Shoot...

[alisonW]

Lacriserts are no longer working for me. A few hours after inserting them my eyes become especially irritated and I have to take them out. (Sort of reminds me of when I wore contacts and they would become unbearable after a while.) Oh, well...I'll add this to my list of things that don't work for me. Sigh...

Thanks for letting me share my disappointment. This dry eye stuff is for the birds!

[odydnas]

Alison, I'm so sorry to hear that. Just giving you a virtual HUG. This dry eye stuff definitely does suck. I hope that there are things you haven't tried yet and I hope they work for you!

[alisonW]

Thanks for the hug - I needed that.

[RobLIC]

A thought on this? I am just happily back in Lacriserts today - all day - after a morning visit to the esteemed Dr. L. Had not been able to wear them comfortably for two weeks. What changed? My degree of occlusion.

Lacriserts are a little like houseplants or sea monkeys - they need water to "grow." Without enough water, they're gravelly little pebbles. With just the right amount of occlusion, they can be the difference between a day at the computer or not. Today, I put a new plug in my lower left and finally had my upper right cauterized. And voila, happy Lacriserting.

... Now lets hope I can repeat this tomorrow and for the next 60 or so years. Rob K., LIC, N.Y.

[alisonW]

Yes, good thoughts Rob & I'm glad you're getting better. I did notice that both yesterday and today when I removed them, they had hardly expanded, when I wore them comfortably, they had expanded a lot - and were almost dissolved. Not sure how else to increase my tears though - already on Restasis and have both bottom ducts plugged. Just before I insert them, and immedieately after, I add drops too but still no luck today either.

[RobLIC]

I'm feeling cocky because of today's success, so I'll chime in again: have you experimented with degrees of occlusion in your uppers? I've found that I get a different amount of occlusion from temp plugs vs permanent plugs vs. cautery. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks.