Have you tried these?

[elaine]

I have tried all the usual treatments at least twice (eye plugs, Restasis, fish oil, Pilocarpine..) and have just started with Lacriserts. They are expensive and hard to put in my eyes. They also seem to fall out easily- I am just learning to use them- but when I get them in right and they stay in, I do feel moisture in my eyes. Surprisingly, my eyes still ache, but it as at least a small step in the right direction.

I have also decided, at the suggestion of a psychopharmacologist friend of mine to try choline and Arricept. Choline is an over-the-counter supplement and I have started taking 100 mg a day. Arricept is for Alzheimers disease, and I (ironically) can't remember the dose, but it is what Alzheimers patients are started on. One of the side effects is excessive moisture (cholinergic reaction). The choline supplements is also hoped to cause this reaction. After 2 1/2 years with the usual stuff, I' ve decided it's time to experiment. And, at 53, it can't hurt my memory.

Has anyone tried these? Has anyone any tips regarding the Lacriserts?

Thanks!
Elaine

[kitty]

You might try clicking the "search" button and typing in Lacrisert. Here is a link to one of several threads:
Lacrisert

[Lucy]

Elaine, please let us know how the Lacriserts work for you.

[dryeyeboy]

Lacriserts make my eyes burn. Has anyone else experienced this? Maybe I'm allergic to them. I love how wet they make my eyes feel but the burning is annoying. I wish there were similar products out there I could try.

[Reggie]

I've tried Lacricert this month, but I haven't been using it regularly. I found that after a some hours (varied each day), the left one always ended up blurrying my vision, so I would have to take it out. Also, if you slept with them in, I would wake up with a blob of gel on my eye. I'm not sure if I felt a difference in wearing them although it may have helped. They cost about $50 for a month supply (in Canada) and I don't if I'm gonna keep using them.

[Guest]

My DR put me on Lacriserts as one of the many trials I have been through to get my dry eyes under control.

After fighting to get them inserted - which took a bit of practice, I absolutely hated them. The applicator isn't the easiest thing to get used to. I used the applicator to pick them up and insert them, then I turned it sideways to poke the lacrisert into position.

After about 3 hours my eyes burned liked heck and I certainly didn't get any relief from them.

We came to the conclusion that I was most likely sensitive to HPMC (Hypromellose) and also at time I wasn't producing enough tears to even keep them moist and they were drying my eyes even further by using the tears I did have to moisten the lacrisert (good theory anyway).

In theory they sounded great, in practice I found them a nightmare. I persevered for about 3-4 days but gave up with them because I couldn't get past the 3 hours and the burning was unbelievable, I ended up spending the rest of the day on the couch with an icepack on to get rid of the burning - certainly not ideal for me.

Just my 2 pence worth

Ian

[Lucy]

Ian-few people I've come across over the years have been helped and/or liked lacriserts. Still something to try. I remember dropping those little slivers and they were long gone and incredibly expensive and hard to obtain. I had to wait for my doc to order them and this has been 5 years ago.

[elaine]

Have you tried these?

Thanks for your comments and the link for Lacriserts. What about the Choline and Arricept? Am I completely trailblazing here? Wouldn't it be nice if it worked? (wouldn't it be nice if anything worked?)
Elaine

[CarolynYvonne]

Thanks to all the trailblazers

Hi,
I just wanted to say that as a newly diagnosed member on this board, I really do appreciate everyone who has posted things that worked for them and didn't work for them. It has kept me from getting absolutely frantic doing outside searches. It seems you people know your eyes and the available treatments very well. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge.
CarolynYvonne

[Annie K]

Don't give up

I've been using Lacricert for about 10 days and am generally pleased with the results. Every day gets easier to put them in and to understand how to control them if they start to slide around. I think most of the comments here are negative because people who don't have any problems aren't looking for assistance, so don't post. I do continue to use Refresh Celluvisc with the inserts and find that if I put a whole drop in it will wash the Lacricert out of its pocket. Since the Lacricert doesn't totally relieve my dry eyes, additional moisture is critical, however I can get a fraction of a drop by touching the drop to my eyeball before it comes out on its own. Doing this about every two hours is far more desirable than doing it every 30 minutes like I did before the inserts.