Clinic signs v symptoms

[farmgirl]

Kinda like locking the barn after the horse has been stolen isn't it to give you drops to heal your eyes 12 months later when that ship has already sailed. Serum drops should be the normal standard of care after both lasik and cataract surgery.

I think you are mistaken didry about it taking up to 30 days to make serum tears as they have to be made within hours of the blood draw, must be kept frozen and are only good once thawed for something like 3 weeks so I am not sure where that info came from.

[quattroboy]

I agreed with both of you, bonkers! But it comes down to cost, which is fine but not to even have the option of paying privately for the treatment is very frustrating!

AMT seems the best option so far, I'll see how next Tuesday goes with my appointment.

[Guest]

I agreed with both of you, bonkers! But it comes down to cost, which is fine but not to even have the option of paying privately for the treatment is very frustrating!

AMT seems the best option so far, I'll see how next Tuesday goes with my appointment.

It's mind blowing there isn't a single opthamologist doing this in your country as a service to patients. Honestly, I believe the only reason my doc does it is because he has ocular surface disease as well. Otherwise I'd have to drive an hour in insane traffic to Chicago for serum.

Matter of fact, I have an appointment at UIC on the 25th for prp drops...see if those are of a higher quality than serum...that's how it's presented anyway, more concentrated growth factors.

[diydry]

Quattroboy, have you tried the finger prick method? I believe you or someone else on the forum was saying this method is advocated by some physicians in the UK in lieu of serum drops. Simply take a drop of blood using a finger prick device (used commonly by diabetics) and put it in the eye... voila, instant serum. To be honest I cannot advocate this as I haven't tried it, and I am using traditional AST right now.

[FMel]

Hi Dowork123,

could you you explain me better what you mean with mucus? And did th tear film quality got better after the treatment?

[quattroboy]

Quattroboy, have you tried the finger prick method? I believe you or someone else on the forum was saying this method is advocated by some physicians in the UK in lieu of serum drops. Simply take a drop of blood using a finger prick device (used commonly by diabetics) and put it in the eye... voila, instant serum. To be honest I cannot advocate this as I haven't tried it, and I am using traditional AST right now.

Hi diydry it was me who posted, yes. Hokucat pointed me at an older post by PhoenixEyes who was actually part of the trial.

How are you at the moment?

[diydry]

Thanks for asking. I started the AST about a week ago. So far I like them, they provide immediate relief and feel better than artificial tears, but I can’t speak to any long-term benefits yet. My doctor tells me sometimes people stay on them for many months and even years to see benefit...

Incredibly, 2 wks ago my doctor (a different one at the same practice since the first was out) told me he saw no corneal staining at all, in either eye! If true, this would be the first time since lasik that no staining has presented on both eyes (by contrast 6 months after lasik I had 2+ staining on one eye and 1+ staining on the other... and a whole LOT of discomfort !). But it’s hard to know what the significance is, I probably should have asked the doctor. It’s hard to say if there’s real healing happening or if just that hour or that day or that weather that day contributed to no staining. The doctor says he thinks my blepharitis is the main culprit now since my tear film is looking better(?), but I don’t recall him expressing my glands at this particular visit.

I am grateful for the improvement. Unfortunately still far from symptom free. I prefer to wear my scleral lens whenever I do work on the computer (which is most of the day), otherwise i’m in too much discomfort to concentrate. So i’m still figuring things out, doing the best I can. Apologies if I have repeated myself elsewhere, I am typing this from my cell phone.

[quattroboy]

That's good to hear diydry you sound positive in your post. It's good to know you can continue to work, I know this has been my main worry because I spend a good 8 hours a day on a screen.

I went to see my Doc (or consultant in the UK, they get paid more and get called Mr/Miss/Mrs rather than Docter, and only work out of hospitals, and specialise in one aspect of healthcare).

No improvement in the staining on the inside of my eyes, near my nose, but he again told me my cornea is fine and healthy, with no staining.

On a negative side, he didn't think an annemonic membrane would help because my cornea is showing no signs of problems, also completely dismissed the idea of oral Pilocarpine , something about not being able to see at night?????

He was very adamant to keep up the Ikervis and steriods and give them a chance. But on a better note, he said the next stage would be serum drops if we saw no improvement!!!!! That made me feel better. The NHS in the UK has a very conservative approach, me I'd go nuclear from day one, but I'm the one living with this day to day.

Now he's happy we're on top of any inflammation he's inserted two smart plugs in my lower tear ducts. The reason he went for smart plugs is I've had plugs 4 months ago and they didn't last long before rubbing them out doing my eye massages. I know they can be problems with Smart plugs but we will see.

[deep_dry_eye]

amnion transplant (prokera) can help even if u have a clear cornea. the idea is that ur pain is caused by damaged nerves and amnion can help heal that.

this is a relatively new theory and not well published, do many drs are unaware of this. historically prokera was used only for severe cornea dmg like chemical burns.

[quattroboy]

amnion transplant (prokera) can help even if u have a clear cornea. the idea is that ur pain is caused by damaged nerves and amnion can help heal that.

this is a relatively new theory and not well published, do many drs are unaware of this. historically prokera was used only for severe cornea dmg like chemical burns.

I thought that to be the case but he was determined my nerves are fine and having AMT would reduce my vision. He says my vision is healthy and its just dry eye causing problems.

I can understand his reason, we need to give the steroids and the Ikervis chance, its only been a month. He did mention serum drops in the conversation as the next progression.

As said by a few people we need to measure our progress in months not weeks, but when we live with the symptoms day to day its hard. But I know everyone on here knows that.

[deep_dry_eye]

I thought that to be the case but he was determined my nerves are fine and having AMT would reduce my vision. He says my vision is healthy and its just dry eye causing problems.

I can understand his reason, we need to give the steroids and the Ikervis chance, its only been a month. He did mention serum drops in the conversation as the next progression.

As said by a few people we need to measure our progress in months not weeks, but when we live with the symptoms day to day its hard. But I know everyone on here knows that.

You can think of AMT as a ferrari version of autologous . If you believe autologous to help, I cant see why u wont believe AMT to help as well.

Yes, give cyclosporine a few months. Also I find Xiidra to be better than cyclosporine, but I guess its harder for you to get access to Lifitegrast.

[quattroboy]

You can think of AMT as a ferrari version of autologous . If you believe autologous to help, I cant see why u wont believe AMT to help as well.

Yes, give cyclosporine a few months. Also I find Xiidra to be better than cyclosporine, but I guess its harder for you to get access to Lifitegrast.

Yes I agree AMT is autologous turbo charged!

You are right Europe/UK doesn't yet license Lifitegrast, it only begin it's long journey last year.

What's the advantage of Xiidra, just quicker in terms of treatment time? I understand the end game is the same, promoting tear production by reducing inflammation.

[Hokucat]

I’ve never heard of Pilocarpine or the similar drug Evoxac I periodically use causing problems of not being able to see at night, and I have not had any issues. However, it is listed as a precaution for Pilocarpine here, looks like more so if you already have some night blindness issues:

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-7...e-oral/details

Perhaps tell your doctor you don’t have any current night vision problems, you will only use it during the day, and have your wife do things where night vision is critical like driving!

[deep_dry_eye]

Yes I agree AMT is autologous turbo charged!

You are right Europe/UK doesn't yet license Lifitegrast, it only begin it's long journey last year.

What's the advantage of Xiidra, just quicker in terms of treatment time? I understand the end game is the same, promoting tear production by reducing inflammation.

Xiidra and Restasis are both anti-inflammatory drugs that target T-cells . Xiidra is clinically found to be much faster and potentially more effective (i.e., the response rate of Restasis is really really low, while Xiidra is much higher). Both drugs target a different route of the immune system tho, so its beneficial to do both drugs at the same time. I'm on both drugs at the same time BID.

[Rebecca Petris]

Hey folks... please no more discussion here about homemade serum. Gotta draw the line on safety issues here.