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I JUST REALIZED I POSTED MUCH THE SAME THING EARLIER THIS MONTH....DUHH. BUT WORTH REPEATING!
Nothing in my long battle with MGD and evaporative dry eyes has been as beneficial as Lacriserts, which are making a huge difference in the three months I've been using them. I've had probing, taken doxycycline (still on 100 mg/day) Azasite, Restasis, tacrolimus (still using those drops) every kind of drop and gel, warm compresses - the gamut. These helped a little, or not at all, or seemed to work for awhile then didn't anymore. Especially in the late afternoons and evenings I was miserable most of the time, and, like many on this board, despairing.
My ophthalmologist is a dry eye expert, but he hadn't mentioned Lacriserts until I asked about them. I started using them sparingly (they're not cheap, but a $50 copay for a month's supply (one in each eye twice a day) seems like a huge bargain to me.) I found the more I used them, the better I felt. Now I usually put one in each eye in the mid-morning, and if I'm still uncomfortable, will add another in the afternoon, but I usually don't need to. Sometimes I don't use any until late afternoon and it gets me through the evening.
I still augment them with a dab of Refresh nighttime ointment (even during the day) but I'm using much less than previously. The Lacriserts tend to swell and become sticky blogs after prolonged wearing; I've learned to push up on my lower eyelid until the blobs pop up and I just flick them off with a finger or a tissue. In the beginning, I used the applicator that comes with them, but I find it's easier just to slightly wet my finger to pick them up and insert under my eyelid.
I'm still kind of stunned that such a simple thing could make such a huge difference after the frustration of probing (painful and expensive) compresses (inconvenient and ineffective) and all the rest. What a genius idea - continual release instead of eyedrops that last about 30 seconds.
As with everything else, your mileage may vary. But I highly recommend giving them a try.
Richard
Nothing in my long battle with MGD and evaporative dry eyes has been as beneficial as Lacriserts, which are making a huge difference in the three months I've been using them. I've had probing, taken doxycycline (still on 100 mg/day) Azasite, Restasis, tacrolimus (still using those drops) every kind of drop and gel, warm compresses - the gamut. These helped a little, or not at all, or seemed to work for awhile then didn't anymore. Especially in the late afternoons and evenings I was miserable most of the time, and, like many on this board, despairing.
My ophthalmologist is a dry eye expert, but he hadn't mentioned Lacriserts until I asked about them. I started using them sparingly (they're not cheap, but a $50 copay for a month's supply (one in each eye twice a day) seems like a huge bargain to me.) I found the more I used them, the better I felt. Now I usually put one in each eye in the mid-morning, and if I'm still uncomfortable, will add another in the afternoon, but I usually don't need to. Sometimes I don't use any until late afternoon and it gets me through the evening.
I still augment them with a dab of Refresh nighttime ointment (even during the day) but I'm using much less than previously. The Lacriserts tend to swell and become sticky blogs after prolonged wearing; I've learned to push up on my lower eyelid until the blobs pop up and I just flick them off with a finger or a tissue. In the beginning, I used the applicator that comes with them, but I find it's easier just to slightly wet my finger to pick them up and insert under my eyelid.
I'm still kind of stunned that such a simple thing could make such a huge difference after the frustration of probing (painful and expensive) compresses (inconvenient and ineffective) and all the rest. What a genius idea - continual release instead of eyedrops that last about 30 seconds.
As with everything else, your mileage may vary. But I highly recommend giving them a try.
Richard