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Hi,
Thanks to everyone for this wonderful forum. This is the first place I go when I have a question! Please excuse the long intro...my questions are at the bottom.
I have had dry eyes since my teens and couldn't wear contacts. I had Lasik in 1997...didn't know the dry eyes made me a poor candidate. The dry eye symptoms subsided one year post Lasik and have recently flared up; most likely due to menopause. I have been diagnosed with MGD and low tear production. I tried Lipiflow....it did not relief my symptoms.
My doctor is not a fan of Restasis so I am not on that. Part of me is wondering if that is my missing link. My doctor subscribed serum tears 20% 4 times a day and I have been on them for one week. He told me I should use whatever drops feel good in-between the serum drops, but he would prefer an oil based drop. My eyes don't like anything with mineral oil so right now I am using Optive Refresh Advanced and Oasis tears plus (alternated during the day...about one hour apart..between the serum tears dose) I am using Celluvisc at night. I do warm compresses 1-2 a day and blink often. My eyes feel progressively more irritated/burning/dryness as the day progresses so I am still searching for the best drop/treatment for me.
My questions are:
Can I use FreshKote with serum tears? Does anyone recommend that combo? If so, how long after I put the serum drops in should I wait to use FreshKote or any other drop? I want to make sure the efficacy of the serum tears are not effected. Also, is the preservative in FreshKote really safe for long term use? Can people who are sensitive to preservatives use these drops?
I hope this isn't too long
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.
Thanks to everyone for this wonderful forum. This is the first place I go when I have a question! Please excuse the long intro...my questions are at the bottom.
I have had dry eyes since my teens and couldn't wear contacts. I had Lasik in 1997...didn't know the dry eyes made me a poor candidate. The dry eye symptoms subsided one year post Lasik and have recently flared up; most likely due to menopause. I have been diagnosed with MGD and low tear production. I tried Lipiflow....it did not relief my symptoms.
My doctor is not a fan of Restasis so I am not on that. Part of me is wondering if that is my missing link. My doctor subscribed serum tears 20% 4 times a day and I have been on them for one week. He told me I should use whatever drops feel good in-between the serum drops, but he would prefer an oil based drop. My eyes don't like anything with mineral oil so right now I am using Optive Refresh Advanced and Oasis tears plus (alternated during the day...about one hour apart..between the serum tears dose) I am using Celluvisc at night. I do warm compresses 1-2 a day and blink often. My eyes feel progressively more irritated/burning/dryness as the day progresses so I am still searching for the best drop/treatment for me.
My questions are:
Can I use FreshKote with serum tears? Does anyone recommend that combo? If so, how long after I put the serum drops in should I wait to use FreshKote or any other drop? I want to make sure the efficacy of the serum tears are not effected. Also, is the preservative in FreshKote really safe for long term use? Can people who are sensitive to preservatives use these drops?
I hope this isn't too long
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.