L8rgator]

I think the cost is the same. Although my prescription is fairly simple. Dr G suggested the corrective lenses when I had mine done, but I opted no because I almost never wore my glasses before then (only to drive at night) - they just didn't fit over my patches, even with the nose pieces broken off on one side. Now however, I just got new glasses and really started to wear them all the time, and found that astigmatism correction doesn't really work under a full faced motorcycle helmet because the glasses move with the helmet more than with my face, causing warpyness. So we've decided to try a prescription scleral in one eye, and a regular contact in the other (something I've never tried before). My biggest concern is that I'm constantly looking at my phone and electronic devices, and with my glasses on that is painful. So I'll probably have to put glasses on to UNDO the prescription contacts when I want to read (doh!). Not sure if that's really going to work, but affordable enough to give it a try.

What area are you in? I talked to some doctors in the US in Miami, Illinois, and I think Minnesota that all sounded promising before I found Dr. G. You might want to check with Jupiter or other distributors directly, and ask them if there are any clients in your area that carry the lenses.

[MGD666]

Portland, Oregon (although I have relatives in Wisconsin) - there must be some doctors here, I just haven't looked into it yet, but will do so soon. Perhaps Gemoules would know and can recommend. Thanks a lot for the follow-up info. I can empathize with the bi-focal problem you might be presented with, but I'm sure you'll find a work-around, even if not optimum. Thanks again. Also, nice use of the word "warpyness" - don't think I have ever seen that one before, but I like it

[Tears of Joy]

Hi MGD 666,

After reading through these posts, I considered going to Chicago (Prose) or Texas for lenses, but finally decided to see Dr. Louie (an O.D.) Casey Eye. I will get my lenses in a week from tomorrow (the 19th). I'll let you know how it goes. TOG