First day with Lacrisert's...

[alisonW]

and so far so good. I can't feel them at all and seem to be tolerating them well so far. I pray that these will give me some much needed relief. Thanks so much to member faithfully for mentioning how much they are helping her. I called my doc and asked about them and she said "well, I don't usually recommend them becuase most people say they are horribly uncomfortable but I'll prescribe you a box to try if you want." Geez....yes I want! I thought she was exhausting all options with me....guess not. I'm so thankful for this board or I would never have heard of them!

[liz56]

I'm so glad to hear that they are working! Thanks for keeping us posted.

I hope that your good progress continues, Alison.

--Liz

[msienkiewicz]

I am so glad to hear they are working for you. I have been wearing them to now for about a month. I saw a brochure for them at one of my numerous doctor's and asked about them. He said I didn't qualify. Then, I asked my other doctor, and he said the same thing that your doc did. People don't usually like them; they are too uncomfortable. I am so glad I persisted as I have done very well with them.

Keep us posted with how you are doing. Do you find that you have to add drops with them as well? How many hours do you wear them for? Just curious to see how they work for you.

I have considered wearing one to sleep in my right eye which is the eye that I had the surgery on and has the "scratchy"conjunctiva that is really irritating in the morning. I wonder if this would make the mornings easier. I'm chicken to sleep with them though.

Best wishes,
Melissa

[alisonW]

for the support Liz. I reallyappreciate it.

Today is day two and I am still loving them. My left eye is a bit watery but I'll take that over bone dry any day!

Melissa, yesterday I did use drops twice with them because I woke up extremely dry and didn't insert the lacriserts until around 1:00 in the afternoon. With them in I used drops once. I did remove them at night (around 9:00 p.m.) only because I thought I was supposed to - but after reading the patient insert and their site again I guess they are meant to stay in unless there are problems so tonight I amd going to leave them. Hopefully that will work out all right - I'm a bit nervous about it. I'm glad to hear they are working for you too Melissa.

I'll update on my progress again in a few days or sooner if there are changes.

[msienkiewicz]

Alison,

I also put mine in around one or two. Let me know how you do if you leave them in at night. I'm still too chicken.

Melissa

[alisonW]

I wore the Lacrisert's last night and the worked great! No problems at all. I'm finding I need to use two a day. By last night they had completely dissolved (I put them in at 8:00 a.m.) so I inserted two new ones around 10:00 p.m. This morning they were almost dissolved so I removed the little bit left (they can make my eyes a bit blurry at this point) and put new ones in a few minutes ago. It will be a bit more $ this way, but if it works I'll do it. I still can't feel them at all and the slight irritation I had the first few days is gone. Yay! If anything changes, I'll let you all know. Definitely give them a try at night.

[msienkiewicz]

I am so glad they are working well for you. It's so nice not to be adding drops all the time. I will try them at night as well, especially in my right eye.

Best wishes,
Melissa

[Gretchen]

Hi Allison -

I am so glad to hear that the Lacrisert's are working for you. Are they helping at all with the redness?

Thanks,
Gretchen

[alisonW]

Unfortunately there' no redness relief yet. My eyes look a little glassy today actually - am wondering if my good luck is running out.

From what I've read on the Lacrisert site it takes a few weeks to gain optimal results so I plan on trying to stick it out for at least another week or two. I imagine that getting your eyes used to wearing them is like getting used to wearing contact lenses.

I do hope that if they continue to lubricate my eyes well, and don't irritate me down the road, that some redness relief will come too.

[Mariez]

My Doctor gave me a sample of Lacrisert to try several weeks ago and I could not get the things in. Every time I would try to insert them they would just pop out. I have very tiny, narrow eyes. I almost gave up on them but I decided to give it one more try. I found that if you follow the directions for inserting exactly as written they will stay in. The most important step is step 5--removing the applicator. After removing the applicator, look down as far as you can, then release the lower lid. Somehow this works like a charm in keeping the cylindrical insert in the bottom lid. I have had them in all day. They are comfortable and I have not had to use eye drops. The redness went away as well. You need to be careful, though, because if you pull down your lower lid after inserting they will pop out.

[izzy3usa2002]

Glad to hear several of you are getting relief with the lacriserts. i am on day 2 with them ad all I can say so far is less redness and I can feel some tears there where before I felt none. At this point i do feel them and it bothers me a bit but I am hanging in there and going to stick with it because the discomfort is no worse the for foreign body sensation with the DES. In fact I don't think it is near as bad. i hope i will be like you and get used to them in a few days. My other eye doctor didn't want to let me try these but I am now on eye doctor #2 and he was very reay to try these gave me a sample and a prescrption so he sems pretty good so far. good luck to us all trying these laciserts, I hope we all find some relief. i am so thankful for this site!

[izzy3usa2002]

Also, I forgot to mention that my eye doctor said it was fine to wear the Lacriserts at night.,the only thing that worrues me is I tend to rub or itch my eyes at times but the doctor assured me if I did that they would just fall out. Also, I use the tranquileyes goggles at night so maybe all will be fine tonight when I give it a try.

[watermelon]

What are Lacricerts? What do they do? Who is a good candidate for them?

[ricmerry]

This thread is encouraging, my doc told me virtually the same thing.
I am very familiar with having uncomfortable eyes all day long, if these help I think I could get used to that.
-Ric

[ringo]

Thank you for sharing your experiences....Does anyone know if Lacrisert is available outside US?

[IanJ]

Hi all,

My Lacriserts arrived this morning.........my first shot will be tonight when I get home. Really looking forward to trying them.

It will be my right eye only (the problem eye), which is a blessing because I'm in the UK and had to pay through the nose to import them.

Ian.

[IanJ]

Hi all,

Well I've tried them twice, as follows:-

On the day I got them, about 6pm I popped one in my right eye. About 40 mins I started to notice some slight blurring in my eye. Also I noticed that my eye was getting a little sore, where the lacrisert was.
Pulled my lid forward in front of the mirror to have a look and saw that the tiny lacrisert had ballooned up. Probably the size I thought.
Anyways, did notice that the normal eye pain I get was not as bad as usual.
Around 4hrs in I removed it.
Verdict = Looks like they work, but there are side effects so not too sure!

Next morning I had a brainwave, I cut a lacrisert in half and poped one in my eye and went off to work.
Whilst it wasn't as bad as yesterday I was still getting some pain from the lacrisert, and some blurring. Again not as bad as yesterday.
About 4 hrs in I removed it.

I'll try again................maybe cut the lacrisert into 3.

Ian.

[ricmerry]

I saw my OD today and asked for Laciserts. She's not very excited about and worries that the foreign body in the wrong place could damage my cornea. She asked me to try yet another drop first, Soothe XP. I'll give it a shot but am not very hopeful especially after reading posts about it here. It's obvious though that what works for one may not work for another, I have a whole drawer full of drops that I hear others praise but don't work at all for me.
Systane Ultra preservative free vials are the only thing that continues t ogive me any positive results, I'm still playing with Dwelle too.
Today's TBUT =<1 sec and she said if the Schrimers showed anything it would be a false due to eye irritation from the test strips.

[ricmerry]

I saw a new OD yesterday in Renton WA, Paul Jensen.
I walked out feeling much better. My eyes were the same or worse because of the examination but I had something I haven't had for some time, hope.

When I asked him about Lacriserts he told me he prescribes them often. When I asked about the discomfort some people experience he told me he has tried them himself and found them very tolerable. How cool is that when your clinician tries the very thing he prescribes?

I am trying them now and because my vision is rather poor at times I couldn't tell if I actually got it in to the pocket or dropped it in the sink. I couldn't feel it there either so just didn't know, I finally manipulated my lower lid wher I though it should be and it came right out.

Wow. I'm not sure how effective it's going to be but I have no additional discomfort so far whatsoever. I think proper insertion is key.

I'm trying to be more conscious in my posts to break up paragraphs and use a bit larger font now. DET has been a lifesaver for me but somtimes things are so bad I can't hardly read it.

-Ric

[calli66]

I've never tried them, but 2 women in my Sjogren's support group starting using them last year, and they really like them.

Hope they work out for you.

C

[msienkiewicz]

Ric,

The lacriserts really worked for me when I was at my worst. I tell you this to give you hope. I used the lacriserts and started the restasis at the same time.

The lacriserts worked well and allowed me to get through my afternoons without dropping every hour and half. In fact, I didin't need to drop at all while using them.

They definitely helped with the burning sensation as well. After about three months of use, I noticed that I could go through the day without them, although uncomfortable. I then upped the restasis to three times a day.

At about 5-6 months, I cut the restasis to 2 times a day, and this is where I am at currently. I am not always comfortable, but I feel I am forcing my eyes to relearn to make tears.

I know the restasis has helped to cut down the inflammation as well. However, I do believe that the lacriserts helped to reteach my eye to be wet, something it had not been for a long time. The package says that they can help to restore tear film.

They worked for me, and I pray that they will help you as well.

Best wishes,
Melissa

[ricmerry]

Thanks Melissa, that's encouraging.

I've been using them in my worse eye for 4 days. I put one in yesterday a few hours before I went to bed and when I woke up and checked on it in an hour or so it seemed like although it had gotten larger and disipated some, about 80% of the original mass remained.

I'm wondering if I don't have enough tears to activate these properly. A sponge in the desert isn't going to change much.

The good news is that I'm tolerating them well and no huge additional discomfort.
I'm doing steroids 8 times a day now, every 2 waking hours. I've noticed a bit of mucous building up in the corner of my eyes again. That hasn't happened in a long time, in fact, nothing has came out of them in a long time so I'll take this as a positive sign.

-Ric

[IanJ]

I have given up on Lacriserts.

Because I have additional lacrimal gland problem in my right eye as well as Bleph, I find the lacriserts isn't getting lubricated enough and my eye goes a bit red and with discomfort.
I also notice that the lacrisert swells up. I just get the feeling that it needs a certain amount of hydration to work and disolve properly.....and thats not what I am getting.
I think they would be ok for folks with bleph only.

However, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm glad I tried.

Ian.

[dstogner]

I started using Restasis about 4 years ago with some moderate success. I also had to use Purlilube (similar to Refresh PM but less expensive) in addition to the Restasis. I had to use the ointment at least every 30 minutes and sometimes more often.

My doctor gave me a prescription for Lacriserts about a month ago, and I started to use it with the Restasis. I LOVE this stuff! Like a lot of you, there was a stinging/burning sensation for the first couple of days. Actually, for the first hour or two after I insert them now, I have a little bit of an uncomfortable sensation until they melt down a little, but not uncomfortable enough to be discouraged. The longer I use them, the more comfortable my eyes are, just as their website describes.

I just had eyelid surgery because I had eyelid ptosis (my eyelids were covering half of my pupil) and my opthalmologist, along with my surgeon, who is a plastic surgeon and an opthalmologist, were very concerned that my dry eyes would get a lot worse. I am happy to report, that due to the Lacriserts, my confort level is the best it has been in years! I can now see clearly (and drive at night again!).

I just wanted to add to the discussion about Lacriserts because they don't seem to be that well known and they are worth trying. I also want to suggest that if you are not using Restasis, you might want to give that a try also. The combination of the two prescriptions seems to have done the trick for me.

Best of luck to everyone.

Darlene

[jwax]

I have tried the lacriserts for a few days, and they are irritating to my eyes. Cause me to have symptoms of having a cold, or allergies. Finally had to remove them. I think you might be right about needing some moisture for them to work. Mine were very dry looking and swollen. So disappointed. Was really hoping this would help me.

I have given up on Lacriserts.

Because I have additional lacrimal gland problem in my right eye as well as Bleph, I find the lacriserts isn't getting lubricated enough and my eye goes a bit red and with discomfort.
I also notice that the lacrisert swells up. I just get the feeling that it needs a certain amount of hydration to work and disolve properly.....and thats not what I am getting.
I think they would be ok for folks with bleph only.

However, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm glad I tried.

Ian.