For the first time ever...

My B-P experience wasn't great either. One doctor told me to massage my glands and two weeks later I couldn't open my eyes. And one time they put preservative in my serum tears. I kept calling the emergency number and telling them that every time I put in a drop (4x per day) my eyes would sting very badly for 6 hours. And then eventually someone called and said that another patient had reported stinging and that was when they discovered that there was preservative in the drops. (So I wonder to this day why no one looked into it when I called about it for three days in a row). They said I could get the drops at no cost but what does "free" really mean when you can't drive and someone has to take off work to drive you for 4 hours each way.

At one point I asked them if I could have my blood drawn elsewhere and then shipped to them. They told me if I could figure out a way to do this then that would be terrific. Eventually, one year later, I found a lab, that is a national company with locations all over the U.S. The lab, Any Lab Test Now (www.anylabtestnow.com) told me it would be absolutely no problem for them to draw the blood to Bascom Palmer's specifications and ship it overnight on ice.

I tried calling the B-P lab manager about this, but was only able to leave a message. Eventually someone called me back and was dismissive about the possibility of anyone else being able to draw blood and ship it somewhere. Really? Well, by now I wasn't a B-P patient so I insisted that they listen, take down phone numbers, names, e-mail addresses and the website info. I haven't followed up but realistically, if you are a patient from Minnesota, how easy is it for you to travel to Miami to have your blood drawn. You'd think they would have been a bit more receptive.

And here on DEZ we have someone telling us how to make serum tears ourselves. Go figure.

[24yrold Male]

I had serum tears made at Bascom-Palmer in Miami. I believe Dr. ****** in Tampa makes them as well. Do you need contact info? Where in Florida are you located?

I am in Miami - though I had a really poor experience at Bascom-Palmer and don't think I will go back. I saw Dr. Trattler here in Miami as well, but on my second visit he told me I looked fine and that I had "corneal neuralgia" (I then went to a ophthalmologist-neurologist who did a simple Shirmer's test and told me that no, I was actually just dry. Dr. Trattler didn't do Shirmer's, even though I asked for him to). I have that doctor (in NY) that I can return to, but I don't know if that doctor will even know what Serum is.
In general, I didn't know if a non-standard line of treatment, like Serum, needs to be approached uniquely.

I had serum tears made at Bascom-Palmer in Miami. I believe Dr. ****** in Tampa makes them as well. Do you need contact info? Where in Florida are you located?

[No tears in ATL]

Sometimes I think they won't prescribe because some offices do not have the necessary staff/means to draw the blood on site and then transport to the compounding pharmacy. Liability concerns, perhaps. A lot of insurance plans do not cover them either. If you can't get your regular opth to handle for you, consider teaching hospitals. I'm sure others here (any Floridians out there?) have some additional suggestions.

[24yrold Male]

First of all i would demand that he would give official letter of decline and explain why ??

Well the doctor who won't prescribe to me won't do it because he's a family friend of a friend (so he won't see me as a patient). But he was saying that a lot of other doctors won't prescribe it either in general, and made it seem like a challenge to find one who will. People on this forum haven't seemed to really mention that, so I was wondering how easy it is to go into my doctor and request this?

[neilw]

I totally agree with that..i use HA eye drops first and after serum eye drops..better result ..!!!!

Using the HA drops first is a good idea. I think I will suggest that to my wife to try when we get the serum drops.

[Dog2012]

Check testosterone and progesterone..

[Dog2012]

Most still do. I think one of the moderators here mentioned that the artificial tears can work to hold the serum onto the eye surface longer.

I meet so many of them that are really stupid and ignorant and think just about two thinks ..about bottom-line and how not get suit

[Dog2012]

How would I go about getting serum? A friend of a friend (an ophthalmologist I can't go see / won't prescribe to me) said I should really try it - but that it's hard to find a doctor who will prescribe. Any suggestions? Do I just go in to the last doctor I saw, and request it?

First of all i would demand that he would give official letter of decline and explain why ??

[Dog2012]

Serum %
Sorry I have not responded sooner to the comments about my earlier post (which was that a study I had read said that 25% serum would perform better than 100%, or words to that effect). I originally posted on my mobile phone and it did not seem to me the post had actually worked. So I had not looked at this tread since, until today.

Anyway, the study that I was referring to was from 2004 and, as I did mention, it was only on a small number of eyes and these were dead eyes as this was a laboratory study. It was a comparison of autologous serum against fresh frozen plasma (FFP). It did find that FFP did not perform as well as autologous serum. But it also stated that "an interesting result of the experiments is the finding that only diluted blood preparations (1 : 4) supported cell proliferation well, whereas undiluted ones did not". They further said "This observation is in agreement with the findings of some clinical studies, where a positive influence on corneal wound healing was reported using 1 : 5 diluted serum preparations (Tsubota et al., 1999a; 1999b)."

This was only a small study, it is not on actual patients and it is old. So I think it is interesting but certainly far from conclusive.

Sodium hyaluronate and blood serum
Another interesting one I just read from a Scandinavian publication called "Acta Ophthalmologica", although the study is by some Spanish scientists, was into the use of sodium hyaluronate as the diluting vehicle for autologous serum drops rather than the more traditional use of saline solution.
The results of this study were that sodium hyaluronate led to better outcomes. This substance is used in other eye drops and is supposed to promote better adherence to the ocular surface. This means drops will stay longer in the eye. The study is very recent. They recommend further studies and I do not think there would be any way at present to get serum drops with sodium hyaluronate.

I totally agree with that..i use HA eye drops first and after serum eye drops..better result ..!!!!

[Dog2012]

I can put something in my eye that Does. Not. Burn.

Got 100% serum today, and it is perfectly comfortable.

For those who have seen me back and forth on this board complaining about how everything stings and leaves me bloodshot, including 50/50 serum-saline, eye drops with HA, Restasis, BAC, backup inflammation from plugs--the WORKS, folks--well, I knew I wasn't imagining this. Apparently I've got the most sensitive eyes ever.

So I tried 100% serum today, no saline diluting this drop, and....aaah. Relief.

Things aren't perfect, but this is a good start. Thought this could be encouraging for those rare individuals like me who claim to be better off without artificial tears and any foreign substances in the eye.


I KEEP TELLING YOU AS WELL>>>DEMEND 100 % serum eye drops ..doctors have interest to promote artificial eye drops it is B.S..
That is all. : )

[neilw]

Serum %
Sorry I have not responded sooner to the comments about my earlier post (which was that a study I had read said that 25% serum would perform better than 100%, or words to that effect). I originally posted on my mobile phone and it did not seem to me the post had actually worked. So I had not looked at this tread since, until today.

Anyway, the study that I was referring to was from 2004 and, as I did mention, it was only on a small number of eyes and these were dead eyes as this was a laboratory study. It was a comparison of autologous serum against fresh frozen plasma (FFP). It did find that FFP did not perform as well as autologous serum. But it also stated that "an interesting result of the experiments is the finding that only diluted blood preparations (1 : 4) supported cell proliferation well, whereas undiluted ones did not". They further said "This observation is in agreement with the findings of some clinical studies, where a positive influence on corneal wound healing was reported using 1 : 5 diluted serum preparations (Tsubota et al., 1999a; 1999b)."

This was only a small study, it is not on actual patients and it is old. So I think it is interesting but certainly far from conclusive.

Sodium hyaluronate and blood serum
Another interesting one I just read from a Scandinavian publication called "Acta Ophthalmologica", although the study is by some Spanish scientists, was into the use of sodium hyaluronate as the diluting vehicle for autologous serum drops rather than the more traditional use of saline solution.
The results of this study were that sodium hyaluronate led to better outcomes. This substance is used in other eye drops and is supposed to promote better adherence to the ocular surface. This means drops will stay longer in the eye. The study is very recent. They recommend further studies and I do not think there would be any way at present to get serum drops with sodium hyaluronate.

[24yrold Male]

How would I go about getting serum? A friend of a friend (an ophthalmologist I can't go see / won't prescribe to me) said I should really try it - but that it's hard to find a doctor who will prescribe. Any suggestions? Do I just go in to the last doctor I saw, and request it?

[Faith1989]

I have 100% serum, and still do need artifical tears. The only thing that has helped me use less is Restasis. I actually find the serum a tad drying, and use an AT after I use the serum. But serum is more of a "treatment" drop than a lubricant one. I love mine, but keep that in mind if you get them! Plus Buntbean, I believe you mentioned you have corneal neuralgia and I think serum helps the nerves recover? I don't have this but I have read a lot about it. Someone correct me if I am wrong...

[No tears in ATL]

In 8+ years I've never had an eye doctor mention these drops. I have MGD and lack of tears and I have to use pres-free tears every 15 min. Do you still use artificial tears if you use blood serum drops?

Most still do. I think one of the moderators here mentioned that the artificial tears can work to hold the serum onto the eye surface longer.