Suggestions anyone??

[LasikLady]

Worry about the "whens" not the "ifs"

I used to worry about what my eyes will be like when menopause hits, or even later in life. I am 42 now, much older than you but still if I am lucky enough to be like both my grandmothers, they were 90 and 91 when they passed, that is a loooong time for me to live with eyes that may get worse when I age.

However, life has taught me you only have right now. I may not even be here later today, tomorrow, or whenever. I take things a day at a time and I don't worry about things that I really can't control. I do the best I can with my eyes and educate myself as much as possible. Doing so has really helped me improve and cope with my "new normal" and has decreased the amount of time I waste worrying about "what ifs"

Wouldn't it be fantastic if they found a cure in our lifetime!! Well, since I hope to live a looooong time ( assuming I am relatively healthy etc) maybe I'll live long enough to see a cure for this exasperating condition!

And I haven't tried an NSAID drop yet... I've been wanting to research them more before I ask my doc about them. Do they help with both discomfort AND inflammation?

[dave25]

Well, I'm doing much better than I was in the summer... so I have improved, but as you can see, I still am a loooooooong ways away from my pre-LASIK days of normal eyes...

At this point, I really don't believe I will ever be back to normal, so I'm just trying to focus on squeaking out any small improvement that I can. This whole situation freaks me out to be honest... I'm only 33... so if my eyes are like this NOW, what will they be like when I'm 50... 60... 70... 80??? Soooo... for now I am just trying not to think about the future too much.

Well, and if I can't help thinking about what might be in store for my eyes, then, well, it could be worse, right? At least I'm not blind... that would definitely suck more than this...

whoops! didn't mean to ramble on...

I'm 27 and I often worry about how my eyes will feel when I get older. On the positive side they may have found a cure for dry eyes by then.

My regimen is pretty similar to yours except I don't have any plugs. I don't know if you have ever tried a NSAID such as Acuvail before. I have used these drops for a few years now and I think they help.

Fortunately, at the moment, cost is no issue for Restasis in Canada. As you guys probably have heard, Restasis is not approved for use in Canada yet. Because my eyes did not respond to other available treatments, I get it thru Health Canada's (our version of the FDA) Special Access Program. For some reason, Restasis is free for everyone when obtained via this program... all anyone pays is the pharmacy's dispensing fee, which amounts to only about $11 per 30-vial package..

I don't know if our government is footing the bill for the Restasis or the manufacturer...

If I ever end up trying a higher strength from a compounding pharmacy here, it'll be interesting to see what it costs... THAT definitely would not be paid for by anyone other than the patient!

[RobLIC]

I take the .1 cyclo twice daily, with a doxy eyedrop as well. Because of the number of things I do to manage my MGD I would never presume to say one thing is effective over another, because I really just don't know what's helping and what isn't.

[Brooke]

Rob,
How long have you used the .1% restasis, and has it been more effective for you than the .05? Is it still twice daily dosing?

[RobLIC]

Pinky, no idea, but I'll ask next time I'm on the phone with them.

[Pinky]

compounded Restasis

Rob,

What is the carrier agent that Leiter's uses for compounded cyclosporine? My local pharmacist uses olive oil. Haven't tried it yet, but apparently olive oil isn't tolerated by many.

[RobLIC]

On the subject of Restasis (cyclosporine .05% active), many of us have different feelings about the effect of stronger doses. I'm a fan of Leiter's, the compounding pharmacy. If I pay $35 to them for a bottle of .1% vs the $66 I am charged for a container of Restasis, is there ANY reason to use Restasis over the compound??

Omega swirls?? no, I hadn't seen those... I'll add them to my things-to-try list! . Thanks for pointing them out!

And maybe Restasis will still be able to nudge me into a bit more improvement still... man, would THAT ever be nice!!

[RobLIC]

Hey, S. ... I do think it's still too early for you to know if the Restasis is having an effect. Also, on the fish oil, are you taking capsules? I was, but traded them in for some of the omega swirls Rebecca sells in the store. You get a higher concentration and the body absorbs it more easily.

Well, I'm doing much better than I was in the summer... so I have improved, but as you can see, I still am a loooooooong ways away from my pre-LASIK days of normal eyes...

At this point, I really don't believe I will ever be back to normal, so I'm just trying to focus on squeaking out any small improvement that I can. This whole situation freaks me out to be honest... I'm only 33... so if my eyes are like this NOW, what will they be like when I'm 50... 60... 70... 80??? Soooo... for now I am just trying not to think about the future too much.

Well, and if I can't help thinking about what might be in store for my eyes, then, well, it could be worse, right? At least I'm not blind... that would definitely suck more than this...

whoops! didn't mean to ramble on...

[Keymaker]

It took 3-4 months for Restasis to do well for me. I feel for you I cannot imagine how you feel. I had PRK as you know 16 months ago but I have nowhere near your problem. I had thought you were improving but I am sorry to hear. I am now 1 month off everything and am about 90-95% most of the time but I am still thinking about some lower plugs.

First, a listing of my current treatments:

(for easy scanning, I bolded my current treatments)

I started Restasis 3 times daily on Nov. 6, 2009 - I think it's helping, but not in a huge way... (as an experiment, I increased it to 4 times daily on Dec. 23... but I'm not sure if it's making much of a difference)

As of last week, I now have permanent plugs in my lower puncta, and temps in my uppers. I am scheduled to have my uppers cauterized on Feb. 9.

After completing a 3 month course of tetracycline 250mg bid from my GP for my rosacea, my corneal specialist elected to continue systemic treatment, but switched me to 20mg per day of doxycycline.

I'm also still taking 3 grams per day of fish oil, and doing hot compresses with gland expression 2 times daily.

The 1 thing that has made the biggest difference in my symptoms is having all 4 ducts plugged. But, I am still quite dry... I presume that I must be insanely aqueous deficient since even with all 4 ducts plugged, I don't have even the smallest hint of overflowing tears. Even with all 4 ducts plugged, I still need to use artificial tears every 1.5-2 hours when not wearing goggles.

IPL: I'm going to be making an appointment with my dermatologist to give this a try I think... if it doesn't work, then I'll have to look into whether or not I should see Dr. Toyos...

MG Probing - I'm too scared to try this...

Contacts/Sclerals etc. - I am doubtful that I would find a pair of contacts that would be confortable to wear... even prior to LASIK, I couldn't tolerate contact lenses. (That being said, if anyone has any comments on this, I'd welcome them!) As for sclerals, I'm not ready to try that yet...

So... are there any other treatments out there that I can try? I'd love it if you guys could throw a few suggestions my way!