Lacrisert Alternatives?

[Coop14]

Hi i am in Australia and have been using Lacrisert inserts successfully for almost 30 years. (Severe inflammation and dry eye due to primary Sjögren’s Syndrome). Production has currently ceased due to equipment failures and we have been told not to expect further supply until at least 1Q2022. As there are so few of us who seem to use these miraculous products i fear they may cease production all together. I am currently surviving using autologous serum drops, which are certainly the second best thing i have ever used. I am keen to hear what other Lacrisert users are currently using to get them by and whether we could, together, launch a concerted effort to contact Bausch to convince them that they do need to continue supply of this product. Many thanks, Cheryl

[orange86]

are these available in Aus or do you import them from USA?
I live in England and couldnt find them here sadly.

[Coop14]

Hi, made in the USA i believe. We have been getting them in Australia via a distributor.

[goamn]

Hi, made in the USA i believe. We have been getting them in Australia via a distributor.

It might be cheaper to get them from a Canadian pharmacy that ships to Australia (I was doing that when I was in Sydney). Btw I am also in the same boat and January 2022 is just an absolute joke. I am now looking into alternatives, I have been on Lacrisert for 5 years.

I have tried hundreds of dry eyes "treatments" and none really worked like Lacrisert.
One of them though which I didn't have good luck with was the moisture chamber goggles. At the time I bought a silly model which was more geared towards outdoor and mountain climbing, it was crazy and fogged up instantly, very useless at the time (not to mention expensive).

I'm now researching into Ziena and Eyeco, both have prescription options but with limited ranges (Eyeco is plus/minus 4). I believe this is the only way to go for me ... Hang in there Coop and look into the goggles, they might do it. Also reading up in this forum and someone suggested a humidifier during sleep, this sounds like it would help me a lot as my eyes are rock dry when I sleep and wake up.

[Coop14]

It might be cheaper to get them from a Canadian pharmacy that ships to Australia (I was doing that when I was in Sydney). Btw I am also in the same boat and January 2022 is just an absolute joke. I am now looking into alternatives, I have been on Lacrisert for 5 years.

I have tried hundreds of dry eyes "treatments" and none really worked like Lacrisert.
One of them though which I didn't have good luck with was the moisture chamber goggles. At the time I bought a silly model which was more geared towards outdoor and mountain climbing, it was crazy and fogged up instantly, very useless at the time (not to mention expensive).

I'm now researching into Ziena and Eyeco, both have prescription options but with limited ranges (Eyeco is plus/minus 4). I believe this is the only way to go for me ... Hang in there Coop and look into the goggles, they might do it. Also reading up in this forum and someone suggested a humidifier during sleep, this sounds like it would help me a lot as my eyes are rock dry when I sleep and wake up.

hi i have been using lacs for nearly 30 years. Finding autologous serum drops (made from my own blood) the only alternative working for me at the moment. A bit of a rigmarole to get and hard to travel with (not that we can anyway…) but other things leave me in too much pain to cope with life. I too have tried so many options, including goggles. Fortunately my eyes recover at night and i am doing two 25 minute periods a day with my eyes shut and that is helpful. There are a group of four of us together in Australia that are desperate to get supplies and our fear is that they will discontinue the product as not enough of us using it now it isn’t promoted. Went off PBS here in the early 2000s and so not prescribed anymore. Xiidra is a new thing I haven’t tried here. Good to be in touch. Thanks for responding.

[Savannah]

I see you can get the lacriserts from India but is this risky?

[Savannah]

Has anyone had any success with the probing of the meibomian glands? I did at first but then it didn’t help but wonder if I should persevere as I don’t want my remaining glands to seize up.

[goamn]

I see you can get the lacriserts from India but is this risky?

I don't think they actually have it, like many stores that list it as "in stock". Once you actually make the order, they will tell you that it is out of stock. Beware though that they might actually charge your credit card so don't provide payment details if asked, instead just send them a message to confirm if there is any stock. This is especially an issue with cross currency transactions, when they refund your transaction you will lose money as you have to pay currencty conversion fees as well as the unfavourable exchange rate ... both ways.

[Teresa longacre]

How do you go about getting them from India?

[goamn]

How do you go about getting them from India?

The same way as other countries, ordering from an online Canadian pharmacy. However currently it's not possible, manufacturing has stopped for a few years now and I believe the new estimate is the beginning of 2023. Once it's back in stock then it should be available and we can share the cheapest option. It should be around $220-$250 as the cheapest, however there are some really expensive ones like $500 and even more.

[Teresa longacre]

Thanks , jI just about have to have them, and am really suffering , from not having them… Hope 2024 is right.. Thanks

[Knutsford123]

I have been in touch with b and l about uk stock supplies and a wait to hear back from them