I have Sjogren's and Lupus and therefore I have dry eye. I have a wonderful Corneal Specialist that I see at Mass. Eye and Ear in Boston. When I first found dry eye to be a problem she recommended Thera Tears (no preservatives, of course!) As time went by that wasn't enough so twice a year she inserts collagen plugs in my tear ducts both upper and lower. This procedure keeps the moisture that you do have in the eye. After 6 months your body completely absorbs the collagen. Then, as time went by my eyes became dryer so she recommended Serum tears made from my blood serum. There is a company that sends a nurse to your home to take 9 vials of blood and this is shipped to the lab and they send the serum tears in a cooler. I keeps them in my freezer and take out one small vial of serum tears and use them 6 times a day. It is amazing I'm guessing because they are biological!!! Specially made contact lenses are also offered. They cover the whole eye and have liquid in them. I don't know if this will be my next step however, I am extremely pleased with Serum Tears .The only down side is that it costs $700.00 but lasts 6 months, hopefully.
@kayabbott
That is exactly the treatments that I have been using: 1 through 5, and then since that wasn't helping, I, too, have been on cyclosporine eye drops for a little over a week now. Light still bothers me: light on the road when I'm driving, lights on in the house, light on the white snow when I'm walking the dogs (Maine). I walk around the loop with my eyes closed when I'm walking the dogs - I figure I can hear if a car comes.
@mtnwoman Hi just doing a quick search/read before bed.... may I ask ifyou wear sunglasses or tinted glasses to help with the bothersome lights. Adult daughter and i have chronic dry eyes she wears quite dark ones, prescription, and am wondering if thats good - i only use outside but now seems a sunny day have to half close venetian blinds... maybe I should get my prescription glasses tinted?
@mtnwoman Hi just doing a quick search/read before bed.... may I ask ifyou wear sunglasses or tinted glasses to help with the bothersome lights. Adult daughter and i have chronic dry eyes she wears quite dark ones, prescription, and am wondering if thats good - i only use outside but now seems a sunny day have to half close venetian blinds... maybe I should get my prescription glasses tinted?
@lacy2
I do have prescription sunglasses, and I do wear them in the house when the sun is bright (we don't have curtains), or when it's approaching dusk/evening and the lights are on. They do help, for sure.
I have Sjogren's and Lupus and therefore I have dry eye. I have a wonderful Corneal Specialist that I see at Mass. Eye and Ear in Boston. When I first found dry eye to be a problem she recommended Thera Tears (no preservatives, of course!) As time went by that wasn't enough so twice a year she inserts collagen plugs in my tear ducts both upper and lower. This procedure keeps the moisture that you do have in the eye. After 6 months your body completely absorbs the collagen. Then, as time went by my eyes became dryer so she recommended Serum tears made from my blood serum. There is a company that sends a nurse to your home to take 9 vials of blood and this is shipped to the lab and they send the serum tears in a cooler. I keeps them in my freezer and take out one small vial of serum tears and use them 6 times a day. It is amazing I'm guessing because they are biological!!! Specially made contact lenses are also offered. They cover the whole eye and have liquid in them. I don't know if this will be my next step however, I am extremely pleased with Serum Tears .The only down side is that it costs $700.00 but lasts 6 months, hopefully.
@dianedonohue
Hi Diane, would you please provide contact information for the Serum Tears? I've been using Xiidra for four years and it costs similar to Serum Tears when I added drug insurance and deductible and co-pay for Xiidra.
I have Sjogren's and Lupus and therefore I have dry eye. I have a wonderful Corneal Specialist that I see at Mass. Eye and Ear in Boston. When I first found dry eye to be a problem she recommended Thera Tears (no preservatives, of course!) As time went by that wasn't enough so twice a year she inserts collagen plugs in my tear ducts both upper and lower. This procedure keeps the moisture that you do have in the eye. After 6 months your body completely absorbs the collagen. Then, as time went by my eyes became dryer so she recommended Serum tears made from my blood serum. There is a company that sends a nurse to your home to take 9 vials of blood and this is shipped to the lab and they send the serum tears in a cooler. I keeps them in my freezer and take out one small vial of serum tears and use them 6 times a day. It is amazing I'm guessing because they are biological!!! Specially made contact lenses are also offered. They cover the whole eye and have liquid in them. I don't know if this will be my next step however, I am extremely pleased with Serum Tears .The only down side is that it costs $700.00 but lasts 6 months, hopefully.
@dianedonohue
Hi Diane, would you please provide contact information for the Serum Tears? I've been using Xiidra for four years and it costs similar to Serum Tears when I added drug insurance and deductible and co-pay for Xiidra.
@po1958ling The company that I use is Vital Tears phone number 800-360-9592. I am pretty sure they were based in Kansas City but are used by Mass Eye and Ear, Longwood Ave. Boston. It cost either $20.00 or $40.00 to have the nurse come to my house. I live in a suburb of Boston. They also gave me an address of a lab approxinately 25 minutes away but because I am 82 and don't love driving or falling on the ice so I opted to pay the extra and have the nurse come to my home. Sincerely, Diane Donohue
I also meant to mention that I generally don't wear sunglasses because I am afraid to trip or fall. Fortunately the sun or even brightness doesn't hurt my eyes. Sunglasses just make me clumsy. Not good at 82! Diane Donohue
@mtnwoman Hi just doing a quick search/read before bed.... may I ask ifyou wear sunglasses or tinted glasses to help with the bothersome lights. Adult daughter and i have chronic dry eyes she wears quite dark ones, prescription, and am wondering if thats good - i only use outside but now seems a sunny day have to half close venetian blinds... maybe I should get my prescription glasses tinted?
@lacy2 you can ask your optometrist about FL41 lenses. These help reduce glare and block out some of the harsh blue light that can be irritating. They have a rosy hue. You can get them as a prescription. Depending on how much tint you need you can get them lighter/darker. The lens is a rosy color, just a heads up. I find it them useful for night driving or other conditions where it feels like sunglasses wouldn’t work.
@mtnwoman Hi just doing a quick search/read before bed.... may I ask ifyou wear sunglasses or tinted glasses to help with the bothersome lights. Adult daughter and i have chronic dry eyes she wears quite dark ones, prescription, and am wondering if thats good - i only use outside but now seems a sunny day have to half close venetian blinds... maybe I should get my prescription glasses tinted?
@lacy2 Dear mtn woman No I don't wear sunglasses regularly but I do wear them outside in very bright sun. Fortunately the sun does not bother me. I feel no pain in very bright sunny conditions. Another reason I feel fortunate is because the times that I have had to resort to sunglasses I felt very off balance or felt that I was about to trip over something that I couldn't see as well as I should. Diane
@lacy2 you can ask your optometrist about FL41 lenses. These help reduce glare and block out some of the harsh blue light that can be irritating. They have a rosy hue. You can get them as a prescription. Depending on how much tint you need you can get them lighter/darker. The lens is a rosy color, just a heads up. I find it them useful for night driving or other conditions where it feels like sunglasses wouldn’t work.
@ashleyharris728 thanks i see optometrist in a month... one problem, daughters glasses are very dark prescription i also habve normal tension glaucoma with narrow angles so have been told to avoid comple darkness as it makes the pupil expand/enlarge and etc can presson optic nerve.. found all this out 2018 ... glaucoma , d,.dif, 4 of few friends died, they said i should no longer take zoloft re narrow angles and to be quite honest have not been "the same"since... i keep reminding myself things could be worlse but with ibs-d, fi, tinnitus and mes i do get to feel sorry for myself... but wake up and glad i can see, get out of bed, walk and talk, just some days harder than others... hugs to everyone xxx
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I have Sjogren's and Lupus and therefore I have dry eye. I have a wonderful Corneal Specialist that I see at Mass. Eye and Ear in Boston. When I first found dry eye to be a problem she recommended Thera Tears (no preservatives, of course!) As time went by that wasn't enough so twice a year she inserts collagen plugs in my tear ducts both upper and lower. This procedure keeps the moisture that you do have in the eye. After 6 months your body completely absorbs the collagen. Then, as time went by my eyes became dryer so she recommended Serum tears made from my blood serum. There is a company that sends a nurse to your home to take 9 vials of blood and this is shipped to the lab and they send the serum tears in a cooler. I keeps them in my freezer and take out one small vial of serum tears and use them 6 times a day. It is amazing I'm guessing because they are biological!!! Specially made contact lenses are also offered. They cover the whole eye and have liquid in them. I don't know if this will be my next step however, I am extremely pleased with Serum Tears .The only down side is that it costs $700.00 but lasts 6 months, hopefully.
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4 Reactions@mtnwoman Hi just doing a quick search/read before bed.... may I ask ifyou wear sunglasses or tinted glasses to help with the bothersome lights. Adult daughter and i have chronic dry eyes she wears quite dark ones, prescription, and am wondering if thats good - i only use outside but now seems a sunny day have to half close venetian blinds... maybe I should get my prescription glasses tinted?
@lacy2
I do have prescription sunglasses, and I do wear them in the house when the sun is bright (we don't have curtains), or when it's approaching dusk/evening and the lights are on. They do help, for sure.
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1 Reaction@dianedonohue
Hi Diane, would you please provide contact information for the Serum Tears? I've been using Xiidra for four years and it costs similar to Serum Tears when I added drug insurance and deductible and co-pay for Xiidra.
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1 Reaction@dianedonohue I have been looking into the serum drops. Can I ask what company you use that comes out to your house?
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@po1958ling The company that I use is Vital Tears phone number 800-360-9592. I am pretty sure they were based in Kansas City but are used by Mass Eye and Ear, Longwood Ave. Boston. It cost either $20.00 or $40.00 to have the nurse come to my house. I live in a suburb of Boston. They also gave me an address of a lab approxinately 25 minutes away but because I am 82 and don't love driving or falling on the ice so I opted to pay the extra and have the nurse come to my home. Sincerely, Diane Donohue
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2 ReactionsI also meant to mention that I generally don't wear sunglasses because I am afraid to trip or fall. Fortunately the sun or even brightness doesn't hurt my eyes. Sunglasses just make me clumsy. Not good at 82! Diane Donohue
@lacy2 you can ask your optometrist about FL41 lenses. These help reduce glare and block out some of the harsh blue light that can be irritating. They have a rosy hue. You can get them as a prescription. Depending on how much tint you need you can get them lighter/darker. The lens is a rosy color, just a heads up. I find it them useful for night driving or other conditions where it feels like sunglasses wouldn’t work.
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2 Reactions@lacy2 Dear mtn woman No I don't wear sunglasses regularly but I do wear them outside in very bright sun. Fortunately the sun does not bother me. I feel no pain in very bright sunny conditions. Another reason I feel fortunate is because the times that I have had to resort to sunglasses I felt very off balance or felt that I was about to trip over something that I couldn't see as well as I should. Diane
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1 Reaction@ashleyharris728 thanks i see optometrist in a month... one problem, daughters glasses are very dark prescription i also habve normal tension glaucoma with narrow angles so have been told to avoid comple darkness as it makes the pupil expand/enlarge and etc can presson optic nerve.. found all this out 2018 ... glaucoma , d,.dif, 4 of few friends died, they said i should no longer take zoloft re narrow angles and to be quite honest have not been "the same"since... i keep reminding myself things could be worlse but with ibs-d, fi, tinnitus and mes i do get to feel sorry for myself... but wake up and glad i can see, get out of bed, walk and talk, just some days harder than others... hugs to everyone xxx
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